vspec.txt

*vspec.txt*	Testing framework for Vim script

Version 1.4.0
Script ID: 3012
Copyright (C) 2009-2014 Kana Natsuno <http://whileimautomaton.net/>
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CONTENTS					*vspec-contents*

Introduction            |vspec-introduction|
Interface               |vspec-interface|
  External Commands       |vspec-external-commands|
  Commands                |vspec-commands|
  Functions               |vspec-functions|
Examples                |vspec-examples|
FAQ                     |vspec-faq|
Bugs                    |vspec-bugs|
Changelog               |vspec-changelog|




==============================================================================
INTRODUCTION					*vspec-introduction*

*vspec* is a testing framework for Vim script.  It consists of:

* A driver script to run a test suite,
* A Vim plugin to write tests in a format which resembles RSpec,
* Additional syntax/indent files for Vim script to write tests.

Since vspec is a part of a system to automated tests for Vim script,
it requires several steps to set up an environment to easily run tests.
See the following article: http://whileimautomaton.net/2013/02/13211500


Requirements:
- Vim 7.3 or later

Latest version:
http://github.com/kana/vim-vspec

Document in HTML format:
http://vim-doc.heroku.com/view?https://raw.github.com/kana/vim-vspec/master/doc/vspec.txt




==============================================================================
INTERFACE					*vspec-interface*

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXTERNAL COMMANDS				*vspec-external-commands*

						*bin/vspec*
bin/vspec [{non-standard-runtimepath} ...] {input-script}
			Utility command to test Vim script with vspec.

			{input-script} is the path to a file which is a test
			script written with vspec.

			{non-standard-runtimepath} is the path to a directory
			to use as a part of 'runtimepath' while executing
			{input-script}.

			Examples: >

				$ ./bin/vspec . test/context.input


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMANDS					*vspec-commands*

:describe {subject}				*:describe*
:end
			Define a set of examples about {subject}.  {subject}
			is a string to describe the subject of the examples.

			:describe can be nested.  It is useful to group
			examples by their category.  For example: >

				describe 'textobj-function'
				  describe 'af'
				    it 'targets a whole function'
				      ...
				    end
				  end
				  describe 'if'
				    it 'targets the inner code of a function'
				      ...
				    end
				  end
				end

:context {subject}				*:context*
:end
			Define a set of examples about {subject}.  This is an
			alias of |:describe|.  It is useful to make nested
			groups more readable.  For example: >

				describe 'textobj-function'
				  context 'with JavaScript'
				    it 'targets a function'
				      ...
				    end
				  end
				  context 'with Ruby'
				    it 'targets a method'
				      ...
				    end
				  end
				end

:it {example}					*:it*
:end
			Define an example.  {example} is a string to describe
			the example.  An |:it| block must be written in
			a |:describe| block.

			Examples: >

				describe 'comparison operators'
				  it 'should match case-sensitively'
				    Expect 'abc' =~# 'a'
				    Expect 'abc' !~# 'A'
				  end
				end

:Expect {actual} {matcher} {expected}		*:Expect*
			Describe an expectation - test whether {actual} value
			matches with {expected} value, in a sense of
			{matcher}.

			{actual} and {expected} is an arbitrary Vim script
			|expression| with the following limitation:

			- Comparing operators, such as ==, !~, etc, cannot be
			  used in {actual} and {expected}.  See |expr4| for
			  the list of comparing operators in Vim script.

			{matcher} is a comparing operator, such as ==, !~,
			etc, which is described in |expr4|.

			You have to insert one or more spaces between
			{actual}, {matcher} and {expected}.

			Examples: >

				:Expect 'abc' =~# 'A'
				" ==> good
				:Expect 'abc' =~? 'A'
				" ==> bad

				:Expect {} == {}
				" ==> good
				:Expect {} isnot {}
				" ==> bad

:Expect {actual} {custom-matcher} [{arg}, ...]	*vspec-custom-matcher*
			If {custom-matcher} starts with "to", :Expect acts in
			another mode.  {custom-matcher} is treated as an alias
			of a function which is called "custom matcher".

