rspec users - Mar 2010 - Gem tutorials / setting up rspec in a gem

Hey everyone!

A few days ago, I tried my hand at creating a gem. I''ve been putting it
off
for a long time because of the lack of documentation (or the lack of my
Googling skills). When I search how to create gems with RSpec, I get pages
that talk about gem templates with the rspec option, as if that would solve
it all.

If there are no tutorials, maybe I could ask for your help in setting it up
for a gem:

Backgrounder
I''m asking because it''s a bit frustrating doing things by
trial and error. A
lot of the problems I''ve come across were that the files that
rspec-rails
loads for me aren''t automatically available in the gem, so I have to
manually include it. It became a problem when I had to test an ActiveRecord
model, and worse when I had to test a controller. Currently, I''m stuck
at
the point where "get", "put", "post",
"delete" aren''t available in the spec.
I asked about it in StackOverflow and got the
answer<http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2543885/why-dont-rspecs-methods-get-post-put-delete-work-in-a-controller-sp>,
but it doesn''t explain what I have to do to basically replicate those
methods.

What did I do?
As part of my trial and error process, I started including what rspec-rails
includes
http://github.com/dchelimsky/rspec-rails/blob/master/lib/spec/rails.rb, and
the REST actions don''t seem to trigger an undefined error anymore, but
now
there''s another "uninitialized constant Rails". So.. before I
go further,
maybe I''m approaching this wrong since I''m having such a
difficult time.

What''s the best way to go about this? Is there a way to maybe include
Rails
and everything it has, for testing purposes? I know that you''re
supposed to
make gems framework agnostic but for brevity''s sake (and for my own
sanity)
I''m willing to make it very plugin-like for now. I''ve been
reading and
researching for 3 days you see :)

Thanks, and I apologize for the novel!
Ramon Tayag
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On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 12:17 PM, Ramon Tayag <ramon.tayag at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hey everyone!
>
> A few days ago, I tried my hand at creating a gem. I''ve been
putting it off
> for a long time because of the lack of documentation (or the lack of my
> Googling skills). When I search how to create gems with RSpec, I get pages
> that talk about gem templates with the rspec option, as if that would solve
> it all.
>
>
Have you tried jeweler? Try this:

gem install jeweler
jeweler --help
jeweler --rspec --summary "My awesome gem, which solves problems"
--description "The awesome gem" awesome
cd awesome
rake -T
rake spec # write a real spec
rake version:write
rake install

See the Jeweler docs for more:
http://wiki.github.com/technicalpickles/jeweler/

If there are no tutorials, maybe I could ask for your help in setting it
up
> for a gem:
>
> Backgrounder
> I''m asking because it''s a bit frustrating doing things by
trial and error.
> A lot of the problems I''ve come across were that the files that
rspec-rails
> loads for me aren''t automatically available in the gem, so I have
to
> manually include it. It became a problem when I had to test an ActiveRecord
> model, and worse when I had to test a controller. Currently, I''m
stuck at
> the point where "get", "put", "post",
"delete" aren''t available in the spec.
> I asked about it in StackOverflow and got the
answer<http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2543885/why-dont-rspecs-methods-get-post-put-delete-work-in-a-controller-sp>,
> but it doesn''t explain what I have to do to basically replicate
those
> methods.
>
> What did I do?
> As part of my trial and error process, I started including what rspec-rails
> includes
> http://github.com/dchelimsky/rspec-rails/blob/master/lib/spec/rails.rb,
> and the REST actions don''t seem to trigger an undefined error
anymore, but
> now there''s another "uninitialized constant Rails". So..
before I go
> further, maybe I''m approaching this wrong since I''m
having such a difficult
> time.
>
> What''s the best way to go about this? Is there a way to maybe
include Rails
> and everything it has, for testing purposes? I know that you''re
supposed to
> make gems framework agnostic but for brevity''s sake (and for my
own sanity)
> I''m willing to make it very plugin-like for now. I''ve
been reading and
> researching for 3 days you see :)
>
>
I''m not sure what your gem does, but if it has dependencies on Rails,
the
easiest way to develop it (in my experience) is to have a separate Rails app
that _uses_ your gem, and that is not part of the gem''s source code.
Then
that Rails app could have specs (and maybe Cucumber features) that rely on
the correct implementation of your gem.

Maybe you could say a little more about what your gem does?

