# Code Smell 91 - Test Asserts without Description

*We are big fans of xUnit. But we don't care much for the programmers.*

> TL;DR: Use asserts with declarative descriptions.

# Problems

- Readability

- Hard debugging

- Time waste

# Solutions

1. Put a nice descriptive assertion

2. Share guides for problem-solving

# Sample Code

## Wrong

[Gist Url]: # (https://gist.github.com/mcsee/4edc85bb65bc9a70d11706086e0fab99)
```php
<?

public function testNoNewStarsAppeared(): void
  {
     $expectedStars = $this->historicStarsOnFrame();
     $observedStars = $this->starsFromObservation();
     //These sentences get a very large collection
  
     $this->assertEquals($expectedStars, $observedStars);
     //If something fails we will have a very hard debugging time
    }
```

## Right

[Gist Url]: # (https://gist.github.com/mcsee/72a551eb26d02f1480142e9cd41a5ca7)
```php
<?

public function testNoNewStarsAppeared(): void
  {
     $expectedStars = $this->historicStarsOnFrame();
     $observedStars = $this->starsFromObservation();
     //These sentences get a very large collection
  
     $newStars = array_diff($expectedStars, $observedStars);
  
     $this->assertEquals($expectedStars, $observedStars ,
         'There are new stars ' . print_r($newStars,true));
     //Now we can see EXACTLY why the assertion failed with a clear and
     //Declarative Message 
    }
```

# Detection

Since *assert* and *assertDescription* are different functions, we can adjust our policies to favour the latter.

# Tags

- Test Smells

# Conclusion

Be respectful to the reader of your assertions.

It might even be yourself!

# More Info

- [XUnit: Assert Description Deprecation](https://github.com/xunit/xunit/issues/350)

# Credits

Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@startaeteam">Startaê Team</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/dialogue">Unsplash</a>  

* * *

> Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live.

_John Woods_

%[https://maximilianocontieri.com/software-engineering-great-quotes]

* * *

This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

%[https://maximilianocontieri.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code]