When do I use MiniTest::Unit::TestCase versus MiniTest::Spec?

Question

I've been learning TDD/BDD using MiniTest. What I'm trying to figure out is what parts of my code should be tested with MiniTest::Unit::TestCase and which parts should be tested using MiniTest::Spec.

I understand the difference between unit testing and integration testing, what I can't seem to grasp from examples across the web is whether or not a TestCase and a Spec are both unit tests or if a TestCase is used for a unit test and a Spec used for integration testing?

Should I keep my quick unit tests in MiniTest::Unit::TestCase classes and longer integration testing, which more often describe features, in MiniTest::Spec expectations? Does it even matter, or is it a question of personal preference?

Answer 1

Whether I use MiniTest::Unit (with assertions) vs. MiniTest::Spec, is determined by who I am writing them for.

For code I write myself, without any "customer" requirements, I'd use MiniTest::Unit. The tests make sense to me and reading them is terse and to the point.

If I'm writing code for a customer who has a list of requirements, I'd use MiniTest::Spec. The spec files are more readable to a non-programmer.

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Note: MiniTest underwent an overhaul last year so some of the module names changed but the idea is the same, MiniTest supports a more terse, or more verbose, way of writing unit tests.