Build and Test Packages

Once you have created a package and added a module, you can build and test your package locally to ensure it's working as expected before publishing it.

Building your package

You can use the iota move build command to build Move packages in the working directory, first_package in this case.

iota move build

If your build fails, you can use the IOTA Client's error message to troubleshoot any errors and debug your code.

If your build is successful, the IOTA client will return the following:

UPDATING GIT DEPENDENCY https://github.com/iotaledger/iota.git
INCLUDING DEPENDENCY IOTA
INCLUDING DEPENDENCY MoveStdlib
BUILDING first_package

Test a Package

You can use the Move testing framework to write unit tests for your IOTA package. IOTA includes support for the Move testing framework.

Test Syntax

You should add unit tests in their corresponding test file. In Move, test functions are identified by the following:

• They are public functions.
• They have no parameters.
• They have no return values.

You can use the following command in the package root to run any unit tests you have created.

iota move test

If you haven't added any tests, you should see the following output.

INCLUDING DEPENDENCY Iota
INCLUDING DEPENDENCY MoveStdlib
BUILDING first_package
Running Move unit tests
Test result: OK. Total tests: 0; passed: 0; failed: 0

Add Tests

You can add your first unit test by copying the following public test function and adding it to the first_package file.

#[test]
public fun test_sword() {
    // Create a dummy TxContext for testing.
    let mut ctx = tx_context::dummy();

    // Create a sword.
    let sword = Sword {
        id: object::new(&mut ctx),
        magic: 42,
        strength: 7,
    };

    // Check if accessor functions return correct values.
    assert!(magic(&sword) == 42 && strength(&sword) == 7, 1);
}

The unit test function test_sword() will:

1. Create a dummy instance of the TxContext struct and assign it to ctx.
2. Create a sword object that uses ctx to create a unique identifier (id), and assign 42 to the magic parameter, and 7 to strength.
3. Call the magic and strength accessor functions to verify that they return correct values.

The function passes the dummy context, ctx, to the object::new function as a mutable reference argument (&mut), but passes sword to its accessor functions as a read-only reference argument, &sword.

Now that you have a test function, run the test command again:

iota move test

Debugging Tests

If you run the iota move test command, you might receive the following error message instead of the test results:

error[E06001]: unused value without 'drop'
   ┌─ sources/first_package.move:55:65
   │  
 4 │       public struct Sword has key, store {
   │                     ----- To satisfy the constraint, the 'drop' ability would need to be added here
   ·  
48 │           let sword = Sword {
   │               ----- The local variable 'sword' still contains a value. The value does not have the 'drop' ability and must be consumed before the function returns
   │ ╭─────────────────────'
49 │ │             id: object::new(&mut ctx),
50 │ │             magic: 42,
51 │ │             strength: 7,
52 │ │         };
   │ ╰─────────' The type 'my_first_package::first_package::Sword' does not have the ability 'drop'
   · │
55 │           assert!(magic(&sword) == 42 && strength(&sword) == 7, 1);
   │  

The compilation error provides all the necessary information to help you debug your module.

Move has many features to ensure your code is safe. In this case, the Sword struct represents a game asset that digitally mimics a real-world item. Much like a real sword, it cannot simply disappear. Since the Sword struct doesn't have the drop ability, it has to be consumed before the function returns. However, since the sword mimics a real-world item, you don't want to allow it to disappear.

Instead, you can fix the compilation error by adequately disposing of the sword. Add the following after the function's !assert call to transfer the sword to a freshly created dummy address:

// Create a dummy address and transfer the sword.
let dummy_address = @0xCAFE;
transfer::transfer(sword, dummy_address);

Run the test command again. Now the output shows a single successful test has run:

INCLUDING DEPENDENCY Iota
INCLUDING DEPENDENCY MoveStdlib
BUILDING my_first_package
Running Move unit tests
[ PASS    ] 0x0::first_package::test_sword
Test result: OK. Total tests: 1; passed: 1; failed: 0

TIP

Use a filter string to run only a matching subset of the unit tests. With a filter string provided, the iota move test checks the fully qualified (<address>::<module_name>::<fn_name>) name for a match.

Run a Subset of Tests

You can run a subset of the tests in your package that match a given string by adding said string at the end of the iota move test command:

iota move test sword

iota move test will check the fully qualified name (<address>::<module_name>::<fn_name>) for matches. The previous command runs all tests whose name contains sword.

