The Anatomy of a Test

As we begin our journey into the land of unit tests, let’s establish some basic vocabulary and test theory. Software tests, no matter how complicated they are, are comprised of no more than four stages.

• Setup
• Exercise
• Verify
• Teardown

Simple tests may only have two of these stages. Complex ones might have cycles that repeat a stage. Sometimes the order isn’t straightforward. But every test can be broken down into these four stages.