Test Pantry

Easy Test Factories: Your ES Sous Chef

• natural and simple Javascript syntax and semantics
• fluid usage, combining factories, traits and functions when defining factories or on usage
• full featured with traits and after-create functionality
• predictable ids and other random data

Installation & Basic Usage

npm install -D test-pantry

(Test Pantry is built using UMD. It should work in all appropriate environments, but it's currently only tested with node.)

Define a Factory

// my-pantry.js
import TestPantry from 'test-pantry'
 
const pantry = new TestPantry()

Your pantry is ready to remember recipes to build objects. Use recipeFor, and provide it with a name and with either an object literal:

pantry.recipeFor('user', { 
  name: 'Andreas Pepper', 
  email: '[e-mail]' 
})

or a function:

pantry.recipeFor('player', function() { 
  return { score: Math.random() } 
})

Use a Factory

// my-test.js
import pantry from 'my-pantry'
 
pantry('user')  // --> { name: 'Andreas Pepper', email: '[e-mail]' }
 
// alternate call syntax:
pantry.user()   // --> { name: 'Andreas Pepper', email: '[e-mail]' }

Features

Lists

Multiple objects can be created by passing an integer as the first parameter:

pantry(3, 'user') // or `pantry.user(10)`
                  //  => [ { name: 'Andreas Pepper', email: '[e-mail]' },
                  //       { name: 'Andreas Pepper', email: '[e-mail]' },
                  //       { name: 'Andreas Pepper', email: '[e-mail]' } ]

Dynamic Object Literals

For factories defined with an object literal, properties expressed as functions are evaluated:

pantry.recipeFor('keyed', { key: () => Math.random() })

After-Build Functions

When defining a factory, an "after-create" function can be provided to post-process the created objects before they are returned:

pantry.recipeFor( 'person',
                  function() { return { first: 'Jennie', last: 'Lou' } },
                  function(o) { o.fullName = `${o.first} ${o.last}`; return o })
                  
pantry.person() // --> { first: 'Jennie', last: 'Lou', fullName: 'Jennie Lou' }                  

In fact, Test Pantry allows any number of methods or object literals to be chained together to define a factory. Each method is given the object returned from the previous factory method.

Traits

Factories can be considered traits and combined as needed. Results of multiple factories are merged:

pantry('user', 'player') // => { name: 'Andreas Pepper',
                         //      email: '[e-mail]',
                         //      score: 0.6207161337323834 }

Although you'll want to put some thought and perhaps use a naming scheme, mix and match as many as you like:

pantry('user', 'player', { gender: 'male' }, 'keyed')
   // => { name: 'Andreas Pepper',
   //      email: '[e-mail]',
   //      score: 0.20819184742637864,
   //      gender: 'male',
   //      key: 0.652420063866042 }

Providing Defaults or Overrides

TBD

Sequences

Factories defined with functions will receive a convenience utilities attached to this context. The value this.name is the name of the factory being used, and this.count is a serial number of the object. With these, it's easy to build a standard serial number sequence:

pantry.recipeFor('has-id', function () {
  return { id : `${this.name}-${this.count}` }
})
pantry('has-id') // --> { id : 'has-id-1' }

Since name is dynamic, it will change in a different factory context:

pantry.recipeFor('book', {}, 'has-id')
pantry('book') // --> { id : 'book-1' }

Generating Random Data

The this context provides functions for generating random data:

this.randomInt (alias this.rollDie)

Given an integer n, returns a random integer from 0 to n-1. Given two integers, returns a random integer from the first to the second, evenly distributed.

pantry.recipeFor('randomSequence', function() {
  return this.randomInt(10)
})
 
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 9
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 6
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 2
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 5
...

this.random()

Returns a random float between 0 (inclusive) and 1 (exclusive).

This is an alternative to Math.random. Sometimes in a test it's useful to use random numbers, but doing so can make writing assertions difficult. This method meets you half way: it provides a random series of numbers-- but always the same sequence (based on a controllable seed). See Random Reset below

this.sample()

Return one of the given parameters. For example: this.sample('rock', 'paper', 'scissors')

this.flipCoin()

Returns a boolean, true or false.