			The custom matcher will be called with {actual} and
			{arg}s.  It must return true if {actual} value is
			valid, otherwise it must return false.

			See also:
			- |vspec-predefined-custom-matchers|
			- |vspec-custom-matcher-examples|
			- |vspec#customize_matcher()|

					    *vspec-predefined-custom-matchers*
:Expect {actual} to_be_true			*vspec-to_be_true*
:Expect {actual} to_be_false			*vspec-to_be_false*
			Test whether {actual} is evaluated to true/false.

:Expect {actual} toBeTrue
:Expect {actual} toBeFalse
			Deprecated.  Old names of to_be_true/to_be_false.

						*vspec-to_throw*
:Expect expr { {expression} } to_throw [{regexp}]
			Test whether a given {expression} throws an exception
			or not.  This expectation succeeds if an exception is
			thrown and |v:exception| is matched to {regexp}.
			Otherwise, this expectation fails.

			{regexp} is optional.  In this case, this expectation
			succeeds if an exception is thrown.  The content of
			|v:exception| does not matter.

			Note that you must wrap {expression} with "expr {" and
			"}" to denote the {expression} might fail.

:Expect {actual} not {matcher} {expected}	*:Expect-not*
:Expect {actual} not {custom-matcher} [{arg}, ...]
			Like |:Expect|, but test whether {actual} value does
			NOT match with {expected} value, in a sense of
			{matcher} or {custom-matcher}.

:before						*:before*
:end
:after						*:after*
:end
			Define a code block which is run before/after each
			example defined by |:it|.

			Note that:
			- Only one :before/:after block can be written in each
			  |:describe| block.
			- :before/:after blocks cannot be defined for
			  |:describe| blocks.
			- :before/:after blocks cannot be defined for
			  a specific |:it| block.
			These limitations might be resolved later.

:ResetContext					*:ResetContext*
			Reset the current context of a script with one saved
			by |:SaveContext|.

			To use this feature, you have to tell "scope" hint to
			vspec with |vspec#hint()|.

:SaveContext					*:SaveContext*
			Save the current context of a script, i.e., an
			snapshot of script-local variables defined in the
			script.  See also |:ResetContext|.

			:SaveContext is automatically executed whenever
			|vspec#hint()| is called with "scope" hint.

			To use this feature, you have to tell "scope" hint to
			vspec with |vspec#hint()|.

:TODO						*:TODO*
			Represent that the current example is not written yet.
			The current example will be always failed.

:SKIP {message}					*:SKIP*
			Skip the current example.
			The current example will be always succeeded.

			{message} is a string which will be displayed as an
			additional message to provide a hint about the skipped
			example.  Note that single-quoted strings are only
			supported at the moment.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FUNCTIONS					*vspec-functions*

Call(...)					*Call()*
			Alias of |vspec#call()|.

Ref(...)					*Ref()*
			Alias of |vspec#ref()|.

Set(...)					*Set()*
			Alias of |vspec#set()|.

vspec#call({funcname}, [{arg}, ...])		*vspec#call()*
			Like |call()|, but vspec#call() can call
			a script-local function defined in a script to be
			tested.

			{funcname} is a string which represents the name of
			a function.  If {funcname} starts with 's:', it calls
			a script-local function defined in a script to be
			tested.  To use this feature, you have to tell
			"sid" hint to vspec with |vspec#hint()|.


			{arg} is an arbitrary value which is given to the
			function corresponding to o{funcname}.

vspec#customize_matcher({alias}, {matcher})	*vspec#customize_matcher()*
			Register {matcher} as a |vspec-custom-matcher| with
			a given {alias}.  {alias} should be snake_case.
			See also |vspec-custom-matcher-examples|.

