Testing Precompiled Azure Functions Overview

Just because serverless allows us to quickly deploy value, it doesn’t mean that testing is now obsolete. (click to Tweet)

If we’re using Azure Functions as our serverless platform we can write our code (for example C#) and test it before deploying to Azure. In this case we’re talking about precompiled Azure Functions as opposed to earlier incarnations of Azure Functions that used .csx script files.

Working with precompiled functions means the code can be developed and tested on a local development machine. The code we write is familiar C# with some additional attributes to integrate the code with the Azure Functions runtime.

Because the code is just regular C#, we can use familiar testing tools such as MSTest, xUnit.net, or NUnit. Using these familiar testing frameworks it’s possible to write tests that operate at different levels of granularity.

One way to categorize these tests are into:

  • Unit tests to check core business logic/value
  • Integration tests to check function run methods are operating correctly
  • End-to-end workflow tests that check multiple functions working together

To enable effective automated testing it may be necessary to write functions in such a way as to make them testable, for example by allowing function run method dependencies to be automatically injected at runtime, whereas at test time mock versions can be supplied for example using a framework such as AzureFunctions.Autofac.

There are other tools that allow us to more easily test functions locally such as the local functions runtime and the Azure storage emulator.

To learn more about using these tools and techniques to test Azure Functions, check out my Pluralsight course Testing Precompiled Azure Functions: Deep Dive.

You can start watching with a Pluralsight free trial.

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Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2018 Overview for .NET Developers

The 2018 Stack Overflow Developer Survey was recently released.

This article summarizes some interesting points that .NET developers may find interesting, in additional to some other general items of potential  interest.

.NET Points of Interest

  • C# is the 8th most popular programming language among professional developers at 35.3%.
  • TypeScript is the 12th most popular language among profession developers at 18.3%
  • VB.NET is the 18th most popular programming language at 6.9%.
  • .NET Core is the 4th most popular framework among professional developers at 27.2%.
  • SQL Server is the 2nd most used database among professional developers  at 41.6%.
  • Windows Desktop or Server is the 2nd most developed-for platform among professional developers  at 35.2%.
  • Azure is the 10th most developed-for platform among professional developers at 11.4%.
  • TypeScript is the 4th most loved language at 67%.
  • C# is the 8th most loved language.
  • VB.NET is the 4th most dreaded language
  • .NET Core is the 5th most loved framework, the 8th most dreaded framework, and the 5th most wanted framework.
  • Azure is the 5th most loved database (Tables, CosmosDB, SQL, etc.)
  • SQL Server is the 10th most loved database.
  • Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio are the top two most popular development environments respectively (among all respondents).
  • Professional developers primarily use Windows (49.4%) as their development operating system.
  • F# is associated with the highest salary worldwide, with C# 16th highest.
  • .NET development technologies cluster around C#, Azure, .NET Core, SQL Server etc.

General Points of Interest

  • 52.7% of developers spend 9-12 hours per day on a computer.
  • 37.4% of developers don’t typically exercise.
  • 93.1% of professional developers identify as male.
  • 74.3% of professional developers identify as white or of European descent.
  • 85.9% of professional developers use Agile development methodologies.
  • 88.4% of professional developers use Git for version control.

The survey offers a wealth of additional information and you can find the full set of results over at Stack Overflow.

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Automatic Input Blob Binding in Azure Functions from Queue Trigger Message Data

Reading additional blob content when an Azure Function is triggered can be accomplished by using an input blob binding by defining a parameter in the function run method and decorating it with the [Blob] attribute.

For example, suppose you have a number of blobs that need converting in some way. You could initiate a process whereby the list of blob files that need processing are added to a storage queue. Each queue message contains the name of the blob that needs processing. This would allow the conversion function to scale out to convert multiple blobs in parallel.

