[rspec-users] How thorough do you test?

[Ben Mabey]

Hey Chris,
I used to have the same thinking as you currently do.  I found that my 
view specs were brittle and offered false security.  However, I actually 
totally disagree with those statements now. The difference is how I have 
been going about BDD.  Before I would spec out my controllers then move 
down to my models.  I would then only test my views when some logic 
mandated it.  However, recently I have been letting my views drive my 
entire development process (via the story runner as well, but that is 
besides the point.)   Starting from the view and working my way in has 
made me really appreciate the place for view specing.  Remember, BDD is 
not just about "testing", but rather is a design process in and of 
itself.  The point of using mocks in the view is not all for speed 
reasons.. by using mocks you can drive your entire design process from 
the view. So, if you need to make a change to a model that would in end 
effect the view you should really be changing the view spec first, have 
it fail, make it pass, and move down to the model level.  There was good 
post about this outside-in approach the other day you might want to look at:

http://kinderman.net/articles/2007/11/18/testing-on-high-bottom-up-versus-top-down-test-driven-development

I hope this helps.  I'm just learning myself. :)

-Ben


Chris Olsen wrote:
> Testing models is great and would not be able to create anything without
> it, but I am finding testing the controllers and views is a pain.
>
> Rest based controllers don't seem to change that much when compared to
> the auto-generated code that obviously works.
>
> As for views I fail to see why testing it with a mock model does
> anything.  Nothing is ensuring that when changes are made to the model
> that they will also be done to the mocks then causing the test to break.
> If anything, having the false security when all tests pass is worse, in
> that it may prevent you from double checking something crucial.
>
> I think tests for views makes sense when there is a condition that must
> be tested, ex. if a new member must fill in additional fields that are
> made visible only when they are from a certain country.  A test may then
> make sense to ensure that the fields exist.
>
> I am still a noob, so if anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it.
>
> Thanks
>