For more variety of random functions, use a package like Faker

Defining Object Networks

When working with data models, you'll have one object refer to another object. There are several techniques to create these from factories:

1. The simplest is to create related objects in the factory:

   pantry.recipeFor('school', {})
   pantry.recipeFor('teacher', { school: pantry.school })

   This works, until you need several objects to share a reference. The teacher factory above will create a new school for each teacher object.

2. This can be fixed by overriding a value during factory usage. Using the same factories:

   const school = pantry.school()
   pantry(5, 'teacher', { school }) // only one school
   // or
   pantry(5, 'teacher', { school: pantry.school })

   This works, but requires the user of the factory to do something special. This is not ideal.

3. To move this behavior into the factory, Test Pantry provides a function this.last, which remembers the previous object created:

   pantry.recipeFor('teacher', { school: pantry.last('school') })
   pantry.school() // make a school
   pantry(5, 'teacher') // all part of `school`

   The last function returns a function that returns the last object created.

4. If there is no previous object, last will create one. This allows the consuming factory to function without having special prerequisites. This code works fine:

   pantry.recipeFor('teacher', { school: pantry.last('school') })
   pantry(5, 'teacher') // all part of one `school`

Note that factory.last is also available as this.last() within the factory function context.

Advanced Usage

Multiple Factories

There is no single, global factory. Generally you will just need one factory for your code, but it's easy to create more with new TestPantry().

Factory functions

If you'd rather not export a factory that generates different types of objects, you can export individual functions. The individual factory functions are available and work independently. In fact, recipeFor returns the factory function:

const unicornFactory = pantry.recipeFor('unicorn', {})
//...
const myUnicorn = unicornFactory()

Count reset

The count can be reset, which is useful so that a test always gets the same mocked data. This is done calling the reset function on the specific factory:

pantry.recipeFor('num', function() { return this.count  })
 
pantry.num() // --> 1
pantry.num() // --> 2
pantry.num() // --> 3
pantry.num.reset()
pantry.num() // --> 1

Random Reset

The pseudo random number generators included as designed to provide random-- but repeatable-- sequences. This is done by explicitly seeding a pseudo random number generator (PRNG). This is done for you, and each factory has its own sequence, but the factory has reset method that re-seeds.

Here's an example:

pantry.recipeFor('randomSequence', function() {
  return this.randomInt(10)
})
 
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 9
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 6
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 2
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 5
 
pantry.randomSequence.reset()   // let's start over
 
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 9
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 6
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 2

For some tests, it makes sense to set the seed before you start. This may make sense in a before block:

pantry.recipeFor('randomSequence', function() {
  return this.randomInt(1000)
})
 
// 'test 1'
pantry.randomSequence.reset('foo')
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 467
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 731
 
// 'test 2'
pantry.randomSequence.reset('foo')
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 467
pantry.randomSequence() // --> 731

Reference

The following are available within a factory context:

• this.count an index of which execution of the factory this is
• this.flipCoin() A boolean, true or false
• this.last(name) a function that returns the last generated object of factory name. If there is is no object yet, it will build one.
• this.name the name of the main factory generating objects. If a factory is an aggregate of several factories, it will be the first definition that defines the name.
• this.pantry reference to the pantry itself. Useful if the same function is shared between different pantries.
• this.random() A random float between 0 (inclusive) and 1 (exclusive). This is an alternative to Math.random. Sometimes in a test it's useful to use random numbers, but doing so can make writing assertions harder. This method meets you half way: it provides a random series of numbers-- but always the same sequence (based on a controllable seed). See Random Reset below
• this.randomInt(6) A random integer 0..5. Alias: rollDie.
• this.randomInt(6, 10) A random integer 6..10
• this.sample('rock', 'paper', 'scissors') Return one of the given parameters

Legal

Copyright (c) 2016 Andrew J. Peterson Apache 2.0 License

Documentation Todo

• document Extend a factory
• pass in a param to generate N of some child object
• parameterized factories