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Given/When/Then for RSpec and Minitest

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Covering rspec-given, minitest-given, and given-core, version 3.5.3.

rspec-given and minitest-given are extensions to your favorite testing framework to allow Given/When/Then notation when writing specs.

Why Given/When/Then

RSpec has done a great job of making specifications more readable for humans. However, I really like the given/when/then nature of Cucumber stories and would like to follow the same structure in my unit tests. rspec-given (and now minitest-given) allows a simple given/when/then structure RSpec specifications.

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RSpec/Given

The rspec-given gem is the original given/when/then extension for RSpec. It now depends on a given_core gem for the basic functionality and then adds the RSpec specific code.

Minitest/Given

A new minitest-given gem allows Given/When/Then notation directly in Minitest::Spec specifications.

To use minitest-given, just place the following require at the top of the file (or in a convenient spec_helper).

require 'minitest/given'

All the features of rspec-given are available in minitest-given.

When switching from RSpec/Given to Minitest/Given, here are some things to watch out for:

Auto Selecting

If you use natural assertions exclusively in your specs, it's quite possible to write specs that run under both RSpec and Minitest::Spec.

Use this at the start of your spec file:

if defined?(RSpec)
  require 'rspec/given'
else
  require 'minitest/autorun'
  require 'minitest/given'
end

See stack_spec.rb and example_helper.rb

Installation

If you are using bundler

Add rspec-given (or minitest-given) to the :test group in the Gemfile:

group :test do
  gem 'rspec-given'
end

group :test do
  gem 'minitest-given'
end

Download and install:

$ bundle

Then just require rspec/given (or minitest/given) in the spec_helper of your project and it is ready to go.

If you are not using bundler

Install the gem:

$ gem install rspec-given

or

$ gem install minitest-given

Then just require rspec/given (or minitest/given) in the spec_helper of your project and it is ready to go.

Example

Here is a specification written in the rspec-given framework:

require 'rspec/given'
require 'spec_helper'
require 'stack'

describe Stack do
  def stack_with(initial_contents)
    stack = Stack.new
    initial_contents.each do |item| stack.push(item) end
    stack
  end

  Given(:stack) { stack_with(initial_contents) }
  Invariant { stack.empty? == (stack.depth == 0) }

  context "with no items" do
    Given(:initial_contents) { [] }
    Then { stack.depth == 0 }

    context "when pushing" do
      When { stack.push(:an_item) }

      Then { stack.depth == 1 }
      Then { stack.top == :an_item }
    end

    context "when popping" do
      When(:result) { stack.pop }
      Then { result == Failure(Stack::UnderflowError, /empty/) }
    end
  end

  context "with one item" do
    Given(:initial_contents) { [:an_item] }

    context "when popping" do
      When(:pop_result) { stack.pop }

      Then { pop_result == :an_item }
      Then { stack.depth == 0 }
    end
  end

  context "with several items" do
    Given(:initial_contents) { [:second_item, :top_item] }
    Given!(:original_depth) { stack.depth }

    context "when pushing" do
      When { stack.push(:new_item) }

      Then { stack.top == :new_item }
      Then { stack.depth == original_depth + 1 }
    end

    context "when popping" do
      When(:pop_result) { stack.pop }

      Then { pop_result == :top_item }
      Then { stack.top == :second_item }
      Then { stack.depth == original_depth - 1 }
    end
  end
end

Let's talk about the individual statements used in the Given framework.

Given

The Given section specifies a starting point, a set of preconditions that must be true before the code under test is allowed to be run. In standard test frameworks the preconditions are established with a combination of setup methods (or :before actions in RSpec) and code in the test.

In the example code above the preconditions are started with Given statements. A top level Given (that applies to the entire describe block) says that one of the preconditions is that there is a stack with some initial contents.

Note that initial contents are not specified in the top level describe block, but are given in each of the nested contexts. By pushing the definition of "initial_contents" into the nested contexts, we can vary them as needed for that particular context.

A precondition in the form "Given(:var) {...}" creates an accessor method named "var". The accessor is lazily initialized by the code block. If you want a non-lazy given, use "Given!(:var) {...}".

A precondition in the form "Given {...}" just executes the code block for side effects. Since there is no accessor, the code block is executed immediately (i.e. no lazy evaluation).

The preconditions are run in order of definition. Nested contexts will inherit the preconditions from the enclosing context, with outer preconditions running before inner preconditions.

Given examples:

    Given(:stack) { Stack.new }

The block for the given clause is lazily run and its value bound to 'stack' if 'stack' is ever referenced in the test. The first reference to 'stack' in the specification will cause the code block to execute. Futher references to 'stack' will reuse the previously generated value.

