DataSourceAttribute Class

Provides data source-specific information for data-driven testing. This class cannot be inherited.

Namespace:  Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
Assembly:  Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework (in Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple := False)> _
Public NotInheritable Class DataSourceAttribute _
    Inherits Attribute
'Usage
Dim instance As DataSourceAttribute
[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = false)]
public sealed class DataSourceAttribute : Attribute
[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets::Method, AllowMultiple = false)]
public ref class DataSourceAttribute sealed : public Attribute
public final class DataSourceAttribute extends Attribute

Remarks

The DataSourceAttribute class provides two ways to specify data source information for data-driven tests. The first way specifies information through a connection string, provider information, and source table name passed to the DataSource attribute.

Connection String Example:

[DataSource("Provider=SQLOLEDB.1;Data Source=MySource;Integrated] Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=MyCatalog;Persist Security Info=False", "MyTable")]

The second way passes a single argument to the attribute that specifies the configuration setting located in the app.config file.

Configuration Setting Example:

[DataSource("dataSourceNameFromConfigFile")]

Note

Different providers use different connection strings. The provider itself is a part of connection string.

For more information about using the app.config file for specifying a data source, see Walkthrough: Using a Configuration File to Define a Data Source.

For more information about data-driven tests, see Data-Driven Unit Tests.

For more information about using attributes, see Extending Metadata Using Attributes.

Examples

The following code contains the class and method to test.

using System;

namespace BankAccountNS
{
    public class BankAccount
    {
        private string custName;
        private double bal;

        public BankAccount(string customerName, double balance)
        {
            custName = customerName;
            bal = balance;
        }

        public double Balance
        { get { return bal; } }

        public void Debit(double amount)
        {
            if (amount < 0)
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("amount");
            bal -= amount;
        }
    }
}
Imports System

Namespace BankAccountNS
    Public Class BankAccount
        Private customerName As String
        Private bal As Double

        Public Sub New(ByVal customerName2 As String, ByVal balance As Double)
            customerName = customerName2
            bal = balance
        End Sub

        Public ReadOnly Property Balance() As Double
            Get
                Return bal
            End Get
        End Property

        Public Sub Debit(ByVal amount As Double)
            If amount < 0 Then
                Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("amount")
            End If
            bal -= amount
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

The following test will pass. It uses the sample.mdb access database that contains the following data in Table1.

Name

Balance

Amount

Jorg Bott

100

25

Pedro Ruivo

70

60

Mandar Samant

75

71.25

Russell King

159

158

Jun Cao

11.99

11.22

Note that the DataAccessMethod is sequential.

using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using BankAccountNS;
using System;

namespace MyCSTestProject
{
    [TestClass()]
    public class BankAccountTest
    {
        private TestContext testContextInstance;
        public TestContext TestContext
        {
            get { return testContextInstance; }
            set { testContextInstance = value; }
        }

        [TestMethod()]
        [DataSource("System.Data.OleDb",
           "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\"C:\\sample.mdb\"",
           "Table1",
           DataAccessMethod.Sequential)]
        public void DebitTest()
        {
            string customerName = testContextInstance.DataRow["Name"].ToString();

            double bal = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow["Balance"]);
            double amt = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow["Amount"]);

            double newBalance = bal - amt;

            BankAccount target = new BankAccount(customerName, bal);
            target.Debit(amt);

            Assert.AreEqual(newBalance, target.Balance, .00);
        }
    }
}
Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
Imports BankAccountNS
Imports System

Namespace TestProject1
    <TestClass()> _
    Public Class BankAccountTest

        Private testContextInstance As TestContext
        Public Property TestContext() As TestContext
            Get
                Return testContextInstance
            End Get
            Set(ByVal Value As TestContext)
                testContextInstance = Value
            End Set
        End Property

        <TestMethod()> _
        <DataSource("System.Data.OleDb", _
        "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=""D:\sample.mdb""", _
        "Table1", DataAccessMethod.Sequential)> _
        Public Sub DebitTest()
            Dim customerName As String = testContextInstance.DataRow("Name").ToString()

            Dim balance As Double = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow("Balance"))
            Dim amount As Double = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow("Amount"))

            Dim NewBalance As Double = balance - amount

            Dim target As BankAccount = New BankAccount(customerName, balance)
            target.Debit(amount)

            Assert.AreEqual(NewBalance, target.Balance, 0.0)
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  System.Attribute
    Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting.DataSourceAttribute

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

See Also

Reference

DataSourceAttribute Members

Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting Namespace

Other Resources

How to: Create a Data-Driven Unit Test

How to: Configure a Data-Driven Unit Test