The following code demonstrates one approach to do this. The code is triggered from a queue message that contains text representing the input bob filename that needs reading, converting, and then outputting to an output blob container.

using System.IO;
using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage;
using Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Storage.Blob;

namespace FunctionApp1
{
    public static class ConvertNameCase
    {
        [FunctionName("ConvertNameCase")]
        public static void Run([QueueTrigger("capitalize-names")]string inputBlobPath)
        {
            string originalName = ReadInputName(inputBlobPath);

            var capitalizedName = originalName.ToUpperInvariant();

            WriteOutputName(inputBlobPath, capitalizedName);
        }
        
        private static string ReadInputName(string blobPath)
        {
            CloudStorageAccount account = CloudStorageAccount.DevelopmentStorageAccount;
            CloudBlobClient blobClient = account.CreateCloudBlobClient();
            CloudBlobContainer container = blobClient.GetContainerReference("names-in");

            var blobReference = container.GetBlockBlobReference(blobPath);

            string originalName = blobReference.DownloadText();

            return originalName;
        }

        private static void WriteOutputName(string blobPath, string capitalizedName)
        {
            CloudStorageAccount account = CloudStorageAccount.DevelopmentStorageAccount;
            CloudBlobClient blobClient = account.CreateCloudBlobClient();
            CloudBlobContainer container = blobClient.GetContainerReference("names-out");

            CloudBlockBlob cloudBlockBlob = container.GetBlockBlobReference(blobPath);
            cloudBlockBlob.UploadText(capitalizedName);            
        }

    }
}

In the preceding code, there is a lot of blob access code (which could be refactored). This function could however be greatly simplified by the use of one of the built-in binding expression tokens. Binding expression tokens can be used in binding expressions and are specified inside a pair of curly braces {…}. The {queueTrigger} binding token will extract the content of the incoming queue message that triggered a function.

For example, the code could be refactored as follows:

using System.IO;
using Microsoft.Azure.WebJobs;

namespace FunctionApp1
{
    public static class ConvertNameCase
    {
        [FunctionName("ConvertNameCase")]
        public static void Run(
        [QueueTrigger("capitalize-names")]string inputBlobPath,
        [Blob("names-in/{queueTrigger}", FileAccess.Read)] string originalName,
        [Blob("names-out/{queueTrigger}")] out string capitalizedName)
        {
                capitalizedName = originalName.ToUpperInvariant();         
        }
}

In the preceding code, the two [Blob] binding paths make use of the {queueTrigger} token. When the function is triggered, the queue message contains the name of the file to be processed. In the two [Blob] binding expressions, the {queueTrigger} token part will automatically be replaced with the text contents of the incoming message. For example if the message contained the text “File1.txt” then the two blob bindings would be set to names-in/File1.txt and names-out/File1.txt respectively. This means the input blob nameBlob string will automatically be read when the function is triggered,

To learn more about creating precompiled Azure Functions in Visual Studio, check out my Writing and Testing Precompiled Azure Functions in Visual Studio 2017 Pluralsight course.

You can start watching with a Pluralsight free trial.

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New Pluralsight Course: Writing and Testing Precompiled Azure Functions in Visual Studio 2017

Azure Functions have come a long way in a short time. With newer releases you can now create functions in Visual Studio using standard C# class files along with specific attributes to help define triggers, bindings, etc. This means that all the familiar powerful Visual Studio tools, workflows, NuGet packages, etc. can be used to develop Azure Functions. Visual Studio also provides publish support so you can upload your functions to the cloud once you are happy with them. Another feature that makes developing functions in Visual Studio easier is the local functions runtime that let’s you run and debug functions on your local development machine, without needing to publish to the cloud just to test them.

In my new Writing and Testing Precompiled Azure Functions in Visual Studio 2017 Pluralsight course you will learn how to:

  • Set up your local development environment
  • Develop and test Azure Functions locally
  • Publish functions to Azure
  • Create functions triggered from incoming HTTP requests
  • Trigger functions from Azure Storage queues and blobs
  • Trigger functions from Azure Service Bus and Azure Event Hubs
  • Trigger functions periodically on a timer
  • Unit test Azure Function business logic

Check out the full course outline for more details.

You can start watching with a Pluralsight free trial.

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FeatureToggle v4 Released

Version 4 of FeatureToggle is now released. This release adds initial support for .NET Core.

Example code.

Release notes.

Breaking Changes:

  • Min framework now 4.6.1 / .NET Standard 1.4
  • Windows 8.n, Windows phone 8.n, Windows Phone Silverlight 8.n no longer supported
  • Namespace changes: most types needed for application developers are now under root FeatureToggle namespace
  • Types not usually required by client code moved to FeatureToggle.Internal
  • Windows UWP now supported explicitly from build 14393

.NET Core Limitations/Specifics

This is in some ways somewhat of an interim release, it is envisaged that when version 5 comes around the implementation will move to a pure .NET Standard implementation.

