Sinatra + Rspec2 - Use Sessions/Helpers? - ruby

Question

I am trying to test my Sinatra app using Rspec2 but I can't get access to sessions or helper methods in my tests.
spec_helper:
require File.dirname(__FILE__) + "/../myapp.rb"
require 'rubygems'
require 'sinatra'
require 'rack/test'
require 'rspec'
require 'factory_girl'
set :environment, :test
RSpec.configure do |conf|
conf.include Rack::Test::Methods
end
def app
Sinatra::Application
end
app_spec.rb:
require File.dirname(__FILE__) + "/../spec_helper.rb"
describe 'Something' do
it "should do something" do
session["aa"] = "Test"
end
end
This throws an error, can't find session variables. Similarly I can't use helper methods which are defined in my app.
I run my tests using rspec specs/app_spec/app_spec.rb.
What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Assuming you've got your specs and spec helper in the /spec dir, then this line should go at the top of your spec:
require_relative "./spec_helper.rb"
I also like to use File.expand_path and File.join as it's more reliable than doing it yourself, e.g.
require File.dirname(__FILE__) + "/../spec_helper.rb"
becomes
require_relative File.expand_path( File.join File.dirname(__FILE__), "/../spec_helper.rb" )
Also, I don't tend to require "sinatra", the app has that. If you're missing bits from sinatra then maybe, but I add things like this instead through rack:
ENV['RACK_ENV'] = 'test'
Finally, if your Sinatra app is using the modular style then you'll have to include it too. I do this at the top of a spec, for example:
describe "The site" do
include Rack::Test::Methods
include MyApp
let(:app) { MyApp.app }
YMMV. Let us know if any of this works.
A different test to try:
before(:all) { get "/" }
subject { last_response }
it { should be_ok }