More Options

You can use the following command to see all the available options for the test command:

iota move test -h

Cheat Sheet

• Use iota::test_scenario to mimic multi-transaction, multi-sender test scenarios.
• Use the iota::test_utils module for better test error messages via assert_eq, debug printing via print, and test-only destruction via destroy.
• Use iota move test --coverage to compute code coverage information for your tests, and iota move coverage source --module <name> to see uncovered lines highlighted in red. Push coverage all the way to 100% if feasible.

IOTA-specific testing

Although you can test a great deal of your contract using the default Move testing framework, you should make sure that you also test code that is specific to IOTA.

Testing Transactions

Move calls in IOTA are encapsulated in transactions. You can use the iota::test_scenario to test the interactions between multiple transactions within a single test. For example, you could create an object with one transaction and transfer it to another.

The test_scenario module allows you to emulate a series of IOTA transactions. You can even assign a different user to each transaction.

Instantiate a Scenario

You can use the test_scenario::begin function to create an instance of Scenario. The test_scenario::begin function takes an address as an argument, which will be used as the user executing the transaction.

Add More Transactions

The Scenario instance will emulate the IOTA object storage with an object pool for every address. Once you have instantiated the Scenario with the first transaction, you can use the test_scenario::next_tx function to execute subsequent transactions. You will need to pass the current Scenario instance as the first argument, as well as an address for the test user sending the transaction.

You should update the first_package.move file to include entry functions callable from IOTA that implement sword creation and transfer. You can add these after the accessor functions.

public fun create_sword(magic: u64, strength: u64, recipient: address, ctx: &mut TxContext) {
    // Create a sword.
    let sword = Sword {
        id: object::new(ctx),
        magic: magic,
        strength: strength,
    };
    // Transfer the sword.
    transfer::transfer(sword, recipient);
}

public fun sword_transfer(sword: Sword, recipient: address, _ctx: &mut TxContext) {
    // Transfer the sword.
    transfer::public_transfer(sword, recipient);
}

With this code, you have enabled creating and transferring a sword. Since these functions use IOTA's TxContext and Transfer, you should use the test_scenario's multi-transaction capability to test these properly. You should add the following test to the first_package.move file:

#[test]
fun test_sword_transactions() {
    use iota::test_scenario;

    // Create test addresses representing users.
    let admin = @0xBABE;
    let initial_owner = @0xCAFE;
    let final_owner = @0xFACE;

    // First transaction to emulate module initialization.
    let mut scenario_val = test_scenario::begin(admin);
    let scenario = &mut scenario_val;
    {
        init(test_scenario::ctx(scenario));
    };
    // Second transaction executed by admin to create a sword.
    test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, admin);
    {
        // Create the sword and transfer it to the initial owner.
        create_sword(42, 7, initial_owner, test_scenario::ctx(scenario));
    };
    // Third transaction executed by the initial sword owner.
    test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, initial_owner);
    {
        // Extract the sword owned by the initial owner.
        let sword = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Sword>(scenario);
        // Transfer the sword to the final owner.
        sword_transfer(sword, final_owner, test_scenario::ctx(scenario))
    };
    // Fourth transaction executed by the final sword owner.
    test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, final_owner);
    {
        // Extract the sword owned by the final owner.
        let sword = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Sword>(scenario);
        // Verify that the sword has expected properties.
        assert!(magic(&sword) == 42 && strength(&sword) == 7, 1);
        // Return the sword to the object pool
        test_scenario::return_to_sender(scenario, sword)
        // or uncomment the line below to destroy the sword instead.
        // test_utils::destroy(sword)
    };
    test_scenario::end(scenario_val);
}

This test function is more complex than the previous example, so let's break it down by steps:

1. Create test addresses that will be used to represent the users in the scenario. One for the admin, and two users:

   let admin = @0xBABE;
   let initial_owner = @0xCAFE;
   let final_owner = @0xFACE;

2. Create a scenario by calling test_scenario:begin(), and passing the admin address as a parameter. You can then use the test_scenario's ctx to emulate the module's initialization:

   let scenario_val = test_scenario::begin(admin);
   let scenario = &mut scenario_val;
   {
       init(test_scenario::ctx(scenario));
   };

3. The admin creates a sword and sends it to the initial_owner. Note that the first call is to test_scenario::next_tx, passing the Scenario that was instantiated in step 2:

   test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, admin);
   {
       // create the sword and transfer it to the initial owner
       sword_create(42, 7, initial_owner, test_scenario::ctx(scenario));
   };

4. After advancing the test_scenario with test_scenario::next_tx, you can emulate the initial_owner sending the sword to the final_owner. However, in standard Move tests, there is no object storage, so it is impossible to retrieve the sword created in step 3. You should use the test_scenario::take_from_sender function to extract the sword. In this case, the test transfers the object it retrieves from storage to another address:

   test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, initial_owner);
   {
       // extract the sword owned by the initial owner
       let sword = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Sword>(scenario);
       // transfer the sword to the final owner
       sword_transfer(sword, final_owner, test_scenario::ctx(scenario))
   };
   tip

   Transaction effects, such as object creation and transfer, become visible only after a given transaction completes. For example, if the second transaction in the running example created a sword and transferred it to the administrator's address, it would only become available for retrieval from the administrator's address (via test_scenario, take_from_sender, or take_from_address functions) in the third transaction.

