Dataverse SDK for Python — Testing & Debugging Strategies
Based on official Azure Functions and pytest testing patterns.
Testing Pyramid for Dataverse SDK
Integration Tests <- Test with real Dataverse
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/ \
/Unit Tests (Mocked)\
/____________________\
< Framework Tests
2. Unit Testing with Mocking
# Install test dependencies
pip install pytest pytest-cov unittest-mock
# tests/test_operations.py
import pytest
from unittest .mock import Mock , patch , MagicMock
from PowerPlatform .Dataverse .client import DataverseClient
@pytest .fixture
def mock_client ():
"""Provide mocked DataverseClient."""
client = Mock (spec = DataverseClient )
return client
def test_create_account (mock_client ):
"""Test account creation with mocked client."""
# Setup mock response
mock_client .create .return_value = ["id-123" ]
# Call function
from my_app import create_account
result = create_account (mock_client , {"name" : "Acme" })
# Verify
assert result == "id-123"
mock_client .create .assert_called_once_with ("account" , {"name" : "Acme" })
def test_create_account_error (mock_client ):
"""Test error handling in account creation."""
from PowerPlatform .Dataverse .core .errors import DataverseError
# Setup mock to raise error
mock_client .create .side_effect = DataverseError (
message = "Account exists" ,
code = "validation_error" ,
status_code = 400
)
# Verify error is raised
from my_app import create_account
with pytest .raises (DataverseError ):
create_account (mock_client , {"name" : "Acme" })
# tests/fixtures.py
import pytest
@pytest .fixture
def sample_account ():
"""Sample account record for testing."""
return {
"accountid" : "id-123" ,
"name" : "Acme Inc" ,
"telephone1" : "555-0100" ,
"statecode" : 0 ,
"createdon" : "2025-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}
@pytest .fixture
def sample_accounts (sample_account ):
"""Multiple sample accounts."""
return [
sample_account ,
{** sample_account , "accountid" : "id-124" , "name" : "Fabrikam" },
{** sample_account , "accountid" : "id-125" , "name" : "Contoso" },
]
# Usage in tests
def test_process_accounts (mock_client , sample_accounts ):
mock_client .get .return_value = iter ([sample_accounts ])
# Test processing
3. Mocking Common Patterns
Mock Get with Pagination
def test_pagination (mock_client , sample_accounts ):
"""Test handling paginated results."""
# Mock returns generator with pages
mock_client .get .return_value = iter ([
sample_accounts [:2 ], # Page 1
sample_accounts [2 :] # Page 2
])
from my_app import process_all_accounts
result = process_all_accounts (mock_client )
assert len (result ) == 3 # All pages processed
def test_bulk_create (mock_client ):
"""Test bulk account creation."""
payloads = [
{"name" : "Account 1" },
{"name" : "Account 2" },
]
# Mock returns list of IDs
mock_client .create .return_value = ["id-1" , "id-2" ]
from my_app import create_accounts
ids = create_accounts (mock_client , payloads )
assert len (ids ) == 2
mock_client .create .assert_called_once_with ("account" , payloads )
def test_rate_limiting_retry (mock_client ):
"""Test retry logic on rate limiting."""
from PowerPlatform .Dataverse .core .errors import DataverseError
# Mock fails then succeeds
error = DataverseError (
message = "Too many requests" ,
code = "http_error" ,
status_code = 429 ,
is_transient = True
)
mock_client .create .side_effect = [error , ["id-123" ]]
from my_app import create_with_retry
result = create_with_retry (mock_client , "account" , {})
assert result == "id-123"
assert mock_client .create .call_count == 2 # Retried
Local Development Testing
# tests/test_integration.py
import pytest
from azure .identity import InteractiveBrowserCredential
from PowerPlatform .Dataverse .client import DataverseClient
@pytest .fixture
def dataverse_client ():
"""Real client for integration testing."""
client = DataverseClient (
base_url = "https://myorg-dev.crm.dynamics.com" ,
credential = InteractiveBrowserCredential ()
)
return client
@pytest .mark .integration
def test_create_and_retrieve_account (dataverse_client ):
"""Test creating and retrieving account (against real Dataverse)."""
