Simplified Unit Testing with the Entity Framework Core InMemory Provider
summary
Advocates using the EF Core InMemory provider to replace mocks so tests new up a real DbContext, seed six customers, and assert behavior; one demo has 12 controller tests with 11 failing until each test uses a unique database name via Guid.NewGuid().ToString() and calls database.EnsureCreated then database.EnsureDeleted to clean up. A reusable NorthwindTestBase centralizes context setup. Beware limitations: the in‑memory store is not relational so referential constraints aren’t enforced and these are closer to lightweight integration tests than provider‑specific integration tests.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction
- 1:07The typical approach
- 2:25The simplified approach
- 4:09In-memory provider demo
- 7:23Web API testing demo
- 9:40Using a test base class
- 11:05Limitations and concerns
- 13:11Resources and summary
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