# Test/spec 0.3, a BDD interface for Test::Unit

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [January 24, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222 "2007-01-24T13:08:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/cneuhaus)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222/1 "2007-01-24T13:08:35Z")

</div>

Hello,

today I’m releasing test/spec 0.3, a library to do BDD with Test::Unit.

(See below for changes in version 0.3.)

== What is test/spec?

test/spec layers an RSpec-inspired interface on top of Test::Unit, so  
you can mix TDD and BDD (Behavior-Driven Development).

test/spec is a clean-room implementation that maps most kinds of  
Test::Unit assertions to a `should’-like syntax.

Consider this Test::Unit test case:

```
class TestFoo < Test::Unit::TestCase
  def test_should_bar
    assert_equal 5, 2 + 3
  end
end

```

In test/spec, it looks like this:

```
require 'test/spec'

context "Foo" do
  specify "should bar" do
    (2 + 3).should.equal 5
  end
end

```

test/spec does not include a mocking/stubbing-framework; use whichever  
you like to—FlexMock and Mocha have been tested.

test/spec has no dependencies outside Ruby 1.8.

== Mixing test/spec and test/unit

test/spec and Test::Unit contexts/test cases can be intermixed freely,  
run in the same test and live in the same files. You can just add them  
to your Rake::TestTask, too. test/spec allows you to leverage your  
full existing Test::Unit infrastructure.

test/spec does not change Test::Unit with the exception of  
monkey-patching Test::Unit::TestSuite to order the test cases before  
running them. (This should not do any harm, but if you know a way  
around it, please tell me.)

== Wrapped assertions

assert\_equal: should.equal, should ==  
assert\_not\_equal: should.not.equal, should.not ==  
assert\_same: should.be  
assert\_not\_same: should.not.be  
assert\_nil: should.be.nil  
assert\_not\_nil: should.not.be.nil

assert\_in\_delta: should.be.close  
assert\_match: should.match, should =~  
assert\_no\_match: should.not.match, should.not =~

assert\_instance\_of: should.be.an.instance\_of  
assert\_kind\_of: should.be.a.kind\_of  
assert\_respond\_to: should.respond\_to

assert\_raise: should.raise  
assert\_nothing\_raised: should.not.raise  
assert\_throws: should.throw  
assert\_nothing\_thrown: should.not.throw  
assert\_block: should.satisfy

== Additional assertions

These assertions are not included in Test::Unit, but have been added  
to test/spec for convenience:

- should.not.satisfy
- a.should. (works like assert a.?)
- a.should.be (where is \<, \<=, \>, \>=, or ===)
- should.output, to check what is printed

== Messaging/Blaming

With more complex assertions, it may be helpful to provide a message  
to show if the assertion has failed. This can be done with the  
Should#blaming or Should#messaging methods:

```
RUBY_VERSION.should.messaging("Ruby too old.").be > "1.8.4"

(1 + 1).should.blaming("weird math").not.equal 11

```

== Custom shoulds (“Matchers”)

To capture recurring patterns in parts of your specifications, you can  
define custom “shoulds” (RSpec calls them “matchers”) in your  
contexts, or include modules of them:

```
context "Numbers"
  class EqualString < Test::Spec::CustomShould
    def matches?(other)
      object == other.to_s
    end
  end

  def equal_string(str)
    EqualString.new(str)
  end

  specify "should have to_s"
    42.should equal_string("42")
  end
end

```

Alternatively, your implementation can define  
CustomShould#assumptions, where you can use test/spec assertions  
instead of Boolean predicates:

```
class EqualString < Test::Spec::CustomShould
  def assumptions(other)
    object.should.equal other.to_s
  end
end

```

A CustomShould by default takes one argument, which is placed in  
self.object for your convenience.

You can CustomShould#failure\_message to provide a better error  
message.

== SpecDox and RDox

test/spec adds two additional test runners to Test::Unit, based on the  
console runner but with a different output format.

SpecDox, run with --runner=specdox (or -rs) looks like RSpec’s output:

```
spec.output
- works for print
- works for puts
- works with readline

```

RDox, run with --runner=rdox (or -rr) can be included for RDoc  
documentation:

```
== spec.output
* works for print
* works for puts
* works with readline

```

SpecDox and RDox work for Test::Unit too:

```
$ ruby -r test/spec test/testunit/test_testresult.rb -rs

Test::Unit::TC_TestResult
- fault notification
- passed?
- result changed notification

Finished in 0.106647 seconds.

3 specifications (30 requirements), 0 failures

```

== Disabled specifications

Akin to the usual Test::Unit practice, tests quickly can be disabled  
by replacing specify with xspecify. test/spec will count the  
disabled tests when you run it with SpecDox or RDox.

== specrb

Since version 0.2, test/spec features a standalone test runner called  
specrb. specrb is like an extended version of testrb, Test::Unit’s  
test runner, but has additional options. It can be used for  
plain Test::Unit suites, too.

```
$ specrb -a -s -n should.output

should.output
- works for print
- works for puts
- works with readline

Finished in 0.162571 seconds.

3 specifications (6 requirements), 0 failures

```

See specrb --help for the usage.