# Create
account_id = dataverse_client .create ("account" , {
"name" : "Test Account"
})[0 ]
# Retrieve
account = dataverse_client .get ("account" , account_id )
# Verify
assert account ["name" ] == "Test Account"
# Cleanup
dataverse_client .delete ("account" , account_id )
# tests/conftest.py
import pytest
@pytest .fixture (scope = "function" )
def test_account (dataverse_client ):
"""Create test account, cleanup after test."""
account_id = dataverse_client .create ("account" , {
"name" : "Test Account"
})[0 ]
yield account_id
# Cleanup
try :
dataverse_client .delete ("account" , account_id )
except :
pass # Already deleted
# Usage
def test_update_account (dataverse_client , test_account ):
"""Test updating account."""
dataverse_client .update ("account" , test_account , {"telephone1" : "555-0100" })
account = dataverse_client .get ("account" , test_account )
assert account ["telephone1" ] == "555-0100"
[pytest]
# Skip integration tests by default
testpaths = tests
python_files = test_*.py
python_classes = Test*
python_functions = test_*
markers =
integration: marks tests as integration (run with -m integration)
slow: marks tests as slow
unit: marks tests as unit tests
# Unit tests only
pytest
# Unit + integration
pytest -m " unit or integration"
# Integration only
pytest -m integration
# With coverage
pytest --cov=my_app tests/
# Specific test
pytest tests/test_operations.py::test_create_account
# Run tests with coverage
pytest --cov=my_app --cov-report=html tests/
# View coverage
open htmlcov/index.html # macOS
start htmlcov/index.html # Windows
Coverage Configuration (.coveragerc)
[run]
branch = True
source = my_app
[report]
exclude_lines =
pragma: no cover
def __repr__
raise AssertionError
raise NotImplementedError
if __name__ == .__main__.:
[html]
directory = htmlcov
7. Debugging with print/logging
import logging
import sys
# Configure logging
logging .basicConfig (
level = logging .DEBUG ,
format = '%(asctime)s - %(name)s - %(levelname)s - %(message)s' ,
handlers = [
logging .StreamHandler (sys .stdout ),
logging .FileHandler ('debug.log' )
]
)
# Enable SDK logging
logging .getLogger ('PowerPlatform' ).setLevel (logging .DEBUG )
logging .getLogger ('azure' ).setLevel (logging .DEBUG )
# In test
def test_with_logging (mock_client ):
logger = logging .getLogger (__name__ )
logger .debug ("Starting test" )
result = my_function (mock_client )
logger .debug (f"Result: { result } " )
# Show print/logging output in tests
pytest -s tests/
# Capture and show on failure only
pytest --tb=short tests/
Measure Operation Duration
import pytest
import time
def test_bulk_create_performance (dataverse_client ):
"""Test bulk create performance."""
payloads = [{"name" : f"Account { i } " } for i in range (1000 )]
start = time .time ()
ids = dataverse_client .create ("account" , payloads )
duration = time .time () - start
assert len (ids ) == 1000
assert duration < 10 # Should complete in under 10 seconds
print (f"Created 1000 records in { duration :.2f} s ({ 1000 / duration :.0f} records/s)" )
pip install pytest-benchmark
def test_query_performance (benchmark , dataverse_client ):
"""Benchmark query performance."""
def get_accounts ():
return list (dataverse_client .get ("account" , top = 100 ))
result = benchmark (get_accounts )
assert len (result ) <= 100
9. Common Testing Patterns
def test_retry_on_transient_error (mock_client ):
"""Test retry on transient error."""
from PowerPlatform .Dataverse .core .errors import DataverseError
error = DataverseError (
message = "Timeout" ,
code = "http_error" ,
status_code = 408 ,
is_transient = True
)
# Fail then succeed
mock_client .create .side_effect = [error , ["id-123" ]]
from my_app import create_with_retry
result = create_with_retry (mock_client , "account" , {})
assert result == "id-123"
def test_filter_builder ():
"""Test OData filter generation."""
from my_app import build_account_filter
# Test cases
assert build_account_filter (status = "active" ) == "statecode eq 0"
assert build_account_filter (name = "Acme" ) == "contains(name, 'Acme')"
assert build_account_filter (status = "active" , name = "Acme" ) \
== "statecode eq 0 and contains(name, 'Acme')"
def test_handles_missing_record (mock_client ):
"""Test handling 404 errors."""
from PowerPlatform .Dataverse .core .errors import DataverseError
mock_client .get .side_effect = DataverseError (
message = "Not found" ,
code = "http_error" ,
status_code = 404
)
from my_app import get_account_safe
result = get_account_safe (mock_client , "invalid-id" )
assert result is None # Returns None instead of raising
Issue
Debug Steps
Test fails unexpectedly
Add -s flag to see print output
Mock not called
Check method name/parameters match exactly
Real API failing
Check credentials, URL, permissions
Rate limiting in tests
Add delays or use smaller batches
Data not found
Verify record created and not cleaned up
Assertion errors
Print actual vs expected values