Aslak

> Thanks, and I apologize for the novel!
> Ramon Tayag
>
> _______________________________________________
> rspec-users mailing list
> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>
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Thanks for your reply aslak. Since then I''ve tried another approach -
having
a sample Rails application in the spec folder, much like
shoulda<http://github.com/thoughtbot/shoulda/tree/master/test/rails_root/>.
Still haven''t gotten it to work, but I''ll try anyway.

If I have a separate Rails app (which sounds MUCH easier to do - thank you),
won''t it be slow doing TDD because I''d have to publish my gem,
update it in
the Rails app, run tests, then back to the gem source code to make changes?

I wasn''t too ambitious with my first gem. It allows subscriptions. The
name
"acts_as_subscribable" should be descriptive enough :)

Ramon Tayag

On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 7:09 PM, aslak hellesoy <aslak.hellesoy at
gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 12:17 PM, Ramon Tayag <ramon.tayag at
gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Hey everyone!
>>
>> A few days ago, I tried my hand at creating a gem. I''ve been
putting it
>> off for a long time because of the lack of documentation (or the lack
of my
>> Googling skills). When I search how to create gems with RSpec, I get
pages
>> that talk about gem templates with the rspec option, as if that would
solve
>> it all.
>>
>>
> Have you tried jeweler? Try this:
>
> gem install jeweler
> jeweler --help
> jeweler --rspec --summary "My awesome gem, which solves problems"
> --description "The awesome gem" awesome
> cd awesome
> rake -T
> rake spec # write a real spec
> rake version:write
> rake install
>
> See the Jeweler docs for more:
> http://wiki.github.com/technicalpickles/jeweler/
>
> If there are no tutorials, maybe I could ask for your help in setting it up
>> for a gem:
>>
>> Backgrounder
>> I''m asking because it''s a bit frustrating doing
things by trial and error.
>> A lot of the problems I''ve come across were that the files
that rspec-rails
>> loads for me aren''t automatically available in the gem, so I
have to
>> manually include it. It became a problem when I had to test an
ActiveRecord
>> model, and worse when I had to test a controller. Currently,
I''m stuck at
>> the point where "get", "put", "post",
"delete" aren''t available in the spec.
>> I asked about it in StackOverflow and got the
answer<http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2543885/why-dont-rspecs-methods-get-post-put-delete-work-in-a-controller-sp>,
>> but it doesn''t explain what I have to do to basically
replicate those
>> methods.
>>
>> What did I do?
>> As part of my trial and error process, I started including what
>> rspec-rails includes
>> http://github.com/dchelimsky/rspec-rails/blob/master/lib/spec/rails.rb,
>> and the REST actions don''t seem to trigger an undefined error
anymore, but
>> now there''s another "uninitialized constant Rails".
So.. before I go
>> further, maybe I''m approaching this wrong since I''m
having such a difficult
>> time.
>>
>> What''s the best way to go about this? Is there a way to maybe
include
>> Rails and everything it has, for testing purposes? I know that
you''re
>> supposed to make gems framework agnostic but for brevity''s
sake (and for my
>> own sanity) I''m willing to make it very plugin-like for now.
I''ve been
>> reading and researching for 3 days you see :)
>>
>>
> I''m not sure what your gem does, but if it has dependencies on
Rails, the
> easiest way to develop it (in my experience) is to have a separate Rails
app
> that _uses_ your gem, and that is not part of the gem''s source
code. Then
> that Rails app could have specs (and maybe Cucumber features) that rely on
> the correct implementation of your gem.
>
> Maybe you could say a little more about what your gem does?
>
> Aslak
>
>
>>  Thanks, and I apologize for the novel!
>> Ramon Tayag
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> rspec-users mailing list
>> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
>> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> rspec-users mailing list
> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>
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Oh and yes, I''m using jeweler. :)

