Automated Testing with GitHub Actions Quiz Quiz

Challenge your understanding of automated testing concepts within continuous integration workflows. This quiz covers best practices, workflow configuration, YAML syntaxes, and troubleshooting strategies specifically focused on automation and testing scenarios.

1. Triggering Automated Tests

   Which event trigger should you use to automatically run tests every time code is pushed to the main branch?

   1. push
   2. branch_release
   3. on_commit
   4. merge_request

   Explanation: The 'push' event is designed to trigger workflows whenever code is pushed to a specific branch, such as 'main'. Using 'push' ensures tests automatically run on every push to keep your codebase reliable. 'Merge_request' is not standard in most CI systems and is a common misnomer. 'Branch_release' is not a recognized event. 'On_commit' is a mistyped or non-standard event and will not trigger the workflow.

2. YAML Syntax for Running Tests

   In a workflow file, which YAML block correctly defines a job that runs a test suite using a command like 'npm test'?

   1. tasks:n run-tests:n os: ubuntun execute:n - npm test
   2. jobs:n test:n runner: linuxn scripts:n - run: npm test
   3. steps:n test:n machine: ubuntu-lastn action:n - command: npm test
   4. jobs:n test:n runs-on: ubuntu-latestn steps:n - run: npm test

   Explanation: The correct block starts with 'jobs', names a job, specifies 'runs-on' for the virtual environment, and provides a list of 'steps' with the exact command. The second option uses incorrect keys like 'runner' and 'scripts', which are not valid in workflow configuration. The third and fourth choices are not adhering to proper structure or recognized field names, with misuses like 'tasks', 'machine', or 'execute'.

3. Isolating Issues in Failing Workflow Runs

   If your automated test job fails due to missing environment variables, what is the best practice to ensure tests receive the necessary secrets securely?

   1. Send secrets to the test job by echoing them in the scripts
   2. Use the 'env' keyword with secrets provided through configuration
   3. Store secrets in plaintext within the workflow file
   4. Add secrets directly in the command line arguments

   Explanation: Injecting secrets using the 'env' keyword linked to secure configuration ensures environment variables are supplied safely and remain hidden. Providing secrets as command line arguments can expose them in logs. Storing secrets in plaintext within the workflow file risks accidental exposure. Echoing secrets directly in scripts also exposes them and breaks security best practices.

4. Best Practices for Test Job Performance

   Which strategy is recommended to speed up automated test jobs that repeatedly install dependencies on every run?

   1. Run dependency installation twice to avoid errors
   2. Install only a subset of dependencies before every run
   3. Implement dependency caching to reuse previously installed packages
   4. Always use the 'latest' version of every package without caching

   Explanation: Caching dependencies prevents unnecessary network requests and speeds up repeated test runs by reusing what was installed during previous workflow executions. Installing only a subset of dependencies may cause failures due to missing packages. Installing dependencies twice doesn't improve performance. Not using caching and forcing latest versions might increase installation time and lead to unpredictable outcomes.

5. Matrix Testing for Multiple Environments

   How can you run the same test suite across multiple programming language versions within a single workflow?

   1. Configure a job with a matrix strategy for the language version
   2. Set multiple runners inside a single job step
   3. Chain test jobs sequentially in one workflow group
   4. Duplicate the test block manually for each language version

   Explanation: Using a matrix strategy allows the same job to be executed concurrently with different settings, such as language versions, promoting efficiency and consistency. Manually duplicating jobs increases maintenance effort and is error-prone. Setting multiple runners in one step is not supported by common configuration syntax. Chaining jobs does not provide true parallelism for diverse environment testing.