Zend Container Config Test Laravel Package

Getting Started

Start by installing the package into your phpunit test environment:

composer require --dev zendframework/zend-container-config-test

After installation, extend the base test class ZendTest\Container\IntegrationTestCase in your container test suite. Your first use case is validating that your application’s service configuration can be bootstrapped correctly — for example, by creating a config/services.php test to ensure all registered factories and services resolve without errors:

use ZendTest\Container\IntegrationTestCase;

class ContainerConfigTest extends IntegrationTestCase
{
    protected function getConfig(): array
    {
        return require __DIR__ . '/../config/services.php';
    }

    public function testServiceConfigLoads(): void
    {
        $this->assertArrayHasService('MyService');
        $this->assertCanCreateServiceFromFactory('MyService');
    }
}

Implementation Patterns

• Validate full config consistency: Run a single test that loads your entire config (e.g., config/config.php) and asserts all services defined in service_manager are resolvable. This catches broken factory signatures or missing dependencies early.
• Isolate service resolution failures: For complex services (e.g., Doctrine repositories or custom Doctrine repositories), use assertCanCreateServiceFromFactory() to verify the factory and its dependencies instantiate correctly.
• Test factories independently: In TDD workflows, write container config tests alongside factory development to verify that factory signatures match their expected dependencies (e.g., constructor types).
• CI integration: Include these tests in your CI pipeline as fast, low-overhead sanity checks on config changes — no database or HTTP stack required.

Gotchas and Tips

• Archived & unmaintained: Since the package is archived (as of 2019), ensure compatibility with your Laminas version. For Laminas 3+, it still works, but prefer laminas/laminas-servicemanager’s built-in ServiceManager::has() / get() for newer patterns.
• Namespace and class autoloading: If factories/services reference classes not in your autoload-dev (e.g., in test/), runtime errors may occur during config loading — ensure your phpunit.xml includes all relevant paths.
• Avoid over-mocking: The goal is real instantiation, not mocked resolution. Don’t override services with mocks unless testing specific factory behavior.
• Handle circular dependencies: These often surface at runtime. Tests using assertCanCreateServiceFromFactory() will surface circular references as RuntimeException — use this to refactor problematic wiring.
• Extension point: For custom container setups (e.g., PSR-11 adapters), override createContainer() in your test class to inject your own configuration aggregator.