Ramon Tayag

On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 7:09 PM, aslak hellesoy <aslak.hellesoy at
gmail.com>wrote:
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 12:17 PM, Ramon Tayag <ramon.tayag at
gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Hey everyone!
>>
>> A few days ago, I tried my hand at creating a gem. I''ve been
putting it
>> off for a long time because of the lack of documentation (or the lack
of my
>> Googling skills). When I search how to create gems with RSpec, I get
pages
>> that talk about gem templates with the rspec option, as if that would
solve
>> it all.
>>
>>
> Have you tried jeweler? Try this:
>
> gem install jeweler
> jeweler --help
> jeweler --rspec --summary "My awesome gem, which solves problems"
> --description "The awesome gem" awesome
> cd awesome
> rake -T
> rake spec # write a real spec
> rake version:write
> rake install
>
> See the Jeweler docs for more:
> http://wiki.github.com/technicalpickles/jeweler/
>
> If there are no tutorials, maybe I could ask for your help in setting it up
>> for a gem:
>>
>> Backgrounder
>> I''m asking because it''s a bit frustrating doing
things by trial and error.
>> A lot of the problems I''ve come across were that the files
that rspec-rails
>> loads for me aren''t automatically available in the gem, so I
have to
>> manually include it. It became a problem when I had to test an
ActiveRecord
>> model, and worse when I had to test a controller. Currently,
I''m stuck at
>> the point where "get", "put", "post",
"delete" aren''t available in the spec.
>> I asked about it in StackOverflow and got the
answer<http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2543885/why-dont-rspecs-methods-get-post-put-delete-work-in-a-controller-sp>,
>> but it doesn''t explain what I have to do to basically
replicate those
>> methods.
>>
>> What did I do?
>> As part of my trial and error process, I started including what
>> rspec-rails includes
>> http://github.com/dchelimsky/rspec-rails/blob/master/lib/spec/rails.rb,
>> and the REST actions don''t seem to trigger an undefined error
anymore, but
>> now there''s another "uninitialized constant Rails".
So.. before I go
>> further, maybe I''m approaching this wrong since I''m
having such a difficult
>> time.
>>
>> What''s the best way to go about this? Is there a way to maybe
include
>> Rails and everything it has, for testing purposes? I know that
you''re
>> supposed to make gems framework agnostic but for brevity''s
sake (and for my
>> own sanity) I''m willing to make it very plugin-like for now.
I''ve been
>> reading and researching for 3 days you see :)
>>
>>
> I''m not sure what your gem does, but if it has dependencies on
Rails, the
> easiest way to develop it (in my experience) is to have a separate Rails
app
> that _uses_ your gem, and that is not part of the gem''s source
code. Then
> that Rails app could have specs (and maybe Cucumber features) that rely on
> the correct implementation of your gem.
>
> Maybe you could say a little more about what your gem does?
>
> Aslak
>
>
>>  Thanks, and I apologize for the novel!
>> Ramon Tayag
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> rspec-users mailing list
>> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
>> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> rspec-users mailing list
> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>
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Hi Ramon,

Just a thought or 2.

I''d still test/spec your gem outside of any Rails app, and I
wouldn''t
use a sample Rails app in the spec folder.

It sounds to me that you are writing a ''acts_as_xxxxx'' type
extension
to ActiveRecord. You should only need the AR gem installed as a
development dep for the gem.

You''d need:
    gem.add_development_dependency "factory_girl", ">= 0"
    gem.add_development_dependency "rspec", ">= 0"
    gem.add_dependency ''activerecord'', ">= 2.3"

in your Rakefile. Note the use of FactoryGirl. This should help you
fake stuff out for testing. No need for the full Rails stack, when all
you need is to create
some models.

In my case, I created a models folder in my gem and put my usual model
files in there. Then I require all of them in a Dir[].each block in my
soec_helper.rb.
With FactoryGirl, you don''t even need to require them first, but in
your case you probably need to to get the ''acts_as_xxxx''
functionality.

