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tiny-pattern-ts/development/testing.md
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tmu c51e32d6a6 📝 Record the test-helper home decision
development/testing.md § Test helpers: why name beats path under
import/no-relative-parent-imports, why the key needs `#`, why the
`__tests__` folder name, and what was rejected (flat placement, tsconfig
paths, rule exemptions).
2026-09-17 13:23:29 +00:00

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# Testing
For this library the types _are_ the feature, so a runtime-only test loop would
verify the wrong thing. The commands are in
[CONTRIBUTING.md](../CONTRIBUTING.md); this file records why the loop is shaped
the way it is.
## Type-driven development
The rules — the loop and the pairing rule — are in
[CONTRIBUTING.md § Testing discipline (type-driven)](../CONTRIBUTING.md#testing-discipline-type-driven).
What follows is why and what was rejected.
#### Decision (2026-09)
The compile-time expectation is written before the runtime assertion, and both
before the implementation.
#### Why
- A runtime-only test can pass while the type is wrong, so a type-level library
would ship a broken feature its tests bless.
- The type error is a more precise spec than a failing assertion, because it
states the exact expected type before the logic exists.
#### Rejected
- Runtime-first (classic red/green): it verifies the value, not the contract,
and the contract is the product.
- Testing the type only: it would not catch handler dispatch or the `_`
fallback (see `src/primitive.test.ts`).
The runner is `node --test --strip-types "src/**/*.test.ts"` and the tiers are in
[CONTRIBUTING.md § Development commands](../CONTRIBUTING.md#development-commands).
`c8` uses V8 coverage, so the `--strip-types` source is instrumented without a
build step, and the runner relies on the `.ts` import-extension convention (see
[tooling.md](./tooling.md#source-imports-use-ts-extensions)).
## AAA ordering
The rule is in
[CONTRIBUTING.md § Testing discipline (type-driven)](../CONTRIBUTING.md#testing-discipline-type-driven).
#### Decision (2026-09)
Test bodies read arrange → act → assert: inputs (the factory) set up first, the
subject exercised once from them, all checks last — types then runtime. The
blocks are labeled with `// Arrange` / `// Act` / `// Assert` comments and
separated by a blank line; an empty block drops its label.
#### Why
- Interleaved setup/checks hide what runs vs. what is observed; the eye
re-reads the block to find the seams.
- A factory built mid-test invites a second throwaway call of the subject;
arranging it once makes the positive construction and the negative
`Parameters<…>` check share one source of truth.
- Labels make the seams explicit, not inferred — grep-able and reviewable
without reading the statements.
#### Rejected
- Unlabeled ordering (bare blank lines): the seams still have to be found by
reading; the labels cost nothing.
## Test helpers
The rule is enforced by `import/no-relative-parent-imports`; this section records
why the mechanism is shaped like this.
#### Decision (2026-09)
A shared test helper — code that scattered `*.test.ts` files import to do their
testing — lives under `src/util/__tests__/` and is addressed by the
`#test-utils/…` self-reference (`package.json#imports`:
`"#test-utils/*": "./src/util/__tests__/*"`), never by a relative path:
```ts
import { LspSession } from "#test-utils/lsp-completion.ts";
```
#### Why
- The lint rule bans upward (`../`) imports, and a cross-cutting helper can
always be placed above _some_ scattered consumer, wherever it goes. Name
beats path: a `#test-utils/…` specifier has no direction, so the rule never
fires and file moves only touch the one mapping in `package.json`.
- `#…` is Node's reserved prefix for _private_ subpath imports: publishing
`package.json` leaks nothing and resolves nothing for consumers.
- `__tests__` as the folder name is not about tests living there; it is the
directory pattern `tsconfig.build.json` already excludes, so a helper can
never be emitted into `dist/` and shipped by accident.
- Node's own resolver handles `#…` under `--strip-types`, and `tsc` resolves it
via the same `imports` field — one mechanism for runtime and type gate, no
loader needed.
- The helper uses `node:` builtins (it drives a language server), so
`import/no-nodejs-modules` is off for `src/util/__tests__/**` in
`.oxlintrc.json` — the same exception the old `scripts/**` scope carried.
#### Rejected
- A helper beside the tests (`src/util/test.ts`, flat `src/`): composes only
while `src/` stays flat; the first nested test reaching it reintroduces the
banned upward import.
- Bare `~/…` specifier: not valid in `imports` (keys must start with `#`) —
resolution fails at runtime with `ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND`. A `#~/…` “home”
shorthand was dropped in review; `#test-utils/…` states what it is.
- tsconfig `paths` alias: resolves for `tsc` but not for plain
`node --test --strip-types` (no loader hook), breaking the fast tier.
- Turning `import/no-relative-parent-imports` off for test files: the rule
still guards non-test helpers importing each other, and the exemption is
only needed for the one specifier the mapping already solves cleanly.
## Known issues
- The type-aware linter misidentifies `expectTypeOf()` as a floating promise, so
test files that use it (`src/primitive.test.ts`) carry a
file-level `oxlint-disable
typescript/no-floating-promises` with an explanatory comment. It is a known
false positive, not a rule worth disabling project-wide (see
[tooling.md § oxlint-disable directives live next to the code](./tooling.md#oxlint-disable-directives-live-next-to-the-code)).