Unit testing for C/C++ is on the rise

Typemock’s Isolator++ solution is bringing unit testing to C/C++ programming languages. Isolator++ is one of the company’s unit testing solutions designed to enable developers to find and fix bugs. According to the company, over the past year interest in C++ unit testing has more than doubled with a substantial rise in Isolator++ users.

“There was a technology gap preventing effective unit testing of C/C++ code, and Isolator++ filled that gap,” said Eli Lopian, Typemock’s CEO. “Isolator++ provides the ability to fake out any C/C++ code, so the developer can easily test it. This includes non-virtual method, static methods and private fields & methods, all bundled together in an API that conforms to the AAA best practice structure of unit testing.”

According to Typemock, C/C++ is often thought of as a legacy language. This has prevented developers from using it for agile development solutions and realizing the importance of unit testing. However, C and C++ are one of the more popular programming languages, according to the Tiobe Index, and it’s used in embedded devices and in everyday software solutions. Because of this, Typemock said it is essential to test “brownfield” code, as well as new code.

Isolator++ allows users to write tests with minimal lines of code, test any C/C++ code, and test legacy code without having to change it. It also allows users to become more agile with APIs designed to make tests more concise, resistant and easy to understand.

“Many established enterprises have software that was written in C/C++,” said Lopian. “C++ has been around for over 40 years, with standards constantly updating. Mission-critical code use C++. The rise of embedded devices and the Internet of Things further push the importance of quality C++ code. We see large companies in highly-regulated industries that cannot code fast enough, that cannot be agile enough; who are not confident to make any change in their code and innovate their product.”