[mocha-developer] Stubbing constructiors

[Tomas Pospisek]

Quoting James Mead <jamesmead44 at gmail.com>:

> On 14/12/06, Tomas Pospisek <tpo2 at sourcepole.ch> wrote:
> > This works:
> >
> >     class X
> >       def X.initialize( stuff )
> >       end
> >     end
> >
> >     X.initialize("bla")
> >
> >
> > However stubbing it doesn,t:
> >
> >     require 'test/unit'
> >     require 'stubba'
> >
> >     class X
> >       def X.initialize( stuff )
> >       end
> >     end
> >
> >    class XTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
> >      def test_
> >        X.stubs(:initialize).with("bla")
> >        X.initialize("bla")
> >      end
> >    end
> >
> > Ruby lets me know that:
> >
> >    Loaded suite /tmp/foo
> >    Started
> >    E(eval):1: warning: removing `initialize' may cause serious problem
> >
> >    Finished in 0.002625 seconds.
> >
> >      1) Error:
> >    test_(XTest):
> >    NoMethodError: private method `initialize' called for X:Class
> >       /tmp/kak.rb:12:in `test_'
> >
> >    1 tests, 0 assertions, 0 failures, 1 errors
> >
> > Routing around the problem is possible:
> >
> >   require 'test/unit'
> >   require 'stubba'
> >
> >   class X
> >     def X.initialize( stuff )
> >     end
> >   end
> >
> >   class XTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
> >     def test_
> >       X.stubs(:initialize).with("bla")
> >       X.public_class_method :initialize
> >       X.initialize("bla")
> >     end
> >   end
>
> Not being able to stub private methods is a known issue (see elsewhere
> on this mailing list). We may add functionality to allow it, but even
> if we do I suspect we will want to make the API explicitly express the
> fact that you are stubbing a private method which means you are
> tightly coupling your test to the implementation details of the class.
>
> Have you considered stubbing the "new" method which is a public
> method? It is effectively an implementation detail of the Object class
> that the new method calls the initialize method.

Um, well, kind of. The above is of course just a "mock" of the real situation
I'm confronted with in my code and there I really do have a *class* method
named "initialize" that I call just like that. That is I am initializing the
class and not instantiating an object, in which case, as you correctly point
out I'd better stub "new".

It smells a bit, yes, unfortunately I'm only at the "aspiring to become a Ruby
wizzard" stage...

Thanks,
*t



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