Testing Courses

This guide covers practical patterns for writing tests in the Course module.

• Data Hierarchy
• Light vs Realistic Methods
  • CourseFactory
  • LessonFactory
• Common Setups
  • Minimal: Course with Core Lessons
  • Course with Core + Shared Lessons
  • Full Setup: Course → Schedule → Enrollment
  • Realistic Course
  • Quiz Answers
• Shared Lessons in Tests
• Performance Tips

Data Hierarchy

The Course module has a deep model hierarchy. Understanding it helps you create only the data your test actually needs.

Content structure (template):

Course
├── introductionLesson (shared, course_id = NULL)
├── Lesson (core, 1:m)
│   └── LessonItem (1:m)
│       └── Quiz (1:m)
│           └── (MultipleChoiceQuestion | OpenEndedQuestion)
└── finalLesson (shared, course_id = NULL)

Scheduling & enrollment:

Course
└── CourseSchedule (1:m)
    ├── LessonSchedule (1:m)
    └── CourseEnrollment (1:m)
        ├── CourseEnrollmentProgress (1:1)
        └── QuizAnswer (1:m)

Light vs Realistic Methods

Factory methods follow a two-tier naming convention:

• Light methods (no prefix) — create the minimum viable structure with uniform types. Fast, good for most tests.
• realistic methods — mirror actual production data: mixed quiz types, widgets, discussions, correct item counts. Slow, use only when you need production-like variety.

Rule of thumb: start with light methods. Reach for realistic only when your test depends on the variety of real data (e.g., mixed MCQ/OEQ, widget rendering, shared lesson structure).

CourseFactory

Light (fast)	Realistic (slow)	What it creates
withCoreLessons()	withRealisticCoreLessons()	Core lessons with items and quizzes
withSharedLessons()	withRealisticSharedLessons()	Introduction (L0) and final (LF) shared lessons
withCoreAndSharedLessons()	withRealisticCoreAndSharedLessons()	Both core + shared lessons together

LessonFactory

Light (fast)	Realistic (slow)	What it creates
sharedLessonZero()	realisticSharedLessonZero()	Introduction lesson (L0)
sharedFinalLesson()	realisticSharedFinalLesson()	Final lesson (LF)

Common Setups

Minimal: Course with Core Lessons

Use when you need a course with content but don't care about scheduling or enrollment.

use Tests\Factories\Course\CourseFactory;

// With quizzes (default)
$course = CourseFactory::new()
    ->withCoreLessons(lessons: 3, itemsPerLesson: 2, quizzesPerItem: 1)
    ->createOne();

// Without quizzes (faster)
$course = CourseFactory::new()
    ->withCoreLessons(quizzesPerItem: 0)
    ->createOne();

Course with Core + Shared Lessons

Creates core lessons and attaches bare introduction (L0) and final (LF) shared lessons.

use Tests\Factories\Course\CourseFactory;

$course = CourseFactory::new()
    ->withCoreAndSharedLessons()
    ->createOne();

// Or compose individually for more control:
$course = CourseFactory::new()
    ->withCoreLessons(lessons: 5)
    ->withSharedLessons()
    ->createOne();

Full Setup: Course → Schedule → Enrollment

Use when you need a Member enrolled in a Course.

use Tests\Factories\Course\CourseFactory;
use Tests\Factories\Course\CourseScheduleFactory;
use Tests\Factories\Course\CourseEnrollmentFactory;
use Tests\Factories\Member\MemberFactory;

$course = CourseFactory::new()->withCoreLessons()->createOne();
$schedule = CourseScheduleFactory::new()
    ->withLessonSchedules()
    ->forCourse($course)
    ->createOne();

$enrollment = CourseEnrollmentFactory::new()
    ->for(MemberFactory::new()->withMembership())
    ->forCourseSchedule($schedule)
    ->createOne();

Realistic Course

☢️ Nuclear option. Creates a course with realistic core lessons (mixed MCQ/OEQ, discussions) and shared lessons (widgets, correct item counts) that mirror the actual DB structure.

$course = CourseFactory::new()
    ->withRealisticCoreAndSharedLessons()
    ->createOne();

You can also create shared lessons independently via LessonFactory:

use Tests\Factories\Course\LessonFactory;

// Introduction lesson: 8 items, 13 MCQs, widgets (self-check, peers online/offline), discussion
$introLesson = LessonFactory::new()->realisticSharedLessonZero()->createOne();

// Final lesson: 4 items, 1 MCQ, widgets (certificate, evaluation, next steps)
$finalLesson = LessonFactory::new()->realisticSharedFinalLesson()->createOne();

Quiz Answers

Create the quiz first, then answer it:

use Tests\Factories\Course\QuizFactory;
use Tests\Factories\Course\QuizAnswerFactory;

// Create a quiz (MCQ or OEQ)
$quiz = QuizFactory::new()->mcq()->for($lessonItem)->createOne();

// Correct MCQ answer
QuizAnswerFactory::new()
    ->for($quiz, 'quiz')
    ->forEnrollment($enrollment)
    ->withCorrectAnswer()
    ->createOne();

// Ungraded OEQ answer
QuizAnswerFactory::new()
    ->for($quiz, 'quiz')
    ->forEnrollment($enrollment)
    ->ungraded('My answer text')
    ->createOne();

Shared Lessons in Tests

Non-obvious gotchas:

• Shared QuizAnswers have course_enrollment_id = NULL.
• Sync is triggered per-lesson when a Member visits a shared lesson page.

Performance Tips

• Create only the data your test needs. A bare CourseFactory::new()->createOne() is much faster than withCoreLessons().
• Use withCoreLessons(quizzesPerItem: 0) when quizzes aren't needed — it's faster.
• Avoid any realistic method calls unless you specifically need realistic variety — they create many DB records.