Should I Include Magento Core Unit, Functional, and Integration Tests in My Custom Project Pipeline?

Question

I’m currently setting up a custom project pipeline for my Magento application and have a question regarding the inclusion of Magento Core tests. Specifically, I am debating whether to include Unit, Functional, and Integration tests provided by Magento Core in my pipeline.

My main concerns are:

Necessity: Are these tests essential for maintaining the integrity and functionality of my custom Magento project, or can they be safely omitted without significant risk?

Best Practices: What are the industry best practices concerning the inclusion of these tests in a custom pipeline? Do most projects typically include or exclude them?

Space Considerations: Given that the dev/tests folder consumes considerable disk space, would it be advisable to remove this folder to free up space, or does it serve a critical role that justifies its retention?

Any advice, experiences, or best practices you can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Including Magento Core Unit, Functional, and Integration Tests in your custom project pipeline can significantly benefit compatibility, quality assurance, and adherence to best practices.

However, it's essential to balance these benefits with considerations such as execution time, resource requirements, and the scope of your customizations.

Adjust your approach based on your project's specific needs and constraints to derive the most value from incorporating Magento core tests in your pipeline.

Generally, best practices lean towards including tests in the custom pipeline. The decision to include or exclude tests should be based on project-specific factors such as customization scope, resource availability, and the criticality of maintaining Magento’s core functionalities. In practice, most projects aiming for long-term stability and scalability tend to include a mix of core and custom tests tailored to their specific needs and constraints.

While the "dev/tests" folder can consume disk space, its critical role in maintaining the quality, stability, and compatibility of your Magento application generally justifies its retention. Removing this folder entirely could lead to potential risks such as degraded code quality, increased likelihood of bugs, compatibility issues with future Magento updates, and reduced ability to ensure security standards. Therefore, it's advisable to explore space-saving strategies within the folder rather than considering its complete removal unless under exceptional circumstances where space constraints are severe and alternative testing frameworks or strategies are in place.