Unit Testing that HttpResponseMessage Contains the Desired Response

Question

I'm writing a Web API controller and right now I have the following code:

public class PicklistsController : ApiController
{
    private readonly IPicklistRepository _repository;

    public PicklistsController(IPicklistRepository repository)
    {
        _repository = repository;
    }

    public HttpResponseMessage GetPicklistValues(string entityName, string fieldName)
    {
        if(_repository.Exists(entityName, fieldName))
            return Request.CreateResponse(HttpStatusCode.Accepted, _repository.Get(entityName, fieldName));

        return new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.NotFound);
    }

}

I'm trying to test this method and all I really want to do is verify that the HttpResponseMessage contains values in the POCO PicklistItem when the repository finds this combination of values. Being new to this framework, I don't understand the internal workings of HttpResponseMessage very well, and what I've found on this site and through general googling tells me to use various ReadAsync methods on its Content, but I don't really want to do use async if I can avoid it. I really just want to verify that the thing I stuffed into the object I'm returning is in the object when I return it. Here's what I have so far with the unit test (using JustMock to setup the repository, Target is the CUT):

public void Returns_Picklist_Item_JSON_When_Results_Exist()
{
    Repository.Arrange(repo => repo.Exists(EntityName, FieldName)).Returns(true);

    const int value = 2;
    const string label = "asdf";
    var mynewPicklistItem = new PicklistItem() { Label = label, Value = value };
    Repository.Arrange(repo => repo.Get(EntityName, FieldName)).Returns(Enumerable.Repeat<PicklistItem>(mynewPicklistItem, 1));

    var response = Target.GetPicklistValues(EntityName, FieldName);
    //Assert.IsTrue(I don't know what to do here -- suggestions appreciated);
}

Any ideas for the Assert? Or am I barking up the wrong tree/fundamentally misunderstanding how this should be working? Thanks...

Answer 1

I am using Web API 2.1 and there is a function called TryGetContentValue:

[Test]
public void TheTestMethod()
{
    // arrange

    var ctrl = new MyController();

    ctrl.Request = Substitute.For<HttpRequestMessage>();  // using nSubstitute
    ctrl.Configuration = Substitute.For<HttpConfiguration>();

    // act

    HttpResponseMessage result = ctrl.Get();

    MyResponse typedresult;
    result.TryGetContentValue(out typedresult);     // <= this one

    // assert
}