How do I assert equality on two classes without an equals method?

Question

There is many correct answers here, but I would like to add my version too. This is based on Assertj.

import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;

public class TestClass {

    public void test() {
        // do the actual test
        assertThat(actualObject)
            .isEqualToComparingFieldByFieldRecursively(expectedObject);
    }
}

UPDATE: In assertj v3.13.2 this method is deprecated as pointed out by Woodz in comment. Current recommendation is

public class TestClass {

    public void test() {
        // do the actual test
        assertThat(actualObject)
            .usingRecursiveComparison()
            .isEqualTo(expectedObject);
    }

}

Mockito offers a reflection-matcher:

For latest version of Mockito use:

Assert.assertTrue(new ReflectionEquals(expected, excludeFields).matches(actual));

For older versions use:

Assert.assertThat(actual, new ReflectionEquals(expected, excludeFields));

I generally implement this usecase using org.apache.commons.lang3.builder.EqualsBuilder

Assert.assertTrue(EqualsBuilder.reflectionEquals(expected,actual));

I know it's a bit old, but I hope it helps.

I run into the same problem that you, so, after investigation, I found few similar questions than this one, and, after finding the solution, I'm answering the same in those, since I thought it could to help others.

The most voted answer (not the one picked by the author) of this similar question, is the most suitable solution for you.

Basically, it consist on using the library called Unitils.

This is the use:

User user1 = new User(1, "John", "Doe");
User user2 = new User(1, "John", "Doe");
assertReflectionEquals(user1, user2);

Which will pass even if the class User doesn't implement equals(). You can see more examples and a really cool assert called assertLenientEquals in their tutorial.

If you're using hamcrest for your asserts (assertThat) and don't want to pull in additional test libs, then you can use SamePropertyValuesAs.samePropertyValuesAs to assert items that don't have an overridden equals method.

The upside is that you don't have to pull in yet another test framework and it'll give a useful error when the assert fails (expected: field=<value> but was field=<something else>) instead of expected: true but was false if you use something like EqualsBuilder.reflectionEquals().

The downside is that it is a shallow compare and there's no option for excluding fields (like there is in EqualsBuilder), so you'll have to work around nested objects (e.g. remove them and compare them independently).

Best Case:

import static org.hamcrest.beans.SamePropertyValuesAs.samePropertyValuesAs;
...
assertThat(actual, is(samePropertyValuesAs(expected)));

Ugly Case:

import static org.hamcrest.beans.SamePropertyValuesAs.samePropertyValuesAs;
...
SomeClass expected = buildExpected(); 
SomeClass actual = sut.doSomething();

assertThat(actual.getSubObject(), is(samePropertyValuesAs(expected.getSubObject())));    
expected.setSubObject(null);
actual.setSubObject(null);

assertThat(actual, is(samePropertyValuesAs(expected)));

So, pick your poison. Additional framework (e.g. Unitils), unhelpful error (e.g. EqualsBuilder), or shallow compare (hamcrest).

You can use Apache commons lang ReflectionToStringBuilder

You can either specify the attributes you want to test one by one, or better, exclude those you don't want:

String s = new ReflectionToStringBuilder(o, ToStringStyle.SHORT_PREFIX_STYLE)
                .setExcludeFieldNames(new String[] { "foo", "bar" }).toString()

You then compare the two strings as normal. For the point about reflection being slow, I assume this is only for testing, so shouldn't be so important.

Since this question is old, I will suggest another modern approach using JUnit 5.

I don't like this solution because I don't get the full equality picture if an early assert fails.

With JUnit 5, there is a method called Assertions.assertAll() which will allow you to group all assertions in your test together and it will execute each one and output any failed assertions at the end. This means that any assertions that fail first will not stop the execution of latter assertions.

assertAll("Test obj1 with obj2 equality",
    () -> assertEquals(obj1.getFieldA(), obj2.getFieldA()),
    () -> assertEquals(obj1.getFieldB(), obj2.getFieldB()),
    () -> assertEquals(obj1.getFieldC(), obj2.getFieldC()));