Mocking new and other class methods

Hello group. I wanted to be able to do something like this:

def testItResizesTheImage
  imageNew=ClassMethodMocker.new(Magick::Image,:new)
  image=FlexMock.new
  imageNew.handle { |imagePath| assert_equal(@imagePath,imagePage);
image }
  image.mock_handle(:somecall) { |etc| etc }
  # etc
  test_subj.doThatThing
  image.mock_verify
  imageNew.verify
end

So, I wrote a few loc to enable it (borrowing from FlexMock) for 'new'
calls at least. I'm having second thoughts about how I implemented it,
so I was hoping some in the ng might want to kick it around.

My big concern with the current method (see below) is that the real new
might not be "put back" if a coder doesn't use MockNew.use.

I have other ways in mind to allow mocking of class methods, but they
all seem to put up new hoops for coders to jump through, and make the
resulting code less natural.

Here's the code, excluding the tests:

class Class
        public :alias_method
end

class Object
        def backupNew
                class << self
                        alias_method :mocknew_backedup_new, :new
                end
        end
        @@newHandler={}
        def delegateNew(newHandler)
                module_eval { @@newHandler[self]=newHandler; def
self.new(*args);
@@newHandler[self].handleNew(*args); end }
        end
        def restoreNew
                class << self
                        alias_method :new, :mocknew_backedup_new
                end
        end
end

class MockNew
        def initialize(klass,&block)
                klass.backupNew
                klass.delegateNew(self)
                @klass=klass
                @handlers=[]
                @callCount=0
                handle(&block) if block_given?
        end
        def handleNew(*args)
                result=@handlers[@callCount].call(*args)
                @callCount += 1
                restoreKlassNew if @callCoun...@handlers.length
                result
        end
        def restoreKlassNew
                @klass.restoreNew
        end
        def verify
                raise VerifyFailure.new, "Expected
#...@handlers.length}
cal...@handlers.length==1?'':'s'} to #{@klass}.new; received
#{@callCount}." unless @callCount == @handlers.length
        end

        def handle(&block)
                @handlers << block
        end
        def self.use(klass)
                mockNew=new(klass)
                yield mockNew
                mockNew.verify
        ensure
                mockNew.restoreKlassNew
        end
        class VerifyFailure < StandardError
        end
end

"jeem" <jeem.hughes@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:1110831120.593168.314560@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

Hello group. I wanted to be able to do something like this:

def testItResizesTheImage
imageNew=ClassMethodMocker.new(Magick::Image,:new)
image=FlexMock.new
imageNew.handle { |imagePath| assert_equal(@imagePath,imagePage);
image }
image.mock_handle(:somecall) { |etc| etc }
# etc
test_subj.doThatThing
image.mock_verify
imageNew.verify
end

So, I wrote a few loc to enable it (borrowing from FlexMock) for 'new'
calls at least. I'm having second thoughts about how I implemented it,
so I was hoping some in the ng might want to kick it around.

My big concern with the current method (see below) is that the real new
might not be "put back" if a coder doesn't use MockNew.use.

Blocks with ensure could help here as transactional context.

I have other ways in mind to allow mocking of class methods, but they
all seem to put up new hoops for coders to jump through, and make the
resulting code less natural.

Sorry, I'm not really sure what you're after. What I extracted from your code is that you iterate through a set of new methods and use the original one in the end. IMHO you can get that with much less effort and less meta programming:

class MockClass
  def initialize(cl, *handlers)
    @cl = cl
    @handlers = handlers
    @idx = 0
  end

  def new(*a)
    h = @handlers[@idx]

    if h
      @idx += 1
      h.call(*a)
    else
      @cl.new(*a)
    end
  end
end

cl_fake = MockClass.new(String,
  lambda {|*a| "1"},
  lambda {|*a| "2"} )

cl_fake.new "a"

=> "1"

cl_fake.new "a"

=> "2"

cl_fake.new "a"

=> "a"

cl_fake.new "a"

=> "a"

cl_fake.new "a"

=> "a"

Kind regards

    robert

Sorry, I'll try to clarify.