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New Free C# 7.1: What's New Quick Start eBook

My new free eBook “C# 7.0: What’s New Quick Start” is now complete and available for download.

C# 7.0: What’s New Quick Start Cover Page

The book has the following chapters:

  • Enabling C# 7.1 Features
  • Asynchronous Main Methods
  • Tuple Name Inference
  • Target-typed “default” Literal
  • Better Pattern-matching with Generics

You can download now for free or pay whatever you can.

If you want to fill in the gaps in your C# knowledge be sure to check out my C# Tips and Traps training course from Pluralsight – get started with a free trial.

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Getting Started Testing .NET Core Code with xUnit.net

xUnit.net is a testing framework that can be used to write automated tests for .NET (full) framework and also .NET Core.

To get started, first create a .NET Core application, in the following example a .NET Core console app.

Creating a .NET core console project

A testing project can now be added to the solution:

Adding an xUnit test project in Visual Studio 2017

This test project will come pre-configured with the relevant NuGet packages installed to start writing test code, though you may want to update the pre-configured packages to the newest NuGet versions.

The xUnit Test Project template will also create the following default test class:

using System;
using Xunit;

namespace ConsoleCalculator.Tests
{
    public class UnitTest1
    {
        [Fact]
        public void Test1()
        {

        }
    }
}

Notice in the preceding code, the Test1 method is decorated with the [Fact] attribute. This is an xUnit.net attribute that tells a test runner that it should execute the method, treat it as a test, and report on if the test passed or not.

Next add a project reference from the test project to the project that contains the code that is to be tested, this gives the test project access to the production code.

In the production project, the following class can be added:

namespace ConsoleCalculator
{
    public class Calculator
    {
        public int Add(int a, int b)
        {            
            return a + b;
        }
    }
}

Now the test class can be renamed (for example to “CalculatorTests”) and the test method changed to create a test:

using Xunit;

namespace ConsoleCalculator.Tests
{
    public class CalculatorTests
    {
        [Fact]
        public void ShouldAddTwoNumbers()
        {
            Calculator calculator = new Calculator();

            int result = calculator.Add(7, 3);

            Assert.Equal(10, result);
        }
    }
}

In the preceding code, once again the [Fact] attribute is being used, then the thing being tested is created (the Calculator class instance). The next step is to perform some kind of action on the thing being tested, in this example calling the Add method. The final step is to signal to the test runner if the test has passed or not, this is done by using one of the many xUnit.net Assert methods; in the preceding code the Assert.Equal method is being used. The first parameter is the expected value of 10, the second parameter is the actual value produced by the code being tested. So if  result is 10 the test will pass, otherwise it will fail.

One way to execute tests is to use Visual Studio’s Test Explorer which can be found under the Test –> Windows –> Test Explorer menu item. Once the test project is built, the test will show up and can be executed as the following screenshot shows:

Running xUnit tests in Visual Studio Test Explorer

To learn more about how to get started testing code with xUnit.net check out my Pluralsight course

You can start watching with a Pluralsight free trial.

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Creating Precompiled Azure Functions with Visual Studio 2017

As the Azure Functions story continues to unfold, the latest facility is the ease of creation of precompiled functions. Visual Studio 2017 Update 3 (v15.3) brings the release of functionality to create function code in C# using all the familiar tools and abilities of Visual Studio development (you can also use the Azure Functions CLI).

Precompiled functions allow familiar techniques to be used such as separating shared business logic/entities into separate class libraries and creating unit tests. They also offer some cold start performance benefits.

To create your first precompiled Azure Function, first off install Visual Studio 2017 Update 3 (and enable the "Azure development tools" workload during installation) and once installed also ensure the Azure Functions and Web Jobs Tools Visual Studio extension is installed/updated.

Azure Functions and Web Jobs Tools Visual Studio 2017 extension

After you’ve created an Azure account (free trials may be available), open Visual Studio and create a new Azure Functions project (under the Cloud section):

Creating a new Azure Functions project in Visual Studio

This will create a new project with a .gitignore, a host.json, and a local.settings.json file.

To add a new function, right click the project, choose add –> new item. Then select Azure Function:

Adding a new function to and Azure Function app

The name of the .cs file can be anything, the actual name of the function in Azure is not tied to the class file name.

