Python - Testing class methods with unittest

Question

I have a Scheduler class and a test written for __generate_potential_weeks using unittest

main.py

class Scheduler:
 def __init__(self, num_teams, num_weeks):
 self.potential_weeks = self.__generate_potential_weeks(num_teams)
 # Other stuff
 def __generate_potential_weeks(self, num_teams):
 # Does some things

test_scheduler.py

import unittest
from main import Scheduler
class SchedulerTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
 def test_generate_weeks(self):
 sch = Scheduler(4, 14)
 weeks = sch.__generate_potential_weeks(4)

When I try to test __generate_potential_weeks, I get the following error

AttributeError: 'Scheduler' object has no attribute '_SchedulerTestCase__generate_potential_weeks'

Questions

• Why can't the test find __generate_potential_weeks
• How can I test __generate_potential_weeks? It has some complex logic I would like to test separately from Scheduler

Answer 1

Double underscore has a special meaning within python. The name will be mangled to avoid a conflicting name in a subclass.

If that wasn't your intent, I'd encourage you to mark it with a single underscore. If it was, you can still access the function by using the mangled name. I think this will work for you: sch._Scheduler__generate_potential_weeks(4)

• alexdriedger: That solved it. I will accept the answer once SO lets me in a couple minutes