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Why does `runTest` automatically advance until idl...
# coroutines
l
Why does 
runTest
automatically advance until idle instead of pausing and letting the test advance the coroutine?
j
Could you please given an example? I don't understand exactly what you mean
l
Consider a ViewModel starting a loop
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class MyViewModel : ViewModel() {

    init {
        viewModelScope.launch {
            var counter = 0
            while (true) {
                println("Loop ${counter++}")
                delay(1000)
            }
        }
    }
}
When I test it with 
runTest
, setting 
coroutineContext[CoroutineDispatcher]
in 
Dispatchers.setMain()
, the second test below runs into an endless loop
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import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test

class MyViewModelTest {

    val testScheduler = TestCoroutineScheduler()
    val testDispatcher = StandardTestDispatcher(testScheduler)

    @OptIn(ExperimentalCoroutinesApi::class)
    @Test
    fun `runs correctly`() = runTest {
        Dispatchers.setMain(testDispatcher)

        MyViewModel()
        println("test 1; MyViewModel created")
        this@MyViewModelTest.testScheduler.advanceTimeBy(2000)
        println("test 1; after advanceTimeBy")
    }

    @OptIn(ExperimentalStdlibApi::class, ExperimentalCoroutinesApi::class)
    @Test
    fun `never finishes`() = runTest {
        Dispatchers.setMain(coroutineContext[CoroutineDispatcher]!!)

        MyViewModel()
        println("test 2 finished") // Never finishes
    }
}
So I wonder if the second test is simply written incorrectly by me and you should not access `runTest`'s dispatcher via 
coroutineContext[CoroutineDispatcher]
What is the best practice here? Like in the first test, always inject your own 
StandardTestDispatcher
and 
TestCoroutineScheduler
?
s
I think it's actually the opposite. You shouldn't mix extra custom dispatchers with 
runTest
. If you want your 
runTest
block to complete without waiting for all its coroutines, you can launch them in the test's 
backgroundScope
.
In your question, you asked > Why does 
runTest
automatically advance until idle instead of pausing and letting the test advance the coroutine? But I think that's a misunderstanding of what's happening here. Both test dispatchers are behaving the same way. The difference is that in your first test, your viewModel is using a different dispatcher from the one created by 
runTest
. That means that 
runTest
doesn't know about the coroutines and can't wait for them. The actual behaviour of the loop is unchanged between the two tests. The only difference is whether the test waits for the loop to finish or not.
l
The difference I see is that the first test lets me manually advance the loop (which I want). It prints
Copy code
test 1; MyViewModel created
Loop 0
Loop 1
test 1; after advanceTimeBy
The second test prints the loop endlessly without pausing
Yes, I'm sure I don't understand completely how it works. It's not easy to find good explanations of the intricacies of coroutine testing.
d
If you find the explanation in https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlinx.coroutines/tree/master/kotlinx-coroutines-test unclear, please file an issue.
thank you color 1
l
Thank you Dmitry, I will read the explanation in detail and file an issue if there is anything missing
I'm using coroutines-test 1.8.0
👍 1
d
@Sam is completely right: the first test is incorrect, as there are two sources of virtual time and you are leaking unfinished coroutines there. The second test correctly shows that there are still computations going on.
👍 1
In fact, we are planning to deprecate 
advanceTimeBy
in favor of just 
delay
and replace explicit 
advanceUntilIdle
and 
runCurrent
with the 
suspend
versions that work on the dispatcher in the current coroutine context: https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlinx.coroutines/issues/3919
l
My expectation was that the second test would suspend and wait on the first 
delay
inside the loop
And then only advance if I trigger 
runCurrent()
or 
advance...
d
What would it wait for?
If you provide a complete example of what you want to test, we can look for a way to express it in the test framework, clearing up the mental model of 
runTest
in the process.
l
My actual ViewModel performs a suspending API call in the loop (as a kind of backend polling)
After the delay
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class MyViewModel : ViewModel() {

    init {
        viewModelScope.launch {
            var counter = 0
            while (true) {
                api.getCurrentAction() // suspending function
                delay(1000)
            }
        }
    }
}
I want to test that the polling happens
That's why I was thinking I can advance time by 1 second and verify that the polling happened
What's the use of 
advanceTimeBy()
if the 
delay
anyway advances automatically?
s
d
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@BeforeTest
fun initMain() {
  Dispatchers.setMain(StandardTestDispatcher())
}

@AfterTest
fun resetMain() {
  Dispatchers.resetMain()
}

runTest {
  MyViewModel()
  // check that polling didn't happen
  runCurrent()
  // check that polling happened
  delay(999.milliseconds)
  // check that the next polling didn't happen
  delay(1.milliseconds)
  // check that the next polling happened
}
Or, alternatively,
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runTest {
  MyViewModel()
  // check that polling didn't happen
  runCurrent()
  // check that polling happened
  advanceTimeBy(1.seconds)
  // check that the next polling didn't happen
  runCurrent()
  // check that the next polling happened
}
Or, if you use 
UnconfinedTestDispatcher
, `MyViewModel`'s 
launch
will be entered immediately.
At the end, you should cancel the work.
If you mock `MyViewModel`'s 
CoroutineScope
with 
backgroundScope
, it will automatically work.
l
Ok, so after I inject 
StandardTestDispatcher
with 
Dispatchers.setMain()
, 
runTest
will take it over?
d
runTest
automatically checks the current 
Dispatchers.Main
for the test schedulers, yes.
l
But in the second test the main dispatcher is not injected
Or is it just an alternative for the test, and the setup stays the same?
d
Yes, the setup is always the same.
l
Thank you for the quick and helpful answer, I will try it out!
d
Also, please make sure to check the links I provided; they do answer some of your questions. Maybe you'll find more useful information there. And if something's missing or wouldn't be clear from the docs alone, please let us know.
❤️ 1
l
I will, thank you!
So I tried this solution you suggested like this, but the loop still runs endlessly without stopping:
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class MyViewModel(apiClient: ApiClient) : ViewModel() {

