In one of our previous article, we provided list of Best Javascript Charting Libraries, which can be useful when you want to create charts easily in your web application, now in this article, we will provide you list of useful javascript unit testing frameworks to make JS code testing, easy, quick and better.

1. Jasmine

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When you think about Javascript testing, first framework which comes in mind is Jasmine. It is an open source technology.

Jasmine is easy to use, fast plus it doesn't depend on any other framework.

Jasmine is a behavior-driven development framework for testing JavaScript code. It does not require a DOM. And it has a clean, obvious syntax so that you can easily write tests.

Sample code which we want to test

var helloworld = function() {   
   return 'Hello World'; 
};

Test using Jasmine

describe("Hello World", function() { 
   
   it("should Return Hello world",function() { 
      expect(helloworld()).toEqual('Hello World'); 
   }); 

});

2. QUnit.JS

QUnit is very powerful and easy to use Javascript testing framework.

It is easy to use and require easy or zero configuration setup for any Node.js project and minimal configuration for Browser-based projects..

Using this you can run test anywhere like Node, inside browser or in Web Worker.

It used flexible APIs for custom assertions, runners, and reporters mean you can extend QUnit to fit your needs.

3. Mocha

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Mocha is another popular JS testing framework, which is a feature-rich framework running on Node.js and in the browser, making asynchronous testing simple and fun.

Mocha tests run serially, allowing for flexible and accurate reporting, while mapping uncaught exceptions to the correct test cases.

It works for frontend as well as backend, and it also supports NodeJS debugger.

var assert = require('assert');
describe('Array', function() {
  describe('#indexOf()', function() {
    it('should return -1 when the value is not present', function() {
      assert.equal([1, 2, 3].indexOf(4), -1);
    });
  });
});

4. JestJs

Jest is an excellent choice for unit testing in Javascript, if you have an application which uses React, Angular or Vue. It allows you to write tests with an approachable, familiar and feature-rich API that gives you results quickly.

It requires Zero Config and Jest uses a custom resolver for imports in your tests, making it simple to mock any object outside of your test’s scope

if you have sample JS function (inside 'sum.js' file), which needs to be tested:

function sum(a, b) {
  return a + b;
}
module.exports = sum;

then Jest code to test it can be (inside 'sum.test.js')

const sum = require('./sum');

test('adds 1 + 2 to equal 3', () => {
  expect(sum(1, 2)).toBe(3);
});

5. AVA

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AVA is a JS testing library which is light weight and as it takes advantage of async, it runs tests concurrently making it good when it comes to performance.

It is primarily focused on running tests for NodeJS based code.

it contains a simple API which provides you with only what you need, which makes simpler syntax for Javascript tests.

Features of AVA as mentioned on GitHub.

  • Minimal and faster than most of the Test Framework.
  • Simple test syntax
  • Runs tests concurrently
  • Enforces writing atomic tests
  • No implicit globals
  • Includes TypeScript definitions
  • Promise support
  • Async function support
  • Observable support
  • Enhanced assertion messages
  • Automatic parallel test runs in CI
  • TAP reporter

6. Karma

Karma is an open source productive testing environment, which supports all popular test frameworks like Mocha. Using it, you can describe your tests with Jasmine, Mocha, QUnit, or write a simple adapter for any framework you like. 

Using it, you can test your code on real browsers and real devices such as phones, tablets or on a headless PhantomJS instance. 

Allows simple integration with Jenkins, Travis or Semaphore. 

You can easily debug code directly from your IDE via WebStorm or Google Chrome.

7. Tape

Tape is easy to use and straight to the point JS unit testing framework, which provides you with the bare essentials.

Tape doesn’t support globals, instead requiring you to include them yourself.

Features:

  • Supports CoffeeScript and ES6 also.
  • Easy and fast to get up and running
  • Additional features are usually added by using another module alongside tape.
  • Light-weight
  • Supported by all modern browsers.

8. Cypress.io

Cypress is an open source Javascript testing Library.

Features:

  • Write tests easily and quickly.
  • Cypress automatically reloads whenever you make changes to your tests.
  • Cypress automatically waits for commands and assertions before moving on. No more async issues.
  • Debug directly from familiar tools like Chrome DevTools.
  • Cypress takes snapshots as your tests run. Simply hover over commands in the Command Log to see exactly what happened at each step.

Above are some of the best Javascript Unit testing frameworks, which you can easily, if you are still confused, I will say you should start JS testing with easy one, which is Tape or AVA.

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