RSpec Essentials

Key Features

• Explore the concept of testability and how to implement tests that deliver the most value
• Maximize the quality of your Ruby code through a wide variety of tests
• Master the real-world tradeoffs of testing through detailed examples supported by in-depth discussion

Book Description

This book will teach you how to use RSpec to write high-value tests for real-world code. We start with the key concepts of the unit and testability, followed by hands-on exploration of key features. From the beginning, we learn how to integrate tests into the overall development process to help create high-quality code, avoiding the dangers of testing for its own sake.

We build up sample applications and their corresponding tests step by step, from simple beginnings to more sophisticated versions that include databases and external web services. We devote three chapters to web applications with rich JavaScript user interfaces, building one from the ground up using behavior-driven development (BDD) and test-driven development (TDD).

The code examples are detailed enough to be realistic while simple enough to be easily understood. Testing concepts, development methodologies, and engineering tradeoffs are discussed in detail as they arise. This approach is designed to foster the reader's ability to make well-informed decisions on their own.

What you will learn

• Identify a unit of software for the purposes of testing
• Manage test states with hooks, fixtures, and mocks
• Handle external web services in tests using various techniques
• Configure RSpec flexibly and cleanly using support code and environment variables
• Interact with rich web apps in tests using Capybara
• Build the right feature with behavior-driven development
• Customize matchers and failure messages
• Verify correct development and production environments

About the Author

Mani Tadayon first learned to program as a shy 7th grader on an Apple IIe using BASIC. He went on to learn Pascal, C++, Java, JavaScript, Visual Basic, and PHP before becoming a Ruby developer in 2008. With 15 years of experience in the software industry, he has developed expertise in web development, infrastructure, and testing. Mani's interests and education are broad, with degrees in foreign languages, computer science, and geography. He lives just far enough from Silicon Valley with his family and their many, many Shiba Inus.

Table of Contents

1. Exploring Testability from Unit Tests to Behavior-Driven Development
2. Specifying Behavior with Examples and Matchers
3. Taking Control of State with Doubles and Hooks
4. Setting Up and Cleaning Up
5. Simulating External Services
6. Driving a Web Browser with Capybara
7. Building an App from the Outside In with Behavior-Driven Development
8. Tackling the Challenges of End-to-end Testing
9. Configurability
10. Odds and Ends