Unittest2

1.1.0 · abandoned · verified Sat Apr 11

Unittest2 is a backport of the enhanced features from Python 2.7's `unittest` module to earlier Python versions (primarily Python 2.4-2.6, but later extending to 2.x and early 3.x versions). It provided modern `unittest` capabilities like improved assertion methods, test discovery, class/module-level fixtures, and `assertRaises` as a context manager for users on older Python environments. The project's last release was in 2015, making it largely obsolete for modern Python development.

Warnings

breaking Unittest2 is primarily a backport for Python 2.x and early Python 3.x versions. For Python 3.2+ users, all features provided by unittest2 are integrated directly into the standard library's `unittest` module, rendering unittest2 largely unnecessary and potentially conflicting.
Fix: For Python 3.2 and newer, use the built-in `unittest` module directly. No separate installation is needed. For Python 2.7, while unittest2 offers more features, the standard `unittest` module may suffice depending on requirements.
gotcha Command-line test discovery (`python -m unittest`) is a Python 2.7+ feature. For Python versions older than 2.7, unittest2 provides a `unit2` script (or `unit2.py` on Windows) for command-line test execution and discovery. Direct `python -m unittest2` will not work.
Fix: Use the `unit2` script provided by unittest2 (e.g., `unit2 discover`) or call `unittest2.main()` from within your test file. If migrating to Python 2.7+, switch to `python -m unittest` or remove unittest2 entirely and use the standard library.
gotcha The default value of `TestCase.longMessage` in unittest2 is `True`, which differs from `unittest` in Python 2.7 (where it defaults to `False` for backward compatibility). This can affect the verbosity of failure messages.
Fix: If consistent `longMessage` behavior is required, explicitly set `self.longMessage = False` (or `True`) within your `TestCase` or `setUp` method.
deprecated There was a separate `unittest2py3k` distribution for Python 3 on PyPI, which used the package name `unittest2`. This specific distribution is obsolete. If you are developing for Python 3, you should use the standard library's `unittest` module.
Fix: Do not install `unittest2py3k` or `unittest2` for Python 3. Always use `import unittest` from the Python standard library.

Install

pip install unittest2 Install stable version

Imports

TestCase
```
from unittest2 import TestCase
```
For compatibility with unittest in newer Python versions, it's common to import unittest2 as unittest: `import unittest2 as unittest`. Then use `unittest.TestCase`.
main
```
import unittest2; unittest2.main()
```
The `python -m unittest` command-line interface for test discovery was introduced in Python 2.7. For older Python versions using unittest2, use the `unit2` script or `unittest2.main()` in a test file.

Quickstart

This example demonstrates how to define a test class inheriting from `unittest2.TestCase`, implement `setUp` and `tearDown` methods, and write test methods using various assertion methods. The `unittest2.main()` call runs the tests when the script is executed directly.

import unittest2 as unittest

class MyTests(unittest.TestCase):
    def setUp(self):
        # Setup resources before each test method
        self.data = [1, 2, 3]

    def test_addition(self):
        self.assertEqual(sum(self.data), 6)

    def test_empty_list(self):
        with self.assertRaises(TypeError):
            sum(None)

    def tearDown(self):
        # Clean up resources after each test method
        del self.data

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

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