Rails: How do I write tests for a ruby module?

Question

I would like to know how to write unit tests for a module that is mixed into a couple of classes but don't quite know how to go about it:

1. Do I test the instance methods by writing tests in one of the test files for a class that includes them (doesn't seem right) or can you somehow keep the tests for the included methods in a separate file specific to the module?

2. The same question applies to the class methods.

3. Should I have a separate test file for each of the classes in the module like normal rails models do, or do they live in the general module test file, if that exists?

Answer 1

IMHO, you should be doing functional test coverage that will cover all uses of the module, and then test it in isolation in a unit test:

setup do   @object = Object.new   @object.extend(Greeter) end  should "greet person" do   @object.stubs(:format).returns("Hello {{NAME}}")   assert_equal "Hello World", @object.greet("World") end  should "greet person in pirate" do   @object.stubs(:format).returns("Avast {{NAME}} lad!")   assert_equal "Avast Jim lad!", @object.greet("Jim") end 

If your unit tests are good, you should be able to just smoke test the functionality in the modules it is mixed into.

Or…

Write a test helper, that asserts the correct behaviour, then use that against each class it's mixed in. Usage would be as follows:

setup do   @object = FooClass.new end  should_act_as_greeter 

If your unit tests are good, this can be a simple smoke test of the expected behavior, checking the right delegates are called etc.