VSCode Python test discovery not loading properly because of imports

Question

Ive got a directory structure:

Business Logic
    excel_format_error_checks.py
tests
    test_excel_format_error_checks.py

When I set my import of excel_format_error_checks like below, VSCode test discovery gives an error ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'Business_Logic'

test_excel_format_error_checks.py

import sys
sys.path.append('..')
from Business_Logic import excel_format_error_checks

class TestExcelFormatErrorChecks(TestCase):

    @patch('Business_Logic.excel_format_error_checks.openpyxl')
    def test_tgl_not_missing_from_titles(self,mock_openpyxl):
      ...

If I change the import to from ..Business_Logic import excel_format_error_checks, the test discovery works.

When I then try to run the tests from VSCode test discovery, I get an error because of the @patch path, ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'Business_Logic'.

When I try to run the tests from the terminal, I get the error

ImportError: Failed to import test module: test_excel_format_error_checks Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Users\brady\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\unittest\loader.py", line 154, in loadTestsFromName module = __import__(module_name) File "C:\Users\brady\Desktop\excel_formatting\excel_format_website\api ests est_excel_format_error_checks.py", line 6, in from ..Business_Logic import excel_format_error_checks ImportError: attempted relative import with no known parent package

Questions, 1.why does test discovery only work when i add the .. to the import 2. How can I fix the issue/ fix the patch path

Thanks

user_18359438 · Answer

In the python language, the import usually only looks in the current directory of the file, and your file directory is obviously not in the same folder.

We can use the following code to provide relative paths. Of course, absolute paths are more commonly used.

import os
import sys
os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '../')
sys.path.append(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '../'))
from BusinessLogic import excel_format_error_checks

VSCode Python test discovery not loading properly because of imports

1 Answers