The only solution to avoid having the database purged is to create a testing database. To do that, below are the steps:

config of a testing database

# the config has to be done in config_test.ymldoctrine:    dbal:        default_connection: default        connections:            default:                driver:   pdo_mysql                host:     "%database_host%"                port:     "%database_port%"                dbname:   test                user:     "%database_user%"                password: "%database_password%"                charset:  UTF8

creation of the database and the tables

// this command is run only once (just for creating the testing db)$ php app/console doctrine:database:create --env=test// this command is needed when you have new entities$ php app/console doctrine:schema:create --env=test

How to load fixtures in the test?

    $fixtures = array('Minn\APIBundle\Tests\Fixtures\Entity\LoadBrandData');    $this->loadFixtures($fixtures);    $brands = LoadBrandData::$brands;

Hope it will help others!

It is possible to use a SQLite database for functional testing. See the docs for details on the bundle's configuration. If, for example, you are using MySQL it is pretty straightforward to create a database in the test environment with

$ php app/console doctrine:database:create --env=test$ php app/console doctrine:schema:create --env=test

and have the same behavior in the test environment as in the dev environment.

Your fixtures should load readily.

Edit:in config_test.yml:

doctrine:    dbal:        driver:   pdo_mysql        host:     localhost        port:     3306        dbname:   minnapi_test        user:     "%database_user%"        password: "%database_password%"

Copy .../web/app_dev.php to .../web/app_test.php and modify one line to read $kernel = new AppKernel('test', true);