assertEquals vs. assertEqual in python
Question:
Is there a difference between assertEquals and assertEqual in the python unittest.TestCase?
And if there is not, why are there two functions? Only for convenience?
Answers:
I don’t find any mention of assertEquals in http://docs.python.org/library/unittest.html. However, when I import TestCase and then do a “help(TestCase)”, it’s listed. I think it’s just a synonym for convenience.
Actually, in Python 2.6, both assertEqual and assertEquals are convenience aliases to failUnlessEqual. The source declares them thus:
# Synonyms for assertion methods
assertEqual = assertEquals = failUnlessEqual
In Python 3, to your point, failUnlessEqual is explicitly deprecated. assertEquals carries this comment 🙂
# Synonyms for assertion methods
# The plurals are undocumented. Keep them that way to discourage use.
# Do not add more. Do not remove.
# Going through a deprecation cycle on these would annoy many people.
So, the upshot appears to be that you should use whatever you like for Python 2.x, but tend toward assertEqual for Python 3.
I think this was tension between the “only one obvious way to do it” vs. “alias to make the overall code flow semantically”. Personally I found I like to read
failIf(some_condition)
over
assertFalse(some_condition)
but liked
assertEqual(a, b)
over the other two (assertEquals(a, b) bothers my sense of grammar).
The “only one obvious way to do it” has taken precedence going forward.
A 3.3 update: From 26.3.7.1.1. Deprecated aliases :
For historical reasons, some of the TestCase methods had one or more aliases that are now deprecated. The following table lists the correct names along with their deprecated aliases:
Method Name | Deprecated alias | Deprecated alias
--------------+------------------+-----------------
assertEqual() | failUnlessEqual | assertEquals
...
Not just for Python 3.x, since Python 2.7 assertEquals has been deprecated as well:
Method Name | Deprecated alias(es)
_________________________________________________________
assertEqual() | failUnlessEqual, assertEquals
I know it doesn’t answer the specific question, but if you got here while searching for:
using deprecated method assertEquals()
You just need to change the call to .assertEqual() (remove the ‘s’ in equalS)
Is there a difference between assertEquals and assertEqual in the python unittest.TestCase?
And if there is not, why are there two functions? Only for convenience?
I don’t find any mention of assertEquals in http://docs.python.org/library/unittest.html. However, when I import TestCase and then do a “help(TestCase)”, it’s listed. I think it’s just a synonym for convenience.
Actually, in Python 2.6, both assertEqual and assertEquals are convenience aliases to failUnlessEqual. The source declares them thus:
# Synonyms for assertion methods
assertEqual = assertEquals = failUnlessEqual
In Python 3, to your point, failUnlessEqual is explicitly deprecated. assertEquals carries this comment 🙂
# Synonyms for assertion methods
# The plurals are undocumented. Keep them that way to discourage use.
# Do not add more. Do not remove.
# Going through a deprecation cycle on these would annoy many people.
So, the upshot appears to be that you should use whatever you like for Python 2.x, but tend toward assertEqual for Python 3.
I think this was tension between the “only one obvious way to do it” vs. “alias to make the overall code flow semantically”. Personally I found I like to read
failIf(some_condition)
over
assertFalse(some_condition)
but liked
assertEqual(a, b)
over the other two (assertEquals(a, b) bothers my sense of grammar).
The “only one obvious way to do it” has taken precedence going forward.
A 3.3 update: From 26.3.7.1.1. Deprecated aliases :
For historical reasons, some of the TestCase methods had one or more aliases that are now deprecated. The following table lists the correct names along with their deprecated aliases:
Method Name | Deprecated alias | Deprecated alias
--------------+------------------+-----------------
assertEqual() | failUnlessEqual | assertEquals
...
Not just for Python 3.x, since Python 2.7 assertEquals has been deprecated as well:
Method Name | Deprecated alias(es)
_________________________________________________________
assertEqual() | failUnlessEqual, assertEquals
I know it doesn’t answer the specific question, but if you got here while searching for:
using deprecated method assertEquals()
You just need to change the call to .assertEqual() (remove the ‘s’ in equalS)