ModelState.IsValid always true when testing Controller in Asp.Net MVC Web Api
Thanks to this site, I found out the solution:
private void SimulateValidation(object model)
{
// mimic the behaviour of the model binder which is responsible for Validating the Model
var validationContext = new ValidationContext(model, null, null);
var validationResults = new List<ValidationResult>();
Validator.TryValidateObject(model, validationContext, validationResults, true);
foreach (var validationResult in validationResults)
{
this.controller.ModelState.AddModelError(validationResult.MemberNames.First(), validationResult.ErrorMessage);
}
}
And including one line in the test method like this:
public void MoviesController_Post_Without_Name()
{
// Arrange
var model = new MovieModel();
model.Name = "";
// Act
SimulateValidation(model);
var result = controller.Post(model);
// Assert
Assert.IsInstanceOfType(result, typeof(InvalidModelStateResult));
Assert.AreEqual(6, controller.Get().Count());
}
Hope that helps someone, it would have saved me some hours hunting the web.
Your solution probably works, but a better way is using ApiController.Validate method.
public void MoviesController_Post_Without_Name()
{
// Arrange
var model = new MovieModel();
model.Name = "";
// Act
controller.Validate(model); //<---- use the built-in method
var result = controller.Post(model);
// Assert
Assert.IsInstanceOfType(result, typeof(InvalidModelStateResult));
Assert.AreEqual(6, controller.Get().Count());
}