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  1. DZone
  2. Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
  3. Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
  4. Testing Spark Code

Testing Spark Code

An introduction to testing your Apache Spark code with Scala.

By 
Tim Spann
DZone Core CORE ·
Apr. 20, 16 · Tutorial
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There's many ways to try to test your Spark code. Depending on if it's Java (you can do basic JUnit tests to test non-Spark pieces) or ScalaTest for your Scala code. You can also do full integration tests by running Spark locally or in a small test cluster.

Another awesome choice from Holden is using Spark-Testing-Base.

There are a few presentations and articles about doing so:

  • Spark Testing Made Easy

  • Effective Testing of Spark Programs

Add it to your SBT for Spark 1.6.0.

"com.holdenkarau" %% "spark-testing-base" % "1.6.0_0.3.1"

parallelExecution in Test := false

Check out the Wiki for usage details.

Use RDDComparisons to see if your RDD is as expected.

Some other Testing Resources for Apache Spark:

  • Run Tests in a Standalone Cluster

  • Testing Spark Best Practices

  • Spark Unit Testing

There are many options, I suggest trying a few and definitely using Spark Testing Base and ScalaTest at a minimum. Always deploy locally first and try with a subset of data before moving to production. Develop Test Driven and in an iterative fashion just like a program you are writing.

unit test

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

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  • Why Standard Test Automation Misses the Failures That Matter in AI Agent Systems
  • More Tests, More Confidence? Test Suites Are Investment Portfolios
  • One of Waterfall's Most Resilient Artifacts

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