Rails 3.1, RSpec: testing model validations
CONGRATULATIONS on you endeavor into TDD with ROR I promise once you get going you will not look back.
The simplest quick and dirty solution will be to generate a new valid model before each of your tests like this:
before(:each) do
@user = User.new
@user.username = "a valid username"
end
BUT what I suggest is you set up factories for all your models that will generate a valid model for you automatically and then you can muddle with individual attributes and see if your validation. I like to use FactoryGirl for this:
Basically once you get set up your test would look something like this:
it "should have valid factory" do
FactoryGirl.build(:user).should be_valid
end
it "should require a username" do
FactoryGirl.build(:user, :username => "").should_not be_valid
end
Oh ya and here is a good railscast that explains it all better than me:
good luck :)
UPDATE: As of version 3.0 the syntax for factory girl has changed. I have amended my sample code to reflect this.
An easier way to test model validations (and a lot more of active-record) is to use a gem like shoulda or remarkable.
They will allow to the test as follows:
describe User
it { should validate_presence_of :name }
end
Try this:
it "should require a username" do
user = User.create(:username => "")
user.valid?
user.errors.should have_key(:username)
end
in new version rspec, you should use expect instead should, otherwise you'll get warning:
it "should have valid factory" do
expect(FactoryGirl.build(:user)).to be_valid
end
it "should require a username" do
expect(FactoryGirl.build(:user, :username => "")).not_to be_valid
end