Question

I have been using rspec for a little while and recently switched style from

it "should do something cool" do
  @something.should work
end

to the more concise

subject(@something)

it {should work}

Whilst I much prefer the more concise style when writing the tests and for viewing them in code, I miss being able to specify the description for each test, particularly since the equality messages just display the values that are being tested. So in the example above, assuming the test passes, with the first style, I would get a message saying ‘it should do something cool’, whereas the second will just say that it has worked.

Does anyone know of a way to do this? Cheers

Answer 1

I think you got the wrong concept of what the specify/subject blocks do. They are not meant to be a complete replacement for the more verbose syntax you switched from, but should be used when there is no need for a desciption.

So if you want a desciption, just use

it "should do something cool" do
  @something.should work
end

Also, I personally don’t think that the specify/subject is more concise. For me it’s a step away from the more DSL-like way specifications created with rspec read, but that might be a matter of personal preference.