CODEWITHSUNDEEP
rubyrspectdd
Harry B.
Harry B.

Reputation: 421

rspec check if one method calls another method

I'm very stuck when it comes to writing a test to check if an instance variable equals a certain value then it should call a certain method, and that if it is less than that value, then it should not. I have an instance variable, @counter, which is initialized at 0, and these methods:

def increment_counter
     @counter += 1

     if @counter == 9
        tie_game?
     end
end

def tie_game?
    puts "The game was a tie. Nicely played #{@player1} & #{@player2}!"
    play_again  
end

I want to write a test to check that when @counter equals 9, that tie_game? is called, and that when it is less than 9, it is not called.

This is what I could come up with, but it is wrong:

describe "increment_counter" do
    context "counter equals 9" do
        it "calls tie_game?" do
            game.instance_variable_set(:@counter, 9)
            expect(increment_counter).to receive(:tie_game?)

        end
    end
end

Upvotes: 2

Views: 5865

Answers (1)

Arun Kumar Mohan
Arun Kumar Mohan

Reputation: 11905

You should check whether tie_game? was called on the game instance and not on increment_counter. With the code you have given, one way to do this would be

describe "increment_counter" do
  context 'counter equals 9' do
    let(:game) { Game.new }
    it 'calls tie_game?' do
      game.instance_variable_set(:@counter, 8)
      game.increment_counter
      expect(game).to receive(:tie_game?)
    end

    it 'does not call tie_game?' do
      game.increment_counter
      expect(game).not_to receive(:tie_game?)  
    end
end

end

I am assuming that your class name is Game. Since both your examples require a game instance, we can dry it up and use let to define the game instance. Note that let is lazily evaluated. Meaning its only executed when its referenced in the example block. If you set your instance variable to 0 in the initialize method, the tests will work fine.

Note that I am setting @counter to 8 and then I am triggering increment_counter method to test whether it calls tie_game?

PS: Should tie_game be a boolean method? Does play_again return a boolean.I am not sure if it should be a boolean method.

Upvotes: 3

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