Resolving Test Suite Failures Caused by Database Transactions

Introduction

Our test suite was experiencing frequent failures due to database transaction issues. The reconnect() method was causing the PDO connection to close, triggering Laravel's RefreshDatabase trait to reset and resulting in deadlocks and "relation does not exist" errors.

The Challenge

The main challenge was to identify the root cause of the issue and find a solution that would prevent the test suite failures without compromising the database transactions.

The Solution

We removed the redundant RefreshDatabase trait from the ImpersonateTest class and modified the tearDown() method in the LinkedinPublishingCoordinatorTest class to avoid reconnecting the database.

protected function tearDown(): void
{
    try {
        DB::connection('pgsql')->statement('SET search_path TO public');
    } catch (\Exception $e) {
        // Ignore errors during cleanup
    }
}

Key Decisions

1. Removed redundant RefreshDatabase trait - Prevented unnecessary database resets
2. Modified tearDown() method - Avoided reconnecting the database and prevented transaction issues

Results

The changes resolved the test suite failures and improved the overall stability of the testing environment.

Lessons Learned

The experience taught us the importance of careful database transaction management in testing environments and the need to remove redundant traits to prevent unnecessary database resets.

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