Cakephp 3 - Query Fixture in IntegrationTestTrait - integration-testing

Question

I am having issues querying a loaded Fixture in my TestCase for an IntegrationTestTrait. I want to verify that a record already exist inside of a Fixture, then insert a duplicate record and verify that there is still only 1 record in the database.
During my test case initialization, I set the session variable for authentication.
public function setUp() {
parent::setUp();
$this->loadFixtures(
'Students', 'Users');
// Configure Authentication
$this->session([
'Auth' => [
'User' => [
'id' => 21896,
'institution_id' => 1,
'student_id' => null,
'contact_id' => 91,
'email' => 'AuthenticatedEmail#school.edu',
'role' => 'DSP',
'is_admin' => false
]
]
]);
// Load Tables
$this->Students = TableRegistry::getTableLocator()->get('Students');
}
In my Test Case, I check to see if the Database contains a record, then submit a POST request then test to see if the record did not insert.
public function testAddStudentSuccess() {
$data = [
'institution_id' => 1,
'contact_id' => null,
'id_number' => '200XYZ',
'last_name' => 'Trimor',
'first_name' => 'Paul',
'email' => '1_test#email.com'
];
// Test Pre-condition
$query = $this->Students->find('all')->where([
'id_number' => $data['id_number']
]);
$this->assertEquals(1, $query->count());
$this->post('students/add', $data);
// Test Post-condition
$this->assertResponseSuccess();
$query = $this->Students->find('all')->where([
'id_number' => $data['id_number']
]);
$this->assertEquals(1, $query->count());
}
However, when I run the Test Case, I get the following error:
Notice Error: Undefined variable: _SESSION in/var/www/html/samusg/src/Model/Table/StudentsTable.php, line 206]
A couple things:
The last assertion works! After $this->post('students/add', $data) is submitted, the $query is populated with data.
The first assertion does not work. I debug the Fixture before the $this->post() is called and it returns empty.
In the Test Table, there is a test for $_SESSION variable, which is what line 206 referring to.
Long Story short: The Fixture is not populated with data during the start of the Test Case, but once the integration runs then the Fixture magically contains all the data. I get $_SESSION errors, but I already set the session in the setUp(), so I'm lost.
I greatly appreciate any help. Thank you

Answer 1

I was able to by pass this message by setting the $_SESSION super global directly on my Test:
public function setUp() {
parent::setUp();
$this->loadFixtures(
'Students', 'Users');
// Configure Authentication
$this->session([
'Auth' => [
'User' => [
'id' => 21896,
'institution_id' => 1,
'student_id' => null,
'contact_id' => 91,
'email' => 'AuthenticatedEmail#school.edu',
'role' => 'DSP',
'is_admin' => false
]
]
]);
$_SESSION = [
'Auth' => [
'User' => [
'id' => 21896,
'institution_id' => 1,
'student_id' => null,
'contact_id' => 91,
'email' => 'AuthenticatedEmail#school.edu',
'role' => 'DSP',
'is_admin' => false
]
]
];