Next the type of function (trigger) can be selected, such as a function triggered by an HTTP request:

Choosing a function trigger type

Adding this will create the following code (note the name of the function has been changed in the [FunctionName] attribute):

namespace MirrorMirrorOnTheWall
{
    public static class Function1
    {
        [FunctionName("WhosTheFairestOfThemAll")]
        public static async Task<HttpResponseMessage> Run(
            [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Function, "get", "post", Route = null)]HttpRequestMessage req, 
            TraceWriter log)
        {
            log.Info("C# HTTP trigger function processed a request.");

            // parse query parameter
            string name = req.GetQueryNameValuePairs()
                .FirstOrDefault(q => string.Compare(q.Key, "name", true) == 0)
                .Value;

            // Get request body
            dynamic data = await req.Content.ReadAsAsync<object>();

            // Set name to query string or body data
            name = name ?? data?.name;

            return name == null
                ? req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.BadRequest, "Please pass a name on the query string or in the request body")
                : req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, "Hello " + name);
        }
    }
}

We can simplify this code to:

namespace MirrorMirrorOnTheWall
{
    public static class Function1
    {
        [FunctionName("WhosTheFairestOfThemAll")]
        public static HttpResponseMessage Run(
            [HttpTrigger(AuthorizationLevel.Function, "get", "post", Route = null)]HttpRequestMessage req, 
            TraceWriter log)
        {
            log.Info("C# HTTP trigger function processed a request.");

            return req.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.OK, "You are.");
        }
    }
}

Hitting F5 in Visual Studio will launch the local Azure Functions environment and host the newly created function:

Local Azure Functions runtime environment

Note in the preceding screenshot, the “WhosTheFairestOfThemAll” function is loaded and is listening on “http://localhost:7071/api/WhosTheFairestOfThemAll”. If we hit that URL, we get back “You are.”.

Publishing to Azure

Right click the project in Visual Studio and choose publish, this will start the publish wizard:

Publish Wizard

Choose to create a new Function App and follow the prompts, you need to select your Azure Account at the top right and choose an App Name (in this case “mirrormirroronthewall”). You also need to choose existing items or create new ones for Resource Groups, etc.

App Service settings for Azure Function app

Click create and the deployment will start.

Once deployed, the function is now listening in the cloud at “https://mirrormirroronthewall.azurewebsites.net/api/WhosTheFairestOfThemAll”.

Because earlier we specified an Access Rights setting of Function, a key needs to be provided to be able to invoke the function. This key can be found in the Azure portal for the newly created function app:

Getting an Azure Function key

Now we can add the key as a querystring parameter to get: “https://mirrormirroronthewall.azurewebsites.net/api/WhosTheFairestOfThemAll?code=UYikfB4dWIHdh66Iv/vWMiCpbDgTaDKB/vFMYtRzDwEpFW48qfEKog==”. Hitting up this URL now returns the result “You are.” as it did in the local environment.

To learn how to create precompiled Azure Functions in Visual Studio, check out my Writing and Testing Precompiled Azure Functions in Visual Studio 2017 Pluralsight course.

You can start watching with a Pluralsight free trial.

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Using C# 7.1 Features

With the release of Visual Studio 2017 update 3, the new C# 7.1 features became available.

To use the new features, the .csproj file can be modified and the <LangVersion> element set to either “latest” (the newest release including minor releases) or explicitly to “7.1” , for example:

<LangVersion>latest</LangVersion>

or

<LangVersion>7.1</LangVersion>

To select one of these in Visual Studio,  go to the project properties and the build tab and choose the “Advanced…” button as the following screenshot shows:

Visual Studio 2017 Screenshot showing C# 7.1 enabled

Now the new features of C# 7.1 including  asynchronous main methods are available.

C# 7.1 Async Main Methods

With C# 7.0, in a console app the entry point could not be marked async requiring some workarounds/boilerplate code, for example:

class Program
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
       MainAsync().GetAwaiter().GetResult();
    }

    private static async Task MainAsync()
    {
        using (StreamWriter writer = File.CreateText(@"c:\temp\anewfile.txt"))
        {
            await writer.WriteLineAsync("Hello");
        }
    }
}

With C# 7.1, the main method can be async, as the following code shows:

class Program
{
    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        using (StreamWriter writer = File.CreateText(@"c:\temp\anewfile.txt"))
        {
            await writer.WriteLineAsync("Hello");
        }
    }
}

You can check out the C#7.1 features on GitHub such as:

If you want to fill in the gaps in your C# knowledge be sure to check out my C# Tips and Traps training course from Pluralsight – get started with a free trial.

