Before(:all) to set up mocks and stubs

Testing RSpec
1

Hi

I’m upgrading an application to rspec2/rails3. A certain suite of tests,
that generates a pdf document, uses a before(:all) filter to set the
environment using mocks and stubs. Then the pdf gets generated and after
that all the tests run on that same pdf document. In rspec2 it seems
like I can only use mocks and stubs in in before(:each) filters (thus
not in before(:all) filters). Has this been changed, or is this supposed
to work (I may be doing something wrong)?

Thanks

2

I know that generally it is not considered best practice to user
before(:all) and after(:all) as state is shared between all examples,
which
is a unit-testing anti-pattern. The rspec book recommends setting up
fixtures and environment for each example. Perhaps to drive this point
home,
support for this method has been dropped in rspec2? (just a guess)
Bayard Randel
nocturne.net.nz

3

On Jul 13, 2010, at 7:25 AM, Ivo D. wrote:

Hi

I’m upgrading an application to rspec2/rails3. A certain suite of tests, that generates a pdf document, uses a before(:all) filter to set the environment using mocks and stubs. Then the pdf gets generated and after that all the tests run on that same pdf document. In rspec2 it seems like I can only use mocks and stubs in in before(:each) filters (thus not in before(:all) filters). Has this been changed, or is this supposed to work (I may be doing something wrong)?

This should never have worked. Mocks and stubs are cleared out after
each example, which means that even if you set them up before(:all),
they’ll only be set for the first example that runs, after which they go
away.

It sounds like you were unknowingly exploiting an unintentional feature.

HTH,
David

4

Thanks for your answers. I’ll use a fixture replacement to set up the
environment.

I know that this (using before(:all) to setup a state) is not a best
practice. In this case however, I would consider my approach to be
acceptable as the pdf takes a long time to generate. All tests run on
the same pdf so generating it 30 times would be a waste of time and
effort.

Using mocks and stubs made the generating part even more efficient.
Making real objects will do the job just a tiny bit slower. I can live
with that. Thanks again.

Op 14-jul-2010, om 00:19 heeft David C. het volgende geschreven: