How can I make a unit test run in DEBUG mode only?

Question

I have a unit test that tests if an Exception is throw, but this Exception is only throw in Debug mode (via the [Conditional("DEBUG")] Attribute). If I run this test in Release mode, it fails. I tried to apply the same Attribute on the test but it's no taken into account.

How can I exclude a test in Release mode? Does it even make sense to run unit tests in Release mode or should I stick to Debug mode?

Answer 1

Try this:

#if DEBUG

// here is your test

#endif

Answer 2

If you're using NUnit, you can make your unit test methods conditional:

[System.Diagnostics.Conditional("DEBUG")]
public void UnitTestMethod()
{
   // Tests here
}

This way it will only be executed in DEBUG builds. I don't have a lot of experience with Visual Studio unit tests, but I'm pretty sure that this should work there in VS too.

EDIT: Others have mentionned conditional compilation directives. I don't think that it is a very good idea, for a number of reasons. To learn more about the differences between conditional compilation directives and the conditional attribute, read Eric Lippert's excellent article here.

Answer 3

As for most of your question, it depends somewhat on what unit testing tool your using. However, in general what you want are preprocessor directives

//C#
#ifndef DEBUG
    //Unit test
#end if

Perhaps for your situation

//C# - for NUnit
#if !DEBUG
    [Ignore("Only valid for release")] 
#end if

But as to whether to leave unit tests in the release version? I'd give a resounding NO. I'd suggest moving all your unit tests into it's own project and NOT including this in your releases.