Question

I’m using this sort of code in my code in my Unit tests.

test "should be awesome" do
  assert true
end

I’m using FactoryGirl instead of fixtures.

I find that I’m repeating myself a lot and having helper functions would be quite useful. What’s the best way to create and call a helper function in the unit test? Is there a before_filter available like it is in the controllers (I tried putting it in, but it’s just an undefined method). Any help is appreciated!

Answer 1

You can add utility functions to your unit tests without a problem. As long as you don’t call them name them like “test_something” they won’t get run as unit tests. You can then call them from your actual unit test methods (the format you use boils down to having a method in the class anyway).

So:

test "should be awesome" do
  assert_general_awesomeness
  assert true
end

private

def assert_general_awesomeness
  assert true
end

Utility methods that are going to be used all over the place can go in test_helper and they will be available to all your tests. You could alternatively have a module that you mix in to your tests to provide common utility methods.

If you are doing common calls to set up before a unit test you can put in in a setup method which will be called before each test in the class.