When I type this:

mn=MockNew.new(A)
mn.handle { block }

I'm saying, "Next time someone calls A.new(args), execute this block
instead." This lets me test code like this:

def methodToTest
  etc
  a = A.new('bob')
  a.etc
end

Usually I want to find some other way to test code like this, but if
A.new or a.etc hits the file system or network, etc., I really want to
be able to sub in a mock. Often we deal with this by passing in the
object, thus isolating the object creation code. This still leaves the
creation code untested, and a good place for bugs to hide.

Blocks with ensure could help here as transactional context

(I just noticed this part of your note.)

That's what MockNew.use does.

"jeem" <jeem.hughes@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1110841586.340637.7980@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Sorry, I'll try to clarify.

When I type this:

mn=MockNew.new(A)
mn.handle { block }

I'm saying, "Next time someone calls A.new(args), execute this block
instead." This lets me test code like this:

def methodToTest
  etc
  a = A.new('bob')
  a.etc
end

Usually I want to find some other way to test code like this, but if
A.new or a.etc hits the file system or network, etc., I really want to
be able to sub in a mock. Often we deal with this by passing in the
object, thus isolating the object creation code. This still leaves the
creation code untested, and a good place for bugs to hide.

Well, my example is easily modified to do that also, just add

def handle(&b)
  @handlers << b if b
end

My main point was, that you don't have to mess with the original class
instance. You can just use any object as stand in that implements #new.

Kind regards

    robert

"jeem" <jeem.hughes@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1110841831.161370.64390@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

>> Blocks with ensure could help here as transactional context

(I just noticed this part of your note.)

That's what MockNew.use does.

You wrote "My big concern with the current method (see below) is that the
real new
might not be "put back" if a coder doesn't use MockNew.use." - from that
I assumed that you did not use ensure. *If* you use ensure then the
original code will always be put back in place - regardless whether you do
normal or exceptional exit.

Kind regards

    robert

Let me try again.

class CodeIWantToTest
def foo(bar)
  f = File.new(@userPath+bar)
  #more
  f.close
end
end

class Tests < Test::Unit::TestCase
def testFoo
   fileNew=MockNew.new(File)
   mockFile=FlexMock.new
   fileNew.handle { |path| assert_equal('/home/usrname/etc/bob',path);
mockFile }
   #more
   subj.foo('bob')
   fileNew.verify
end
end

I the test above, I want foo to call File.new. If I were to make a
mock class (cl_fake) in my test, I couldn't expect foo to call it,
because foo is not aware of cl_fake. Foo knows about File.

Maybe I'm missing something. Can you write the example above with the
method from your post?

J.

"jeem" <jeem.hughes@gmail.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:1110898032.514026.227640@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

Let me try again.

class CodeIWantToTest
def foo(bar)
  f = File.new(@userPath+bar)
  #more
  f.close
end
end

class Tests < Test::Unit::TestCase
def testFoo
   fileNew=MockNew.new(File)
   mockFile=FlexMock.new
   fileNew.handle { |path| assert_equal('/home/usrname/etc/bob',path);
mockFile }
   #more
   subj.foo('bob')
   fileNew.verify
end
end

I the test above, I want foo to call File.new. If I were to make a
mock class (cl_fake) in my test, I couldn't expect foo to call it,
because foo is not aware of cl_fake. Foo knows about File.

Ah, ok. Thx for clarifying.

Maybe I'm missing something. Can you write the example above with the
method from your post?

Well, you had to redefine constant File, which might not be such a good
idea.

Then what about a transaction based approach? Like

module Kernel
private
  def mock(obj, sym, mock)
    cl = class <<obj; self; end
    old = obj.method sym
    cl.class_eval { define_method(sym, &mock) }

    begin
      yield
    ensure
      cl.class_eval { define_method(sym, &old) }
    end
  end
end

mock File, :new, lambda {|*f| "new! #{f.inspect}"} do

?> File.new "foo", "r"

end

=> "new! [\"foo\", \"r\"]"

You can even nest that:

mock File, :new, lambda {|*f| "new! #{f.inspect}" } do

?> p File.new( "foo", "r" )

?> mock File, :new, lambda {|*f| "new 2: #{f.inspect}" } do
?> p File.new( "bar", "w" )

  end

?> p File.new( "foo", "r" )

end

"new! [\"foo\", \"r\"]"
"new 2: [\"bar\", \"w\"]"
"new! [\"foo\", \"r\"]"
=> nil

Kind regards

    robert

Hi Robert. This method looks interesting. I'll give it a try.

Jim