Factoring out code that creates specs

Testing RSpec
1

It’s all gone a bit meta.

I’ve started noticing patterns in my specs, where I want more than
one class to satisfy a specific bunch of behaviours.

I know I can use it_should_behave_like and this works in simple
cases, but I want to be able to iterate around an array of values and
generate a my bunch of it “should …” specs for each item in the array.

I know I can do this by going

describe “the cheese factory”
[:cheddar, :brie, :lancashire].each do |cheese|
it “should create a valid piece of #{cheese}” do
Factory.create(cheese).should be_valid
end

it "should create a piece of #{cheese} with valid packaging" do
  ... etc

end
end

…but what if I want to specify other factories too, all of which
conform to the it blocks I specified above? (e.g. a ToyFactory that
creates valid toys with valid packaging). How can I factor that spec
logic out?

I tried putting the content of the (do |cheese|) block into a method,
but ruby doesn’t seem to be able to see that method when the describe
block runs… I guess I need to maybe patch it into some RSpec class
instead? Or put it into a module and include it? Am I going down the
wrong lines? is there an easier way to achieve this?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I’m bumping up against the
limitations of my ruby experience again :slight_smile:

cheers,
Matt

http://blog.mattwynne.net

In case you wondered: The opinions expressed in this email are my own
and do not necessarily reflect the views of any former, current or
future employers of mine.

2

Hi Matt,

On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 12:28 PM, Matt W. [email protected] wrote:

Factory.create(cheese).should be_valid
end
it “should create a piece of #{cheese} with valid packaging” do
… etc
end
end
…but what if I want to specify other factories too, all of which conform
to the it blocks

it blocks == code examples

I specified above? (e.g. a ToyFactory that creates valid
toys with valid packaging). How can I factor that spec logic out?
I tried putting the content of the (do |cheese|) block into a method, but
ruby doesn’t seem to be able to see that method when the describe block
runs

How are you doing that? Where are you putting the method? How are you
calling it?

I guess I need to maybe patch it into some RSpec class instead? Or
put it into a module and include it? Am I going down the wrong lines? is
there an easier way to achieve this?

Kind of depends on how you want the specs themselves to look. One
approach is to wrap class level methods in a module and extend the
example group with that module. This could, for example, give you
example groups that look like this:

describe CheeseFactory do
extend FactoryExamples
it_should_create :cheddar, :brie, :lancashire
end

describe GameFactory do
extend FactoryExamples
it_should_create :chess, :clue, :mastermind
end

Here’s some code (that doesn’t do much but actually works) to
demonstrate:

http://pastie.org/273290

HTH,
David

3

On 16 Sep 2008, at 14:28, David C. wrote:

want to be able to iterate around an array of values and generate
end
method, but
there an easier way to achieve this?

describe GameFactory do
extend FactoryExamples
it_should_create :chess, :clue, :mastermind
end

Here’s some code (that doesn’t do much but actually works) to
demonstrate:

http://pastie.org/273290

Bingo! My misunderstanding of include vs extend was to blame, I think.

Thanks as usual.

cheers,
Matt

http://blog.mattwynne.net

In case you wondered: The opinions expressed in this email are my own
and do not necessarily reflect the views of any former, current or
future employers of mine.