HTH


Cheers,
Ed

Ed Howland
http://greenprogrammer.wordpress.com
http://twitter.com/ed_howland



On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 11:22 AM, Ramon Tayag <ramon.tayag at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Thanks for your reply aslak. Since then I''ve tried another
approach - having
> a sample Rails application in the spec folder, much like shoulda. Still
> haven''t gotten it to work, but I''ll try anyway.
> If I have a separate Rails app (which sounds MUCH easier to do - thank
you),
> won''t it be slow doing TDD because I''d have to publish my
gem, update it in
> the Rails app, run tests, then back to the gem source code to make changes?
> I wasn''t too ambitious with my first gem. It allows subscriptions.
The name
> "acts_as_subscribable" should be descriptive enough :)
>
> Ramon Tayag
>
> On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 7:09 PM, aslak hellesoy <aslak.hellesoy at
gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 30, 2010 at 12:17 PM, Ramon Tayag <ramon.tayag at
gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hey everyone!
>>>
>>> A few days ago, I tried my hand at creating a gem. I''ve
been putting it
>>> off for a long time because of the lack of documentation (or the
lack of my
>>> Googling skills). When I search how to create gems with RSpec, I
get pages
>>> that talk about gem templates with the rspec option, as if that
would solve
>>> it all.
>>
>> Have you tried jeweler? Try this:
>>
>> gem install jeweler
>> jeweler --help
>> jeweler --rspec --summary "My awesome gem, which solves
problems"
>> --description "The awesome gem" awesome
>> cd awesome
>> rake -T
>> rake spec # write a real spec
>> rake version:write
>> rake install
>>
>> See the Jeweler docs for more:
>> http://wiki.github.com/technicalpickles/jeweler/
>>
>>> If there are no tutorials, maybe I could ask for your help in
setting it
>>> up for a gem:
>>>
>>> Backgrounder
>>> I''m asking because it''s a bit frustrating doing
things by trial and
>>> error. A lot of the problems I''ve come across were that
the files that
>>> rspec-rails loads for me aren''t automatically available in
the gem, so I
>>> have to manually include it. It became a problem when I had to test
an
>>> ActiveRecord model, and worse when I had to test a controller.
Currently,
>>> I''m stuck at the point where "get",
"put", "post", "delete" aren''t available
>>> in the spec. I asked about it in StackOverflow and got the answer,
but it
>>> doesn''t explain what I have to do to basically replicate
those methods.
>>> What did I do?
>>> As part of my trial and error process, I started including what
>>> rspec-rails
>>>
includes?http://github.com/dchelimsky/rspec-rails/blob/master/lib/spec/rails.rb,
>>> and the REST actions don''t seem to trigger an undefined
error anymore, but
>>> now there''s another "uninitialized constant
Rails". So.. before I go
>>> further, maybe I''m approaching this wrong since
I''m having such a difficult
>>> time.
>>> What''s the best way to go about this? Is there a way to
maybe include
>>> Rails and everything it has, for testing purposes? I know that
you''re
>>> supposed to make gems framework agnostic but for brevity''s
sake (and for my
>>> own sanity) I''m willing to make it very plugin-like for
now. I''ve been
>>> reading and researching for 3 days you see :)
>>
>> I''m not sure what your gem does, but if it has dependencies on
Rails, the
>> easiest way to develop it (in my experience) is to have a separate
Rails app
>> that _uses_ your gem, and that is not part of the gem''s source
code. Then
>> that Rails app could have specs (and maybe Cucumber features) that rely
on
>> the correct implementation of your gem.
>>
>> Maybe you could say a little more about what your gem does?
>>
>> Aslak
>>
>>>
>>> Thanks, and I apologize for the novel!
>>> Ramon Tayag
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> rspec-users mailing list
>>> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
>>> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> rspec-users mailing list
>> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
>> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> rspec-users mailing list
> rspec-users at rubyforge.org
> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/rspec-users
>

Thanks Ed I''ll give this a shot too. I was able to get the
activerecord part working though. My problem was testing the
controller that I wanted to generate for the rails app.

Things that I''m used to being in the controller spec (get, put, etc)
aren''t, because this RSpec installation is outside of rails. If I
could do this without putting a whole app I''d gladly do so as it
sounds cleaner.

Those methods come from
action_controller/test_unit or active_support/test_unit. I tried
including both but it didn''t work, and it''s still fuzzy to me.

Now, if I waste too much time figuring this out, I may just do what
aslak suggested: put those tests in a rails app and write tests for
the app that is using this gem. In my mind it sounds slow, as aslak
probably has an automatic method to do this, but it definitely sounds
easier than learning what needs to be included/required.

On Wednesday, March 31, 2010, Ed Howland <ed.howland at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi Ramon,
>
> Just a thought or 2.
>
> I''d still test/spec your gem outside of any Rails app, and I
wouldn''t
> use a sample Rails app in the spec folder.
>
> It sounds to me that you are writing a ''acts_as_xxxxx''
type extension
> to ActiveRecord. You should only need the AR gem installed as a
> development dep for the gem.
>
> You''d need:
>  ? ?gem.add_development_dependency "factory_girl", ">=
0"
>  ? ?gem.add_development_dependency "rspec", ">= 0"
>  ? ?gem.add_dependency ''activerecord'', ">=
2.3"
>
> in your Rakefile. Note the use of FactoryGirl. This should help you
> fake stuff out for testing. No need for the full Rails stack, when all
> you need is to create
> some models.
>
> In my case, I created a models folder in my gem and put my usual model
> files in there. Then I require all of them in a Dir[].each block in my
> soec_helper.rb.
> With FactoryGirl, you don''t even need to require them first, but
in
> your case you probably need to to get the ''acts_as_xxxx''
> functionality.
>
> HTH
>
>
> Cheers,
> Ed
>
> Ed Howland
> http://greenprogrammer.wordpress.com
> http://twitter.com/ed_howland
-- 
Ramon Tayag
-
what you think, we ink
http://theinksquad.com