# Trouble with executing discrete testcase functions within a

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [January 10, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600 "2007-01-10T13:14:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/e79b87/32.png) [@KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/KpKpKp)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600/1 "2007-01-10T13:14:32Z")

</div>

Hi,

I was having some trouble trying to execute a set of testcase functions  
(to  
run Selenium tests) within a class inherited from the  
Test::Unit::TestCase  
class… the issue here is, I need access to individual functions within  
the  
class, to be executed by a separate program that dynamically decides  
what  
functions to be run.

The model I’m using is briefly detailed below…

a. A QtRuby application reads from the .rb file and parses for all  
'def’s  
that exist within the file  
b. Users can use the QtRuby app to create testcases (comprised of a  
selection of the functions in the ruby file, with custom parameters  
entered  
in the QtRuby app for each function)  
c. These testcases can then be combined in the app to form suites that  
can  
be executed.

When a suite is to be executed, I need access to the individual  
functions  
within the Test::Unit::TestCase class. The way the test/unit library  
works -  
executing all functions starting with ‘test’ - doesn’t work well for me,  
as  
I need to dynamically select the individual functions. The functionality  
that allows suites to be created by combining all ‘test’ functions  
within  
each class inherited from Test::Unit::TestCase is limiting because it  
automatically executes ALL the functions within the class. I do not want  
to  
create a separate class for each testcase, as I don’t want to run  
‘setup’  
and ‘teardown’ separately for each testcase, and there are dependencies  
between the discrete functions in the one class that I’m using now.

One (ugly) solution that WILL work is dynamically creating a new .rb  
file to  
execute selected tests - this .rb file will have a single  
Test::Unit::TestCase class, and each test function will dynamically be  
inserted into the class by copying it from the ‘master’ .rb file… but  
this  
is ugly, as I’ll have to parse through the entire ruby file containing  
the  
actual testcase functions, looking for 'def’s, if-blocks, class-blocks  
etc.,  
counting the 'end’s to be able to extract only the specific functions I  
need. There has to be a better way, as this will depend too heavily on  
parsing the Ruby language itself.

Can anyone please tell me a way in which I can do something like the  
below…?

include ‘master-file.rb’

a = TestSomething.new #TestSomething being the class inherited from  
Test::Unit::TestCase, which also contains the testcase functions  
result = a.function(parm1, parm2, … , parm x) #‘function’ being any  
one of  
the multiple functions within the class TestSomething that actually does  
any  
testing

Lots of gratefulness will ensue 🙂

–  
“I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and  
without faith I am nothing.”  
“But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn’t it? It could  
not  
have evolved by chance. It proves that you exist, and so therefore, by  
your  
own arguments, you don’t. Q.E.D.”  
“Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes  
in a  
puff of logic.  
“Oh, that was easy,” says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that  
black  
is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/e79b87/32.png) [@KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/KpKpKp)\
**Post date:** [January 10, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600/2 "2007-01-10T14:58:54Z")

</div>

Kp schrieb:

> (…)  
> I’m not sure I understand what you want. Since test methods have no  
> parameters, they can’t be the “functions” you are talking about. So,  
> what are those functions doing? Who calls the actual test methods?

Regards,  
Pit

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/e79b87/32.png) [@KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/KpKpKp)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600/3 "2007-01-11T04:57:32Z")

</div>

Hi,

Yes, the ‘functions’ I’m talking about are not the functions that will  
automatically be executed, and their names don’t start with ‘test…’.

But since they are within the Test::Unit:TestCase class, they have  
access to  
methods such as ‘assert’ etc.

What I need is a way to access and run these functions from an external  
program (a different .rb file). I don’t want these functions to be run  
automatically as unit-testing tests, as I’m using them to test  
functionality  
of a web-based app using the Selenium-RC tool.

Hope I was clearer here… much thanks for your reply.

Kp.

On 1/10/07, Pit C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> entered  
> Regards,  
> Pit

–  
“I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and  
without faith I am nothing.”  
“But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn’t it? It could  
not  
have evolved by chance. It proves that you exist, and so therefore, by  
your  
own arguments, you don’t. Q.E.D.”  
“Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes  
in a  
puff of logic.  
“Oh, that was easy,” says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that  
black  
is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/e79b87/32.png) [@KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/KpKpKp)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2007, 11:33am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600/4 "2007-01-11T11:33:44Z")

</div>

Hi,

No, you didn’t tell me things I already know 🙂 Thanks a LOT for your  
help…

I temporarily got around my troubles by creating a ruby file with the  
functions I needed to be run, 'load’ed the file into the .rb file that  
contains the Test::Unit::TestCase class, and ran it from there.

This worked for me, but your solution appears to be more elegant - I’ll  
be  
switching to the ‘send’ way of doing things.

Thanks again!

Kp.

On 1/11/07, Pit C. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> > program (a different .rb file). I don’t want these functions to be run
> 
> ```
> ["check_successor", "c", "a"],
> rescue Exception
> 
> ```
> 
> Sorry if I told you things you already know. Feel free to ask again if  
> this doesn’t answer your question.
> 
> Regards,  
> Pit

–  
“I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and  
without faith I am nothing.”  
“But,” says Man, “the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn’t it? It could  
not  
have evolved by chance. It proves that you exist, and so therefore, by  
your  
own arguments, you don’t. Q.E.D.”  
“Oh dear,” says God, “I hadn’t thought of that,” and promptly vanishes  
in a  
puff of logic.  
“Oh, that was easy,” says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that  
black  
is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/k/e79b87/32.png) [@KpKpKp](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/KpKpKp)\
**Post date:** [January 11, 2007, 9:41am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/trouble-with-executing-discrete-testcase-functions-within-a/81600/5 "2007-01-11T09:41:01Z")

</div>

Kp schrieb:

> functionality  
> of a web-based app using the Selenium-RC tool.
> 
> Hope I was clearer here… much thanks for your reply.

Kp, why do you put your methods in a subclass of Test::Unit::TestCase?  
If all you need are the assertion methods you can do something like  
this:

require “test/unit/assertions”

class C  
include Test::Unit::Assertions  
def check\_successor a, b  
assert\_equal a, b.succ  
end  
end

c = C.new  
c.check\_successor 2, 1  
c.check\_successor 3, 1 rescue puts $!

# =\> \<3\> expected but was

# =\> \<2\>.

This way the automatic test runner of test/unit isn’t run.

If you have problems calling those methods “from an external program”,  
maybe you should look at the #send method. Continuing the code above:

methods\_to\_run\_with\_args = [  
[“check\_successor”, “b”, “a”],  
[“check\_successor”, “c”, “a”],  
[“check\_successor”, 3, 2],  
[“check\_successor”, 4, 2],  
]

methods\_to\_run\_with\_args.each do |name, \*args|  
begin  
print "running #{name} with #{args.inspect}: "  
c.send name, \*args # \<\<\< here is  
c.send  
rescue Test::Unit::AssertionFailedError  
puts “failed”  
rescue Exception  
puts “error”  
else  
puts “ok”  
end  
end

# =\> running check\_successor with [“b”, “a”]: ok

# =\> running check\_successor with [“c”, “a”]: failed

# =\> running check\_successor with [3, 2]: ok

# =\> running check\_successor with [4, 2]: failed

Sorry if I told you things you already know. Feel free to ask again if  
this doesn’t answer your question.

Regards,  
Pit