The Life Starter
Sign up
All courses/Digital

Course 270 · Digital course 33

Automate Python Tests with unittest

Build a runnable automated test suite for an original parcel-price module with boundary cases, isolated fixtures, failure evidence and a repaired regression. Work from supplied original examples and check changed cases.

Before you start

Complete or review Programming with Python before starting.

Programming with Python See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A runnable automated test suite for an original parcel-price module with boundary cases, isolated fixtures, failure evidence and a repaired regression.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners ages 14+ and adults ready for the named prerequisite; no employment or private records required.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Complete or review Programming with Python before starting.
  • Use a local text editor and a free Python 3.10+ interpreter for Python files, or a current browser for HTML files. Supplied code uses no paid services or external packages.
  • Create a fresh practice folder and use only the supplied fictional inputs. A paper trace is labeled a trace, not an executed test.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A runnable automated test suite for an original parcel-price module with boundary cases, isolated fixtures, failure evidence and a repaired regression.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • A price assertion table with independent expected values.
  • An executable unit-test record with independent cases.
  • A labeled boundary-test table across both price tiers.
  • A rejection suite with a passing valid boundary comparison.
  • An isolated file test with declared automatic cleanup.
  • A failing-then-passing regression record with source and run instructions.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • The implementation or declared simulation follows the supplied contract and retains inspectable original inputs.
  • Normal, boundary and rejected cases are recorded with expected versus observed results.
  • The changed case has a correct explanation and does not rely on hidden state.
  • The project includes source, outputs, instructions and honest tool, privacy and verification limits.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

State the contract

Name inputs, permitted states and observable outputs before editing the implementation.

02

Preserve the evidence

Keep the actual source, changed input and expected/observed record so someone can repeat the work.

03

Test the boundary

Check a rejection or changed case and distinguish local practice from real service or native-tool behavior.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Assertion
A comparison between observed and expected behavior.
Test oracle
An independent rule for the expected result.
Fixture
Controlled state prepared for a test.
Regression
Previously correct behavior that becomes wrong after a change.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Translate a price rule into assertions

    Use the supplied case to translate a price rule into assertions and retain an inspectable price assertion table with independent expected values.

  2. 2
    19 min

    Write independent test methods

    Use the supplied case to write independent test methods and retain an inspectable executable unit-test record with independent cases.

  3. 3
    16 min

    Parameterize boundary cases

    Use the supplied case to parameterize boundary cases and retain an inspectable labeled boundary-test table across both price tiers.

  4. 4
    19 min

    Test exceptions and invalid inputs

    Use the supplied case to test exceptions and invalid inputs and retain an inspectable rejection suite with a passing valid boundary comparison.

  5. 5
    22 min

    Isolate files with temporary fixtures

    Use the supplied case to isolate files with temporary fixtures and retain an inspectable isolated file test with declared automatic cleanup.

  6. 6
    26 min

    Demonstrate a failing repair cycle

    Use the supplied case to demonstrate a failing repair cycle and retain an inspectable failing-then-passing regression record with source and run instructions.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Automate Python Tests with unittest practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

docs.python.org — unittest.html
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Relevant documented module/API behavior inspected during expansion authoring; actual execution evidence is recorded separately. No grant eligibility is established.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01. Documentation reading does not certify execution in every native tool or browser.

Reuse: Original local practice files, fictional data, worked examples and questions. Concepts paraphrased and linked; source exercises are not copied.

docs.python.org — tempfile.html
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Relevant documented module/API behavior inspected during expansion authoring; actual execution evidence is recorded separately. No grant eligibility is established.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01. Documentation reading does not certify execution in every native tool or browser.

Reuse: Original local practice files, fictional data, worked examples and questions. Concepts paraphrased and linked; source exercises are not copied.

Python built-in exceptions — ValueError
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Relevant documented module/API behavior inspected during expansion authoring; actual execution evidence is recorded separately. No grant eligibility is established.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01. Documentation reading does not certify execution in every native tool or browser.

Reuse: Original local practice files, fictional data, worked examples and questions. Concepts paraphrased and linked; source exercises are not copied.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one