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Mocking in .NET Core Tests with Moq

When writing automated tests it is sometimes useful to isolate the thing(s) being tested from other parts of the system. These ‘other’ parts may still need to be provided, and sometimes the real versions are too hard or cumbersome to use. In these instances “mocked” versions can be created and used.

A mock version of something is an object that can act like the real thing but can be controlled in test code.

Moq (pronounced “mok u” or “mock”) is a library available on NuGet that allows mock objects to be created in test code and it also supports .NET Core.

Moq allows the manipulation of mock objects in many ways, including setting mock methods to return specific values, setting up properties, and matching specific arguments when the thing being tested calls the mock object.

For example, the following code shows a class that requires a constructor dependency to be able to operate:

using System;

namespace Domain
{
    public interface IThingDependency
    {
        string JoinUpper(string a, string b);
        int Meaning { get; }
    }

    // "Real" implementation
    public class ThingDependency : IThingDependency
    {
        public string JoinUpper(string a, string b)
        {
            throw new NotImplementedException();
        }

        public int Meaning => throw new NotImplementedException();
    }

    // Class we want to test in isolation of ThingDependency
    public class ThingBeingTested
    {
        private readonly IThingDependency _thingDependency;

        public string FirstName { get; set; }
        public string LastName { get; set; }

        public ThingBeingTested(IThingDependency thingDependency)
        {
            _thingDependency = thingDependency;
        }

        public string X()
        {
            var fullName = _thingDependency.JoinUpper(FirstName, LastName);

            return $"{fullName} = {_thingDependency.Meaning}";
        }
    }
}

Without a mock object, to write a test we could use the real ThingDependency:

[Fact]
public void TestUsingRealDependency()
{
    var sut = new ThingBeingTested(new ThingDependency());

    // test code
}

To isolate the ThingBeingTested from the rest of the system, Moq can create a mock version of an IThingDependency:

[Fact]
public void TestUsingMockDependency()
{
    // create mock version
    var mockDependency = new Mock<IThingDependency>();

    // set up mock version's method
    mockDependency.Setup(x => x.JoinUpper(It.IsAny<string>(), It.IsAny<string>()))
                  .Returns("A B");

    // set up mock version's property
    mockDependency.Setup(x => x.Meaning)
                  .Returns(42);

    // create thing being tested with a mock dependency
    var sut = new ThingBeingTested(mockDependency.Object);

    var result = sut.X();

    Assert.Equal("A B = 42", result);
}

In the preceding code, the Setup() method is used to tell the mock how to behave when it is called by the ThingBeingTested.

Moq can also be used to test the correct interactions are occurring between the ThingBeingTested and the IThingDependency:

[Fact]
public void TestUsingMockDependencyUsingInteractionVerification()
{
    // create mock version
    var mockDependency = new Mock<IThingDependency>();

    // create thing being tested with a mock dependency
    var sut = new ThingBeingTested(mockDependency.Object)
    {
        FirstName = "Sarah",
        LastName = "Smith"
    };

    sut.X();

    // Assert that the JoinUpper method was called with Sarah Smith
    mockDependency.Verify(x => x.JoinUpper("Sarah", "Smith"), Times.Once);

    // Assert that the Meaning property was accessed once
    mockDependency.Verify(x => x.Meaning, Times.Once);
}

In the preceding code, the Verify method is used to check that the mock JoinUpper method is being called exactly once with the values “Sarah” and “Smith”. The test code is also expecting the method to be called exactly once.

Moq can be used to test in isolation other parts of applications such as ASP.NET Core MVC controllers, where the controller requires a dependency (such as an IFooRepository):

[Fact]
public void ContollerTest()
{            
    var mockDependency = new Mock<IFooRepository>();

    var sut = new HomeController(mockDependency.Object);
    
    // test code
}

To learn more about using Moq to create/configure/use mock objects check out my Mocking in .NET Core Unit Tests with Moq: Getting Started Pluralsight course.

To learn how to get started testing ASP.NET Core MVC applications check out my ASP.NET Core MVC Testing Fundamentals Pluralsight course.

You can start watching with a Pluralsight free trial.

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