How can I make a unit test run in DEBUG mode only?

I have a unit test that tests if an Exception is throw, but this Exception is only throw in Debug mode (via the [Conditional("DEBUG")] Attribute). If I run this 开发者_Python百科test in Release mode, it fails. I tried to apply the same Attribute on the test but it's no taken into account.

How can I exclude a test in Release mode? Does it even make sense to run unit tests in Release mode or should I stick to Debug mode?

As for most of your question, it depends somewhat on what unit testing tool your using. However, in general what you want are preprocessor directives

//C#
#ifndef DEBUG
    //Unit test
#endif

Perhaps for your situation

//C# - for NUnit
#if !DEBUG
    [Ignore("This test runs only in debug")] 
#endif 

But as to whether to leave unit tests in the release version? I'd give a resounding NO. I'd suggest moving all your unit tests into it's own project and NOT including this in your releases.

Try this:

#if DEBUG

// here is your test

#endif

If you're using NUnit, you can make your unit test methods conditional:

[System.Diagnostics.Conditional("DEBUG")]
public void UnitTestMethod()
{
   // Tests here
}

This way it will only be executed in DEBUG builds. I don't have a lot of experience with Visual Studio unit tests, but I'm pretty sure that this should work there in VS too.

EDIT: Others have mentionned conditional compilation directives. I don't think that it is a very good idea, for a number of reasons. To learn more about the differences between conditional compilation directives and the conditional attribute, read Eric Lippert's excellent article here.

If you're using XUnit, you can use the following method as described by Jimmy Bogard by extending the fact attribute:

public class RunnableInDebugOnlyAttribute : FactAttribute
{
    public RunnableInDebugOnlyAttribute()
    {
        if (!Debugger.IsAttached)
        {
            Skip = "Only running in interactive mode.";
        }
    }
}

and then you can use this as follows:

[RunnableInDebugOnly]
public void Test_RunOnlyWhenDebugging()
{
    //your test code
}

Similar solution for NUnit framework(only debugging test works):

public class DebugOnlyAttribute : NUnitAttribute, IApplyToTest
{

    private const string _reason = "Debug only";

    public void ApplyToTest(Test test)
    {
        if (!Debugger.IsAttached)
        {
            test.RunState = RunState.Ignored;
            test.Properties.Set(PropertyNames.SkipReason, _reason);
        }

    }
}

[DebugOnly]
[Test]
public void TestMethod()
{ 
//your test code
}