Overview of Test-Type Extensibility
In addition to using the built-in test types of Visual Studio, members of the Visual Studio Industry Partner program can create and integrate custom test tools into the Visual Studio test platform. This section introduces the Test Type Extensibility Framework, the same framework that Microsoft used to develop the built-in test types.
Who Can Use Test Type Extensibility?
The Test Type Extensibility Framework is intended for developers and testers who want to do either or both of the following things:
integrate existing test tools into the test environment
create entirely new test types that perform types of testing that are not supported by the built-in test types of Visual Studio
Why Use Test Type Extensibility?
You use the built-in test types of Visual Studio, such as unit tests, load tests, and Web tests, to perform many types of testing. However, if you need functionality that is not provided by the build-in test types, you can use the Test Type Extensibility Framework to create custom test types. You can then use your custom test types to integrate existing tools into the Visual Studio test environment. The capability to fully integrate test types means that all your test execution needs are met within the Visual Studio product.
Levels of Extensibility
Visual Studio provides a more basic way to integrate custom test tools: the built-in generic test type. This test type lets you run any of your test tools that use a command line, and then captures and interprets the results that are returned. Even though generic tests serve as an efficient light-weight solution for integrating tests, they are better suited for simple tests and test harnesses that do not require more advanced extensibility features, such as a custom test editor or results viewer, and a run-configuration editor.
The following table summarizes the various levels of extensibility, including the generic test.
Integration level |
For more information |
|---|---|
generic test |
|
generic test with a summary results file |
|
custom test type |
|
custom test type with a custom results viewer |
For More Information
The Visual Studio SDK contains a sample called MyTestSample.sln that illustrates test extensibility. You can open and examine this sample to see how it creates a new MyTest test type that integrates with the testing tools in Visual Studio.
See Also
Concepts
Packaging and Installing Test Type Extensions in Visual Studio
High-Level Test Platform Extensibility Areas