rspec users - Jan 2009 - Best way to spec nested modules?...

Hi,

I''ve got a set of classes in nested Ruby modules which I''m
using rspec
to specify:

module Foo

     module Baz

        class C1 ... end

        class C2 ... end
     end
end

To specify C2 behaviour I need to create a bunch of C1 instances:

describe Foo::Baz::C2 do

     before(:each) do
         @c1a = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
         @c1b = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
         @c1c = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)

         @c2 = Foo::Baz::C2.new(@c1a, @c1b, @c1c)
     end

     describe "some behaviour" do
         # ...
     end
end

After a while the many Foo::Baz:: module prefixes become pretty  
tedious and
not particularly DRY.

Can someone suggest a better way to manage using nested modules in  
rspec?

Thanks,

Stu

--
Stuart Hungerford
ANU Supercomputer Facility

Put the describe in the module, and take advantage of Ruby''s lookup
semantics:

module Foo
  module Baz
    describe Class1 do

...

Pat


On 1/25/09, Stuart Hungerford <stuart.hungerford at anu.edu.au>
wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I''ve got a set of classes in nested Ruby modules which
I''m using rspec
> to specify:
>
> module Foo
>
>      module Baz
>
>         class C1 ... end
>
>         class C2 ... end
>      end
> end
>
> To specify C2 behaviour I need to create a bunch of C1 instances:
>
> describe Foo::Baz::C2 do
>
>      before(:each) do
>          @c1a = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
>          @c1b = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
>          @c1c = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
>
>          @c2 = Foo::Baz::C2.new(@c1a, @c1b, @c1c)
>      end
>
>      describe "some behaviour" do
>          # ...
>      end
> end
>
> After a while the many Foo::Baz:: module prefixes become pretty
> tedious and
> not particularly DRY.
>
> Can someone suggest a better way to manage using nested modules in
> rspec?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stu
>
> --
> Stuart Hungerford
> ANU Supercomputer Facility
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> rspec-users mailing list
> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>

On 25/01/2009, at 9:56 PM, Stuart Hungerford wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I''ve got a set of classes in nested Ruby modules which
I''m using
> rspec to specify:
>
> module Foo
>
>    module Baz
>
>       class C1 ... end
>
>       class C2 ... end
>    end
> end
>
> To specify C2 behaviour I need to create a bunch of C1 instances:
>
> describe Foo::Baz::C2 do
>
>    before(:each) do
>        @c1a = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
>        @c1b = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
>        @c1c = Foo::Baz::C1.new(...)
>
>        @c2 = Foo::Baz::C2.new(@c1a, @c1b, @c1c)
>    end
>
>    describe "some behaviour" do
>        # ...
>    end
> end
>
> After a while the many Foo::Baz:: module prefixes become pretty  
> tedious and
> not particularly DRY.
>
> Can someone suggest a better way to manage using nested modules in  
> rspec?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Stu
>
> --
> Stuart Hungerford
> ANU Supercomputer Facility
Hey Stuart. You should also consider using mocks and stubs. Eg:

module Foo
   module Baz
     before :each do
       @c1a = mock_model C1, ...
       @c1b = mock_model C1, ...
       @c1c = mock_model C1, ...

       @c2 = C2.new @c1a, @c1b, @c1c
     end
   end
end

That way, your specs for class C2 aren''t tied to C1''s
implementation.

One other suggestion I''d make is to use more descriptive variable  
names, though "c1a" might simply be for example''s sake, since
we''re
talking about Foo::Baz::C1, etc.

Cheers,
Nick