Arquillian may still be in alpha, but it's proven so useful that you can already read about it in publications! In the October 2010 issue of NFJS Magazine, I explain how Arquillian provides a component model for integration testing and why it matters to you. It's fitting that it appears in the issue titled "Control Your Destiny". Here's the abstract for the article:

Arquillian: A component model for integration testing
by Dan Allen

 

You know you should test. The reasons are prevelant. Tests help you analyze your API, validate the behavior of your business logic, serve as documentation "at the source" for users and maintainers, and so on. The plan is easy to follow, at first, particularly if you're working on a greenfield application.

 

But eventually, you bump into the testing bandgap, the point at which you have to being testing components coupled to other resources, services or layers. (And you really do want to test them, not just mock them). It's at this transition, from unit to integration test, that the ever-important project deadline becomes threatened. Work stops, your browser history floods with search results, the build script multiplies and the code-build-test cycle becomes a code-build...-catch up on tweets-test cycle. Testing becomes a bore (not to mention costly). It's time for a new strategy.

 

If you dial down your social media stream for a few minutes, I'll prove to you that a component model for tests can make an integration test appear as simple as a vanilla unit test. Child's play, really. The secret agent (turned alien invader) is Arquillian, a container-oriented testing framework that enables you to write portable integration tests for enterprise Java applications and beyond. You'll discover how Arquillian's test enrichment, packaging and deployment, in conjunction with container lifecycle management, let you skip the build and test in-container, all without having to leave the comfort of your IDE (or the commandline, if it suits you). With Arquillian in hand, integration testing becomes fun and productive again.

 

Ready to play?

I strongly recommend supporting this tech magazine of rare quality. All the authors are NFJS tour speakers and therefore you can expect highly technical, pragmatic and entertaining articles. Visit http://bit.ly/57fCM to subscribe.

Arquillian is also in print! Walk into most Borders or Barnes and Noble stores and you can find Arquillian used in the examples of Andrew Rubinger's Enterprise JavaBeans 3.1 Sixth Edition, published by O'Reilly.

Although the Arquillian story is just getting started, it's already being well told.