    Given!(:original_size) { stack.size }

The code block is run unconditionally once before each test and the value of the block is bound to 'original_size'. This form is useful when you want to record the value of something that might be affected by the When code.

    Given { stack.clear }

The block for the given clause is run unconditionally once before each test. This form of given is used for code that is executed for side effects.

When

The When clause specifies the code to be tested ... oops, excuse me ... specified. After the preconditions in the given section are met, the when code block is run.

In general there should not be more than one When clause for a given direct context. However, a When in an outer context will be run after all the Givens but before the inner When. You can think of an outer When as setting up additional given state for the inner When.

E.g.

    context "outer context" do
      When { code specified in the outer context }
      Then { assert something about the outer context }

      context "inner context" do

        # At this point, the _When_ of the outer context will be run
        # before the _When_ of then inner context (but after all the
        # _Givens_ of all the contexts).  You can think of the outer
        # _When_ as a special given for the inner scope.

        When { code specified in the inner context }
        Then { assert something about the inner context }
      end
    end

When examples:

    When { stack.push(:item) }

The code block is executed once per test. The effect of the When{} block is very similar to Given{}. However, When is used to identify the particular code that is being specified in the current context or describe block.

    When(:result) { stack.pop }

The code block is executed once per test and the value of the code block is bound to 'result'. Use this form when the code under test returns a value that you wish to interrogate in the Then code.

If an exception occurs during the execution of the block for the When clause, the exception is caught and a failure object is bound to 'result'. The failure can be checked in a then block with the 'have_failed' matcher.

The failure object will rethrow the captured exception if anything other than have_failed matcher is used on the failure object.

For example, if the stack is empty when it is popped, then it is reasonable for pop to raise an UnderflowError. This is how you might specify that behavior:

    When(:result) { stack.pop }
    Then { expect(result).to have_failed(UnderflowError, /empty/) }

The arguments to the 'have_failed' matcher are the same as those given to the standard RSpec matcher 'raise_error'.

NOTE: Prior to RSpec 3, the .should method worked with the failed result. In RSpec 3 the <code>.should</code> method is deprecated and should not be used with the failed result.

Then

The Then clauses are the postconditions of the specification. These then conditions must be true after the code under test (the When clause) is run.

The code in the block of a Then clause should be a single should assertion. Code in Then clauses should not have any side effects.

Let me repeat that: <b>Then clauses should not have any side effects!</b> Then clauses with side effects are erroneous. Then clauses need to be idempotent, so that running them once, twice, a hundred times, or never does not change the state of the program. (The same is true of And and Invariant clauses).

In RSpec terms, a Then clause forms a RSpec Example that runs in the context of an Example Group (defined by a describe or context clause).

Each Example Group must have at least one Then clause, otherwise there will be no examples to be run for that group. If all the assertions in an example group are done via Invariants, then the group should use an empty Then clause, like this:

    Then { }

Then examples:

    Then { stack.empty? }

After the related block for the When clause is run, the stack should be empty. If it is not empty, the test will fail.

And

The And clause is similar to Then, but does not form its own RSpec example. This means that And clauses reuse the setup from a sibling Then clause. Using a single Then and multiple And clauses in an example group means the setup for that group is run only once (for the Then clause) and reused for all the And clauses. This can be a significant speed savings where the setup for an example group is expensive.

Some things to keep in mind about And clauses:

The choice to use an And clause is primarily a speed consideration. If an example group has expensive setup and there are a lot of Then clauses, then choosing to make some of the Then clauses into And clauses will speed up the spec. Otherwise it is probably better to stick with Then clauses.

Then/And examples:

  Then { pop_result == :top_item }           # Required
  And  { stack.top == :second_item }         # No Setup rerun
  And  { stack.depth == original_depth - 1 } # ... for these

Invariant

The Invariant clause is a new idea that doesn't have an analog in RSpec or Test::Unit. The invariant allows you specify things that must always be true in the scope of the invariant. In the stack example, the method <tt>empty?</tt> is defined in term of <tt>size</tt>.

  Invariant { stack.empty? == (stack.depth == 0) }

This invariant states that <code>empty?</code> is true if and only if the stack depth is zero, and that assertion is checked at every Then clause that is in the same scope.

You can conceptually think of an Invariant clause as a Then block that automatically gets added to every Then within its scope. Invariants nested within a context only apply to the Then clauses that are in the scope of that context.

Invariants that reference a Given precondition accessor must only be used in contexts that define that accessor.

Notes:

Execution Ordering

When running the test for a specific Then clause, the following will be true:

Note that the ordering between Given clauses and before blocks are not strongly specified. Hoisting a When clause out of an inner scope to an outer scope may change the order of execution between related Given clauses and any before blocks (hoisting the When clause might cause the related Given clauses to possibly run earlier). Because of this, do not split order dependent code between Given clauses and before blocks.

