[rspec-users] [rspec-rails] For helper specs, why is the helper cached in the class between running each example?

[David Chelimsky]

On Mon, Feb 8, 2010 at 1:44 PM, Myron Marston <myron.marston at gmail.com> wrote:
> I ran into a recent problem writing specs for a helper.  I was testing
> a helper that uses the standard memoization technique of caching the
> result of an expensive calculation in an instance variable:
>
>  def something_expensive
>    @something_expensive ||= do_something_expensive
>  end
>
> I have several different rspec examples for this one helper method,
> all of which mock out a method that do_something_expensive calls,
> which should in turn cause a different return value from
> #something_expensive.  When I ran my specs, I wound up getting the
> same return value for each spec--the return value from the first spec
> that ran.  After investigating it a bit, I ran across this[1] code in
> rspec-rails' ExampleHelperGroup:
>
>        def helper
>          self.class.helper
>        end
>
> The #helper method simply delegates to the class's helper method,
> which memoizes the helper object in an instance variable.  The result
> of this is that the helper is cached in the class between example
> runs, and because of the memoization in my helper method, subsequent
> specs were returning the same value.
>
> I found a work around:
>
>    after(:each) do
>      helper.instance_variable_set('@something_expensive', nil)
>    end
>
> But it feel like a bit of a hack, and it's annoying/frustrating that I
> have to do this.  My specs shouldn't have to be aware of the
> memoization and manually clear it to work.
>
> Why is the helper object cached in the class between running each
> example?  This can accidentally lead to spec interdependencies (i.e.
> example B only passes if it runs after example A has run, because
> example A puts the helper object into a certain state that example B
> unknowingly depends on).

Someone just submitted a ticket w/ a patch on this last week:

https://rspec.lighthouseapp.com/projects/5645-rspec/tickets/627

It'll be released with rspec-rails-1.3.3, some time in the next few days.

Cheers,
David

>
> Thanks,
> Myron
>
> [1] http://github.com/dchelimsky/rspec-rails/blob/1.3.2/lib/spec/rails/example/helper_example_group.rb#L89-91
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