Specify helps you describe behaviour in conversational terms.
It was developed out of a personal need for a simple BDD library - more lightweight and extensible than the alternatives, with the addition of extra DSL functions to simplify writing examples.
Specify makes use of the dynamic nature of blocks to define the default terms it() and describe():
describe(@"the stack", ^{
__block Stack *stack;
before(^{
stack = [[Stack alloc] init];
});
context(@"when newly initialized", ^{
it(@"is empty.", ^{
[[[stack popObject] should] beNil];
});
});
context(@"when 1 object is pushed", ^{
before(^{
[stack pushObject:@1];
});
describe(@"first pop", ^{
it(@"returns the object.", ^{
[[[stack popObject] should] beEqualTo:@1];
});
});
describe(@"second pop", ^{
it(@"returns nil", ^{
[stack popObject];
[[[stack popObject] should] beNil];
});
});
});
});
The language of writing tests is super important. That's why Specify supports defining your own terms. If you're more comfortable using the term test, go ahead and define it: void(^test)(NSString *, INLVoidBlock) = it;, then use it:
void(^test)(NSString *, INLVoidBlock) = it;
describe(@"the stack", ^{
test(@"stack is initially empty.", ^{
[[[stack popObject] should] beNil];
});
});
Specify provides some additional convenience functions to help with writing specs. To view the full list of functions and examples, see the Wiki.
The above examples use the 'should' syntax provided by Posit, but you can use any frameworks which support SenTestingKit, including Expecta. You can also use the default SenTestingKit macros:
it(@"is empty.", ^{
// SenTestingKit syntax
STAssertNil([stack popObject], @"Popping an empty stack should return nil."); // SenTestingKit
// Posit syntax
[[[stack popObject] should] beNil];
// Expecta syntax
expect([stack popObject]).to.beNil();
});
Specify is installed using CocoaPods by adding pod 'Specify', '~> 0.1.1' to your Podfile.
Copyright (c) 2013 Ryan Davies
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