14.1. Scala testing frameworks

There is a whole range of testing frameworks available to Scala developers today, from well-known Java frameworks like JUnit and TestNG right through to new Scala tools such as Specs. These tools are largely interoperable because Scala ultimately boils down to Java bytecode. So much so, in fact, that you can even test your Java code with a Scala testing tool like Specs!

Each tool takes a slightly different approach, and in some aspects the problems they tackle are orthogonal. For example, ScalaTest and Specs are unit-testing tools that allow you to work in a test-driven development (TDD) style or even a behavior-driven development (BDD) style, whereas ScalaCheck primarily focuses on property-driven development (PDD) by allowing the developer to specify a property that defines behavior and ScalaCheck will generate arbitrary input in an attempt to falsify that property assertion.