			{matcher} is a dictionary with the following items:

			"match" (required)
				A |Funcref| to determine whether {actual}
				value matches to {expected} value.  It takes
				1 or more arguments.  The first argument is
				{actual} value given to |:Expect|, and the
				rest of arguments are arbitrary {expected}
				values.  It returns true if {actual} value is
				matched to {expected} value, or false
				otherwise.

			"failure_message_for_should" (optional)
				A |Funcref| to generate user friendly message
				for failed match with |:Expect|.  It takes
				arguments the same as "match", and it returns
				a string or a list of strings to describe
				a failure.

			"failure_message_for_should_not" (optional)
				Like "failure_message_for_should", but it is
				used to generate failure message for
				|:Expect-not|.

vspec#customize_matcher({alias}, {function})   *vspec#customize_matcher()-old*
			Deprecated.  Use |vspec#customize_matcher()| instead.
			This style is remiained for backward compatibility.

vspec#hint({info})				*vspec#hint()*
			Tell vspec "hint" information to use useful API to
			test a Vim script.

			{info} is a dictionary.  Each key is a string.  The
			detail of this dictionary is as follows:

			"sid"		(optional)
				A string which is evaluated to <SID> of
				a script to be tested.

				If this value is given, you can use
				|vspec#call()|.

			"scope"		(optional)
				A string which is evaluated to the dictionary
				corresponding to s: (= the scope of
				script-local variables) for a script.

				If this value is given, you can use
				|vspec#ref()| and |vspec#set()|.

vspec#pretty_string({value})			*vspec#pretty_string()*
			Similar to |string()|, but use "string" notation
			rather than 'string' notation to encode {value} to
			a string.  Its result consists of only printable
			characters, so that it is safe to |:echo|.  But it can
			be decoded to the original {value} with |eval()|,
			unlike |strtrans()|.

vspec#ref({varname})				*vspec#ref()*
			Return the value of a variable.

			{varname} is a string which represents the name of
			a script-local variable defined in a script to be
			tested.  The name must start with 's:'.  To use this
			feature, you have to tell vspec to "scope" hint with
			|vspec#hint()|.

vspec#set({varname}, {value})			*vspec#set()*
			Assign {value} to a variable.  See |vspec#ref()| for
			the details of {varname}.

vspec#test({specfile-path})			*vspec#test()*
			|:source| {specfile-path}, test examples described in
			the file, then output results of the exmaples.

			Output format is Test Anything Protocol version 12.
			See also http://testanything.org/ for the details.




==============================================================================
EXAMPLES					*vspec-examples*

See also files in the "t" directory in a source tree of this plugin:
https://github.com/kana/vim-vspec/tree/master/t


CUSTOM MATCHERS				       *vspec-custom-matcher-examples*

(a) A simple matcher which checks only an actual value: >

	function! ToBeTrue(actual_value)
	  return (type(a:actual_value) == type(0)
	  \       ? a:actual_value
	  \       : !!0)
	endfunction
	call vspec#customize_matcher(
	\   'to_be_true',
	\   function('ToBeTrue')
	\ )

	:Expect 123 to_be_true
	" ===> good
	:Expect [123] to_be_true
	" ===> bad

(b) A matcher which takes arguments about an expected value: >

	function! ToBeBetween(actual, expected_min, expected_max)
	  return a:expected_min <= a:actual && a:actual <= a:expected_max
	endfunction
	call vspec#customize_matcher(
	\   'to_be_between',
	\   function('ToBeBetween')
	\ )

	:Expect 15 to_be_between 10, 20
	" ===> good
	:Expect 42 to_be_between 10, 20
	" ===> bad




==============================================================================
FAQ						*vspec-faq*

(a) ":read file" in an empty buffer doesn't keep an empty line.
	|bin/vspec| invokes a Vim process in |Ex-mode| to automate running
	a test script.  Most commands works the same as interactive, non-Ex
	mode Vim.  However, a few commands work differently for POSIX
	compatibility.  ":read file" is the most notable example.  See
	|new-posix| for the details.