5. Finally, the final_owner retrieves the sword object from storage and verifies it has the expected properties.

   test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, final_owner);
   {
       // extract the sword owned by the final owner
       let sword = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Sword>(scenario);
       // verify that the sword has expected properties
       assert!(magic(&sword) == 42 && strength(&sword) == 7, 1);
       // return the sword to the object pool
       test_scenario::return_to_sender(scenario, sword)
       // or uncomment the line below to destroy the sword instead
       // test_utils::destroy(sword)
   };
   test_scenario::end(scenario_val);

Since the sword cannot simply disappear, the function transfers the sword object to the fake address using the test_scenario::return_to_sender function. If returning the object to a dummy address is not your desired behavior, you can also call the test_utils:destroy function.

Know your toolbox

This guide only covers the basics. You should check out the available functions for both test_scenario and test_utils modules to see everything you can do.

If you run the test command again, you should see two successful tests for the module:

INCLUDING DEPENDENCY Iota
INCLUDING DEPENDENCY MoveStdlib
BUILDING my_first_package
Running Move unit tests
[ PASS    ] 0x0::first_package::test_sword
[ PASS    ] 0x0::first_package::test_sword_transactions
Test result: OK. Total tests: 2; passed: 2; failed: 0

Testing Module Initializers

IOTA modules can include an initializer function that can only be run when the module is published for the first time. The iota move command does not support test publishing, but you can test module initializers using the testing framework to test the Forge object is properly created.

The first thing you should do is add a new_sword function that takes a Forge as a parameter, and updates its swords_created attribute.

Redundant Code

If this were an actual module, you should replace the create_sword function with new_sword, as they do the same thing. However, to keep the existing tests from failing this guide will keep both functions.

/// Constructor for creating swords.
public fun new_sword(forge: &mut Forge, magic: u64, strength: u64, ctx: &mut TxContext): Sword {
    // Increment the `swords_created` counter.
    forge.swords_created = forge.swords_created + 1;

    // Create a sword.
    Sword {
        id: object::new(ctx),
        magic: magic,
        strength: strength,
    }
}

You can now add the following code to the end of the module to test the module initializer using the test_scenario module by calling the module's init function and then asserting the number of swords is zero:

#[test]
fun test_sword_transactions() {
    use iota::test_scenario;

    // Create test addresses representing users.
    let admin = @0xBABE;
    let initial_owner = @0xCAFE;
    let final_owner = @0xFACE;

    // First transaction to emulate module initialization.
    let mut scenario_val = test_scenario::begin(admin);
    let scenario = &mut scenario_val;
    {
        init(test_scenario::ctx(scenario));
    };
    // Second transaction executed by admin to create a sword.
    test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, admin);
    {
        let mut forge = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Forge>(scenario);

        // Create the sword and transfer it to the initial owner.
        let sword = new_sword(&mut forge, 42, 7, test_scenario::ctx(scenario));
        transfer::public_transfer(sword, initial_owner);

        // Return the forge to the sender.
        test_scenario::return_to_sender(scenario, forge);
    };
    // Third transaction executed by the initial sword owner.
    test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, initial_owner);
    {
        // Extract the sword owned by the initial owner.
        let sword = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Sword>(scenario);
        // Transfer the sword to the final owner.
        sword_transfer(sword, final_owner, test_scenario::ctx(scenario))
    };
    // Fourth transaction executed by the final sword owner.
    test_scenario::next_tx(scenario, final_owner);
    {
        // Extract the sword owned by the final owner.
        let sword = test_scenario::take_from_sender<Sword>(scenario);
        // Verify that the sword has expected properties.
        assert!(magic(&sword) == 42 && strength(&sword) == 7, 1);
        // Return the sword to the object pool
        test_scenario::return_to_sender(scenario, sword)
        // or uncomment the line below to destroy the sword instead.
        // test_utils::destroy(sword)
    };
    test_scenario::end(scenario_val);
}

You can refer to the source code for the package (with all the tests and functions properly adjusted) in the first_package module in the iota/examples directory.

Question 1/4

Which command is used to build Move packages in IOTA?

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