Testing a Go and chi RESTful API - Route Handlers and Middleware (Part 2)
Disclaimer - If you are unfamiliar with writing a simple unit test for a route handler of a Go and chi RESTful API, then please read this blog post before proceeding on. Go's testing library package provides many utilities for automating the testing of Go code. To write robust tests for Go code, you must already understand how to write a basic Go test suite that contains several TestXxx functions. Writing tests for code, especially within the context of test-driven development (TDD), prioritizes the code's correctness over the code's flexibility to adapt to new/updated requirements. The guarantee of less unexpected regressions offsets the upfront cost of spending more time to write tests alongside application code. In a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, it can be difficult to convince other team members and stakeholders of the value in testing code when time is an extremely limited resource. Another factor that must be considered is the amount of code covered by the tests. If the tests cover only a small percentage of the application code (or a small subset of use cases), then the benefits of having these tests probably won't outweigh the benefits of adding new features or improving existing features. Plus, anytime you decide to refactor the application code, you will also have to update the corresponding tests to reflect these changes. When time is so valuable, the time spent on writing tests could have been spent elsewhere. Therefore, to fully benefit from tests, you must write enough tests such that they cover a large percentage of the application code.