    init {
        viewModelScope.launch {
            var counter = 0
            while (true) {
                println("Loop ${counter++}")
                apiClient.pollAction()
                delay(1000)
            }
        }
    }
}

class ApiClient {

    suspend fun pollAction() = delay(1000)
}

class MyViewModelTest {

    val apiClient = mockk<ApiClient> {
        coEvery { pollAction() } just runs
    }

    @BeforeEach
    fun setup() {
        Dispatchers.setMain(StandardTestDispatcher())
    }

    @Test
    fun `viewmodel test`() = runTest {
        MyViewModel(apiClient)
        println("MyViewModel created") // runs into an endless loop
        testScheduler.advanceTimeBy(2000) // doesn't even get here
        testScheduler.runCurrent()
        println("after advanceTimeBy")
    }
}
The test causes an out of memory error, I guess something is cached there as well
I mock and inject the ApiClient, so my understanding is that 
StandardTestDispatcher
should wait at 
apiClient.pollAction()
(Note that I don't use the actual implementation, which is indeed just a 
delay()
and would probably be skipped)
d
``` println("MyViewModel created") // runs into an endless loop
testScheduler.advanceTimeBy(2000) // doesn't even get here```
Does 
println
get executed? What does "doesn't even get here" means?
l
Yes, println gets executed
Sorry, "doesn't even get here" is probably wrong
Just the loop runs in parallel apparently
This is a self contained example, maybe it's best you run it and see
d
So, the 
after advanceTimeBy
doesn't get executed?
l
Let me run this again, without the loop printing
d
If you can provide an example without 
mockk
, I'll look into it.
If the test body does run to the end, the issue is just with
At the end, you should cancel the work.
If you mock `MyViewModel`'s 
CoroutineScope
with 
backgroundScope
, it will automatically work.
l
Ah yes, that's a good point
There's no good support to canceling viewModelScope from Google
One has to make 
ViewModel.onCleared()
visible for tests and then call it
But definitely this would cause the test polling forever
d
MyViewModel
can take the scope as a parameter for testing, with the default value being 
viewModelScope
.
l
Yes, that's probably what I have to do. Thanks!
I was hoping 
Dispatchers.setMain()
would suffice, but then you cannot cancel the scope
So my test indeed goes through to the end. It prints
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MyViewModel created
after advanceTimeBy
But the loop runs in parallel without waiting for 
advanceTimeBy()
or 
runCurrent()
, which is not what I want
For an example without mockk, how can I simulate a suspending function other than just by using a 
delay()
?
d
Why don't you want to use 
delay
?
l
I thought delays get skipped automatically by 
runTest
d
They aren't skipped, they complete instantaneously. Not the same thing. The following test will complete instantly, but the interleaving of the coroutines will be as if real time has passed.
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runTest {
  launch {
    repeat(10) {
      delay(1.seconds)
      println("coroutine 1: $it")
    }
  }
  launch {
    repeat(3) {
      delay(1500.milliseconds)
      println("coroutine 2: $it")
    }
  }
}
l
Ok, so why do we need 
advanceTimeBy()
and 
runCurrent()
if the suspending functions are executed by the test immediately?
Or is it just to execute 
launch
blocks, ie. the coroutines themselves, and not the suspending functions they launch
d
You usually don't need 
advanceTimeBy
, you can use 
delay
instead.
l
But I think I get it slowly. My test runs correctly, I just need to stop it after advancing the virtual time to the polling point, so that the loop stops.
Thank you for your patient explanations. I really appreciate it!
👍 1
I ended up using an extension function to inject the 
backgroundScope
into 
MyViewModel
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fun ViewModel.getCurrentViewModelScope(providedCoroutineScope: CoroutineScope?) = providedCoroutineScope ?: viewModelScope
I then use it like this in `MyViewModel`:
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class MyViewModel(providedCoroutineScope: CoroutineScope? = null) : ViewModel() {
    val coroutineScope = getCurrentViewModelScope(providedCoroutineScope)

    init {
        coroutineScope.launch {
            var counter = 0
            while (true) {
                println("Loop ${counter++}")
                delay(1000)
            }
        }
    }
}
And in the test replace it with `backgroundScope`:
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class MyViewModelTest {

    @Test
    fun `viewmodel test`() = runTest {
        MyViewModel(backgroundScope)
        println("MyViewModel created")
        testScheduler.advanceTimeBy(2000)
        testScheduler.runCurrent()
        println("after advanceTimeBy")
    }
}
The test prints:
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MyViewModel created
Loop 0
Loop 1
Loop 2
after advanceTimeBy
and finishes immediately!
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