== Changes in version 0.3

- should.be\_close, should.be\_an\_instance\_of, should.be\_a\_kind\_of,  
and should.be\_nil have been deprecated. Use the dot-variants of  
them. These assertions will be removed in 1.0.
- specrb -a now includes -Ilib by default for easier out-of-the-box  
testing.
- Added custom shoulds.
- Added messaging/blaming.
- Added disabling of specifications.
- Small bug fixes.
- Gem available.

== Installing with RubyGems

Since version 0.3, a Gem of test/spec is available. You can install  
with:

```
gem install test-spec

```

(It may take some time for the index to be updated and the mirrors  
propagated.) I also provide a local mirror of the gems (and  
development snapshots) at my site:

```
gem install test-spec --source http://chneukirchen.org/releases/gems

```

== Roadmap

Version 1.0 (February 2006):: first stable release.

== Contact

Please mail bugs, suggestions and patches to  
[mailto:removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid).

Darcs repository (“darcs send” is welcome for patches):  
[http://chneukirchen.org/repos/testspec](http://chneukirchen.org/repos/testspec)

== Thanks to

- Eero S. for writing should.output.
- Jean-Michel Garnier for packaging the first gem.
- Mikko L., Jan Wikholm, Matt M. and Michael F. for  
testing the gem.
- Thomas F. for [script.aculo.us](http://script.aculo.us) BDD testing which convinced me.
- Dave A. for BDD.
- The RSpec team for API inspiration.
- Nathaniel T. for Test::Unit.

== Copying

Copyright (C) 2006, 2007 Christian N.  
[http://purl.org/net/chneukirchen](http://purl.org/net/chneukirchen)  
test/spec is licensed under the same terms as Ruby itself.

== Where can I get it?

You can download test/spec 0.3 at

```
    http://chneukirchen.org/releases/test-spec-0.3.0.tar.gz

```

Alternatively, you can checkout from the development repository with:

```
       darcs get http://chneukirchen.org/repos/testspec

```

(Patches using “darcs send” are most welcome.)

== Links

Behavior-Driven Development:: [http://behaviour-driven.org/](http://behaviour-driven.org/)  
RSpec:: [http://rspec.rubyforge.org/](http://rspec.rubyforge.org/)  
[script.aculo.us](http://script.aculo.us) testing::  
[http://mir.aculo.us/articles/2006/08/29/bdd-style-javascript-testing](http://mir.aculo.us/articles/2006/08/29/bdd-style-javascript-testing)  
FlexMock:: [http://onestepback.org/software/flexmock/](http://onestepback.org/software/flexmock/)  
Mocha:: [http://mocha.rubyforge.org/](http://mocha.rubyforge.org/)

## Happy hacking and have a nice day,

Christian N. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)[http://chneukirchen.org](http://chneukirchen.org)

ea043ab5837994179d4659aa1e2fcc88 test-spec-0.3.0.tar.gz  
d0e1c45c2e814cc26a7967232ca99f6c test-spec-0.3.0.gem

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/cneuhaus)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222/2 "2007-01-24T22:29:49Z")

</div>

Christian N. wrote:  
…

> test/spec does not include a mocking/stubbing-framework; use whichever  
> you like to—FlexMock and Mocha have been tested.
> 
> test/spec has no dependencies outside Ruby 1.8.

The test-spec gem does seem to depend on both FlexMock and Mocha. Not  
complaining, I would have grabbed them anyway.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/cneuhaus)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 1:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222/3 "2007-01-25T13:05:38Z")

</div>

On 24 Jan, 21:29, Joel VanderWerf [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Christian N. wrote:…

> > test/spec has no dependencies outside Ruby 1.8.

> The test-spec gem does seem to depend on both FlexMock and Mocha. Not  
> complaining, I would have grabbed them anyway.

Both of which (for me at least) had to be installed before test/spec:

[1807] sudo gem update  
Updating installed gems…  
Need to update 18 gems from [http://gems.rubyforge.org](http://gems.rubyforge.org)  
…  
complete  
Gems: [] updated  
[1808] sudo gem install test-spec --source  
[http://chneukirchen.org/releases/gems](http://chneukirchen.org/releases/gems)  
Install required dependency flexmock? [Yn]  
ERROR: While executing gem … (Gem::GemNotFoundException)  
Could not find flexmock (\>= 0.4.1) in the repository

YMMV

Allan

---

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**Author:** ![cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/cneuhaus)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222/4 "2007-01-25T17:26:54Z")

</div>

Joel VanderWerf [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes:

> Christian N. wrote:  
> …
> 
> > test/spec does not include a mocking/stubbing-framework; use whichever  
> > you like to—FlexMock and Mocha have been tested.  
> > test/spec has no dependencies outside Ruby 1.8.
> 
> The test-spec gem does seem to depend on both FlexMock and Mocha. Not  
> complaining, I would have grabbed them anyway.

That (optional) dependency will be removed in the next release.

---

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**Author:** ![cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@cneuhaus](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/cneuhaus)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/test-spec-0-3-a-bdd-interface-for-test-unit/83222/5 "2007-01-25T17:35:57Z")

</div>

Allan wrote:

> ```
> Could not find flexmock (>= 0.4.1) in the repository
> 
> ```

That’s odd. I installed from the default source, and said “Y” to both  
dependencies, and it worked.

Maybe in your case it was looking for flexmock in the [chneukirchen.org](http://chneukirchen.org)  
source?