Entity Framework Core Interview Question #180

How can database tests be isolated from each other?

Testing, Production Practices & Senior Real-World Scenarios Senior Advanced

Quick Interview Answer

Each test should start from a known state and should not depend on execution order. Isolation can be achieved with a fresh database, transaction rollback, schema reset, database respawn strategies, or separate containers/databases. The chosen technique must match the provider and test parallelism requirements.

Detailed Explanation

Each test should start from a known state and should not depend on execution order. Isolation can be achieved with a fresh database, transaction rollback, schema reset, database respawn strategies, or separate containers/databases. The chosen technique must match the provider and test parallelism requirements.

Code Example

// Arrange known data -> execute test -> clean/reset.
// Never rely on data left by a previous test.