Natural Assertions

RSpec/Given now supports the use of "natural assertions" in Then, And, and Invariant blocks. Natural assertions are just Ruby conditionals, without the should or expect methods that RSpec provides.

When using natural assertions, the value of the Then expression determines the pass/fail state of the test. If the expression is true, the test passes. If the test is false, the test fails.

If the Then expression executes an RSpec (or MiniTest) assertion (e.g. uses <code>should</code>, <code>expect</code> or <code>assert_xxx</code>), then the true/false value will be ignored. This allows natural assertions and regular assertions clauses to be intermixed at will.

In addition, if the value of a Then class returns an object that responds to <code>to_bool</code>, then <code>to_bool</code> will be called and the return value of that will be used to determine if the test passed or failed.

Here are the Then/And examples showing natural assertions:

Using Natural Assertions

  Then { stack.top == :second_item }
  Then { stack.depth == original_depth - 1 }
  Then { result == Failure(Stack::UnderflowError, /empty/) }

Using RSpec expect().to

  Then { expect(stack.top).to eq(:second_item) }
  Then { expect(stack.depth).to eq(original_depth - 1) }
  Then { expect(result).to have_failed(Stack::UnderflowError, /empty/) }

Using Minitest asserts

  Then { assert_equal :second_item, stack.top }
  Then { assert_equal original_depth - 1, stack.depth }
  Then {
    assert_raises(Stack::UnderflowError, /empty/) do
      result.call()
    end
  }

Using Minitest expectations

  Then { stack.top.must_equal :second_item }
  Then { stack.depth.must_equal original_depth - 1}
  Then { result.must_raise(Stack::UnderflowError, /empty/) }

Disabling Natural Assertions

Natural assertions may be disabled, either globally or on a per context basis. See the configuration section below to see how to disable natural assertions project wide.

Here's a heads up: If you use natural assertions, but configure Given to disable them, then all your specs will mysteriously pass. This is why the red part of Red/Green/Refactor is so important.

Failure Messages with Natural Assertions

Since natural assertions do not depend upon matchers, you don't get customized error messages from them. What you do get is a complete analsysis of the expression that failed.

For example, given the following failing specification:

  Given.use_natural_assertions

  describe "Natural Assertions" do
    Given(:foo) { 1 }
    Given(:bar) { 2 }
    Then { foo + bar == 2 }
  end

You would get:

  1) Natural Assertions
     Failure/Error: Then { foo + bar == 2 }
       Then expression failed at /Users/jim/working/git/rspec-given/examples/failing/sample_spec.rb:6
       expected: 3
       to equal: 2
         false   <- foo + bar == 2
         3       <- foo + bar
         1       <- foo
         2       <- bar
     # ./examples/failing/sample_spec.rb:6:in `block in Then'

Notice how the failing expression "<code>foo+bar == 2</code>" was broken down into subexpressions and values for each subexpression. This gives you all the information you need to figure out exactly what part of the expression is causing the failure.

Natural assertions will give additional information (e.g. "expected: 3 to equal: 2") for top level expressions involving any of the comparison operators (==, !=, <, <=, >, >=) or matching operators (=, !).

Checking for exceptions with Natural Assertions

If you wish to see if the result of a When clause is an exception, you can use the following:

    When(:result) { stack.pop }
    Then { result == Failure(UnderflowError, /empty/) }

The <code>Failure()</code> method accepts the same arguments as <code>have_failed</code> and <code>raise_error</code>.

Caveats on Natural Assertions

Keep the following in mind when using natural assertions.

That last point is important. If you write code like this:

  # DO NOT WRITE CODE LIKE THIS
  context "Incorrect non-idempotent conditions" do
    Given(:ary) { [1, 2, 3] }
    Then { ary.delete(1) == nil }
  end

Then the assertion will fail (because <code>ary.delete(1)</code> will initially return 1). But when the error message is formated, the system reports that <code>ary.delete(1)</code> returns nil. You will scratch your head over that for a good while.

Instead, move the state changing code into a When(:result) block, then assert what you need to about :result. Something like this is good:

  context "Correct idempotent conditions" do
    Given(:ary) { [1, 2, 3] }
    When(:result) { ary.delete(1) }
    Then { result == nil }
  end

It is good to note that non-idempotent assertions will also cause problems with And and Invariant clauses.

