Automated Unit Testing with Pythagora

2023/06/07
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Pythagora is a CLI tool that generates automated unit tests for Node.js applications using LLMs (Language Models) without requiring developers to write a single line of code. The tool uses GPT-4, a powerful language model, to generate tests and find bugs in the code.

The Pythagora tool was tested on Lodash, a popular JavaScript utility library, and it generated around 1500 tests and found 13 bugs with just one command. This demonstrates the potential of Pythagora to significantly reduce the time and effort required for testing.

Pythagora uses LLMs to generate test cases that are similar to the code being tested. This approach ensures that the generated tests cover a wide range of scenarios and edge cases. The tool is designed to work with any Node.js application, regardless of its complexity.

To use Pythagora, developers need to install the tool and run it on their Node.js application. The tool will analyze the code and generate a set of test cases. Developers can then review and modify the generated tests as needed.

Here's an example of how Pythagora can be used to generate tests for a simple Node.js application:

const assert = require('assert');
const app = require('./app');

describe('App', () => {
  it('should return hello world', () => {
    const result = app.sayHello();
    assert.equal(result, 'hello world');
  });

  it('should add two numbers', () => {
    const result = app.addNumbers(5, 10);
    assert.equal(result, 15);
  });
});

In this example, Pythagora generated two test cases for the sayHello and addNumbers functions in the app module. The generated tests use the assert module to check if the functions return the expected results.

Pythagora is still in development, and there are some limitations to its current version. For example, the tool may generate tests that are redundant or not relevant to the code being tested. However, the Pythagora team is continuously working to improve the tool and address these issues.

Automated testing is an essential part of modern software development, and Pythagora offers a promising solution for developers looking to streamline their testing process. By using language models to generate tests, Pythagora can significantly reduce the time and effort required for testing, allowing developers to focus on other aspects of their application.

If you're interested in trying out Pythagora, you can find the tool on GitHub. The Pythagora team also welcomes contributions and feedback from the developer community.