rspec-spy

RSpec::Spy

This gem allows you to write mock expectations in an AAA (Arrange-Act-Assert) fashion with RSpec::Mocks. It does this by allowing you to declare examples with :spy => true or :spy (if you use config.treat_symbols_as_metadata_keys_with_true_values = true) so that they are effectively executed before everything else. Here's a simple example:

describe "Example" do
  let(:collaborator) { stub.as_null_object }

  before do
    collaborator.message
  end

  it "should receive a message", :spy => true do
    collaborator.should_have_received :message
  end

  it "should not receive other_message", :spy => true do
    collaborator.should_not_have_received :other_message
  end
end

Installation

Add this line to your application's Gemfile in the :test group

gem 'rspec-spy'

And then execute:

$ bundle

Or install it yourself as:

$ gem install rspec-spy

Add to your spec_helper.rb in RSpec.configure AFTER any other global before hooks, especially DatabaseCleaner:

# any config.before hooks should go above

require 'rspec-spy'
config.before(:each, :spy => true) do |example|
  RSpec::Spy(example)
end

Usage

Just tag your examples with :spy => true or :spy (if you use config.treat_symbols_as_metadata_keys_with_true_values = true) You should be able to use all of the functionality from rspec-mocks that you're used to, including spying on class methods.

it "should receive message", :spy => true do
  collaborator.should_have_received :message
end

# with config.treat_symbols_as_metadata_keys_with_true_values = true
it "should receive message", :spy do
  collaborator.should_have_received :message
end

Warnings

• This is a hack, you'll want to make sure everyone on your team is aware of the behavior and these warnings.
• You should probably avoid instance vars and stick to let, it gets confusing because you cannot set them in before blocks and use them in spy blocks. Remember, spy blocks actually happen before before blocks. Example (see the example at the beginning of the readme for the right way):

describe "what not to do" do
  before do
    @collaborator = stub.as_null_object
    @collaborator.message
  end

  # These will fail because @collaborator is nil because this happens
  # before the above before block
  it "should receive a message", :spy => true do
    @collaborator.should_have_received :message
  end

  it "should not receive other_message", :spy => true do
    @collaborator.should_not_have_received :other_message
  end
end

• If your tests depend on the method you are spying on returning something then you'll need to use and_return in your spy block and if you have normal examples you'll also need to stub it. Yes, this is annoying, but that's how rspec-mocks works and it's one of the many reasons you shoudln't mock when the return value matters (just stub). Example:

describe "stubbing and mocking at the same time" do
  let(:collaborator) { stub.as_null_object }
  before do
    collaborator.stub(:message) { 5 }
    @result = collaborator.message

    # This will fail unless you use and_return
    @result.should == 5
  end

  it "should return 5" do
    # This will fail unless you stub in before
    @result.should == 5
  end

  it "should receive a message", :spy => true do
    collaborator.should_have_received(:message).and_return(5)
  end
end

Alternatives

• matahari
• bourne
• rspec-spies
• gimme
• fakes-rspec

Contributing

• Fork it
• Create your feature branch (git checkout -b my-new-feature)
• Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Added some feature')
• Push to the branch (git push origin my-new-feature)
• Create new Pull Request