Consider the following:
describe '#something' do
context 'with lots of required arguments' do
it 'should work' do
subject.something(:foo => 'foo', :bar => 'bar', :baz => 'baz').should == 'Hello world'
end
it 'should work again' do
subject.stub :target => 'universe'
subject.something(:foo => 'foo', :bar => 'bar', :baz => 'baz').should == 'Hello universe'
end
it 'should work yet again' do
subject.stub :target => 'multiverse'
subject.something(:foo => 'foo', :bar => 'bar', :baz => 'baz').should == 'Hello multiverse'
end
end
end
Something like that gets ugly and/or annoying once you require more than just a simple method call, e.g. with many arguments that are required for a method for some reason.
This cleans up your spec, making it easier to see the requirements at a first glance:
describe '#something' do
context 'with lots of required arguments' do
let(:result) { subject.something(:foo => 'foo', :bar => 'bar', :baz => 'baz') }
it 'should work' do
result.should == 'Hello world'
end
it 'should work again' do
subject.stub :target => 'universe'
result.should == 'Hello universe'
end
it 'should work yet again' do
subject.stub :target => 'multiverse'
result.should == 'Hello multiverse'
end
end
end
The reason why this works is because RSpec will evaluate the block assigned for the let call only when result is actually called. This way you can manipulate objects or other data before using the short-hand reference to your method call.
Yes, it is quite similar to using variables introduced via let in before blocks.
Posted by Arne Hartherz to makandra dev (2011-06-20 11:16)