README

What this is

A minimal test framework that works on PHP 5.3 and newer. It aims to feel PHPUnit-like so legacy projects can migrate gradually. The design keeps future switching to PHPUnit as painless as possible.

Status: Draft. Breaking changes without backwards compatibility may happen.

Installation

composer require --dev nexus4812/plain-php-test-framework

If you are on PHP 5.3, use composer 2.2.

Good fit for

Running tests on legacy PHP 5.3 environments
Using a PHPUnit-like style where PHPUnit itself cannot be installed
Keeping test code aligned for a future move to PHPUnit

Not a good fit for

Needing modern PHPUnit features (attributes, data providers, mocks, coverage, etc.)
Expecting full PHPUnit compatibility

Features

Works on PHP 5.3 to 8.5
Composer PSR-4 autoloading (Composer 2.2 compatible)
Basic assertions: assertSame / assertTrue / assertFalse / assertCount
Simple CLI runner: bin/run-tests

Quick start

Write a test

<?php

use PlainPhp\TestFramework\TestCase;
use PlainPhp\TestFramework\Assert;

class ExampleTest extends TestCase
{
    public function testAdds()
    {
        Assert::assertSame(2, 1 + 1);
    }
}

Run tests

php bin/run-tests

By default it searches tests/. You can also pass a custom path.

php bin/run-tests path/to/tests

Migration mindset

This framework is not the final destination for PHPUnit compatibility. It is a temporary, minimal stepping stone toward PHPUnit. When you can migrate, switch to PHPUnit.

nexus4812 / plain-php-test-framework

Maintainers

Details