Mixing Natural Assertions and RSpec Assertions

Natural assertions, RSpec should assertions and Minitest assertions can be intermixed in a single test suite, even within a single context.

  context "Outer" do
    context "Inner" do
      Then { a == b }               # Natural Assertions
      Then { a.should == b }        # Deprecated RSpec style
      Then { expect(a).to eq(b) }   # RSpec style
      Then { assert_equal b, a }    # Minitest style
      Then { a.must_equal b }       # Minitest style
    end

    context "Disabled" do
      use_natural_assertions false
    end
  end

Both the Outer and Inner contexts will use natural assertions. The Disabled context overrides the setting inherited from Outer and will not process natural assertions.

See the configuration section below to see how to disable natural assertions project wide.

Matchers and Natural Assertions

In RSpec, matchers are used to provide nice, readable error messages when an assertion is not met. Natural assertions provide self-explanatory failure messages for most things without requiring any special matchers from the programmer.

In the rare case that some extra information would be helpful, it is useful to create special objects that respond to the == operator.

Asserting Nearly Equal with Fuzzy Numbers

Operations on floating point numbers rarely create numbers that are exactly equal, therefore it is useful to assert that two floating point numbers are nearly equal. We do that by creating a fuzzy number that has a looser interpretation of what it means to be equal.

For example, the following asserts that the square root of 10 is about 3.1523 with an accuracy of 1 percent.

    Then { Math.sqrt(10) == about(3.1623).percent(1) }

As long as the real value of <code>Math.sqrt(10)</code> is within plus or minus 1% of 3.1623 (i.e. 3.1623 +/- 0.031623), then the assertion will pass.

There are several ways of creating fuzzy numbers:

When the file <code>given/fuzzy_shortcuts</code> is required, the following unicode shortcut methods are added to Numeric to create fuzzy numbers.

Detecting Exceptions

The RSpec matcher used for detecting exceptions will work with natural assertions out of the box. Just check for equality against the <code>Failure()</code> method return value.

For example, the following two Then clauses are equivalent:

    # Using an RSpec matcher
    Then { expect(result).to have_failed(StandardError, /message/) }

    # Using natural assertions
    Then { result == Failure(StandardError, /message/) }

Processing Natural Assertions

When natural assertions are enabled, they are only used if all of the following are true:

  1. The block does not throw an RSpec assertion failure (or any other exception for that matter).

  2. The block returns false (blocks that return true pass the assertion and don't need a failure message).

  3. The block does not use the native frameworks assertions or expectations (e.g. RSpec's should or expect methods, or Minitest's assert_xxx or must_xxx methods).

Detecting that last point (the use of should and expect) is done by modifying the RSpec runtime to report uses of should and expect.

Platform Support

Given uses the Ripper library to parse the source lines and failing conditions to find all the sub-expression values upon a failure. Currently Ripper is not supported on Rubinius and versions of JRuby prior to JRuby-1.7.5.

If you want to use a version of Ruby that does not support Ripper, then natural assertions will disabled. In addition, you should also disable source caching in the configuration (see the configuration section below).

Non-Spec Assertions

Given also provides three assertions meant to be used in non-test/non-spec code. For example, here is a square root function decked out with pre and post-condition assertions.

require 'given/assertions'
require 'given/fuzzy_number'

include Given::Assertions
include Given::Fuzzy

def sqrt(n)
  Precondition { n >= 0 }
  result = Math.sqrt(n)
  Postcondition { result ** 2 == about(n) }
  result
end

To use the non-testing assertions, you need to require the 'given/assertions' file and then include the <code>Given::Assertions</code> module into what ever class is using the <code>Precondition</code>/<code>Postcondition</code>/<code>Assert</code> methods. The code block for these assertions should always be a regular Ruby true/false value (the <code>should</code> and <code>expect</code> methods from RSpec are not available).

Note that this example also uses the fuzzy number matching, but that is not required for the assertions themselves.

The assertion methods are:

Both PreconditionError and PostconditionError are subclasses of AssertError.

You can disable assertion checking with one of the following commands:

Further Reading

Natural assertions were inspired by the wrong assertion library by Alex Chaffee and Steve Conover.

Configuration

If the RSpec format option document, html or textmate is chosen, RSpec/Given will automatically add additional source code information to the examples to produce better looking output. If you don't care about the pretty output and wish to disable source code caching unconditionally, then add the following line to your spec helper file:

    Given.source_caching_disabled = true

Natural assertions are enabled by default. To globally configure natural assertions, add one of the following lines to your spec_helper file:

    Given.use_natural_assertions         # Enable natural assertions
    Given.use_natural_assertions true    # Same as above
    Given.use_natural_assertions false   # Disable natural assertions
    Given.use_natural_assertions :always # Always process natural assertions
                                         # ... even when should/expect are detected

License

rspec-given, minitest-given and given_core are available under the MIT License. See the MIT-LICENSE file in the source distribution.

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