(b) Autoload variables must be prefixed with g: in :it/:before/:after blocks.
	Code in |:it|, |:before| and |:after| blocks are evaluated the same as
	code in functions.  Inside functions, variables without any scope
	prefix are treated as local variables.  Since |autoload| variables are
	just global variables which have special characters in their names,
	the |g:| scope prefix is required to refer autoload variables.

(c) To emulate user input, use |:normal| instead of |feedkeys()|.
	For example, omni completion can be activated by:
>
		execute "normal! a\<C-x>\<C-o>"
<
	But
>
		call feedkeys("a\<C-x>\<C-o")
<
	does nothing.  Because feedkeys() only pushes characters into the
	input queue. When Vim becomes idle and the input queue is not empty,
	Vim will take a character from the input queue and processes it as if
	user typed the character. But Vim will never be idle while running
	a test script, because Vim is always busy to execute each line in the
	test script.

(d) To respond to |input()|, use |:normal|.
	Suppose that you define <Plug>InteractiveCommand which calls input(),
	and you want to write a test for it.  Use :normal as follows to queue
	a response to the input() from <Plug>InteractiveCommand:
>
		execute "normal \<Plug>InteractiveCommand{response}\<CR>"
<
	Technically you can use also feedkeys() to queue a response.
	But resulting code is hard read, because the order of code is
	scrambled -- you have to feedkeys() before :normal.

(e) plugin/*.vim must be explicitly |:source|d.
	This is an intentional behavior to set up configuration variables, key
	mappings, etc before loading plugin/*.vim.

	Several plugins behave differently depending on the current
	configuration.  Some plugins define key mappings based on their
	configuration variables.  Some plugins try not to override
	user-defined key mappings.

	If plugin/*.vim are automatically :source'd, we have to provide a way
	to emulate user's vimrc to reproduce such situations.  It makes things
	complicated.




==============================================================================
BUGS						*vspec-bugs*

- See http://github.com/kana/vim-vspec/issues for known issues and planned
  features.




==============================================================================
CHANGELOG					*vspec-changelog*

1.4.0	2014-04-12T15:19:32+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.4.0*
	- Support nested |:describe|.
	- Support |:context| as an alias of |:describe|.

1.3.1	2014-03-26T21:51:39+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.3.1*
	- When an unexpected error happens while running a test script,
	  vspec showed |v:exception| and |v:throwpoint| about the error.
	  But v:throwpoint includes also an internal call stack of vspec.
	  It's somewhat confusing for users to grasp where the error happens.
	  Now vspec shows v:throwpoint without the internal call stack.
	- Now it's safe to use the same description for multiple |:it| within
	  a |:describe| block.  In old versions, such :it blocks are not
	  properly executed.  All but the last :it block will never be
	  executed, and only the last :it block will be executed many times.
	  Though it is recommended to write a distinct description for each
	  :it block, the old behavior is surprising for users, and it is
	  annoying when writing one-time tests to check nontrivial behavior.
	- Now it's safe to use combining characters such as U+0300 (grave
	  accent) in :it descriptions.  In old versions use of such characters
	  causes unexpected errors or results depending on 'encoding'.

1.3.0	2014-03-16T18:28:33+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.3.0*
	- Add |vspec#pretty_string()|.
	- Fix to properly show special characters in failure messages.  In old
	  versions, special characters especially line feeds are rendered as
	  is, so that resulting messages are not in valid TAP format.

1.2.0	2014-02-13T23:12:36+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.2.0*
	- Add "to_throw" matcher to test whether an exception is thrown or
	  not.  See |vspec-to_throw| for the details.

1.1.4	2014-02-08T20:28:39+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.1.4*
	- Add more notes on common pitfalls to write tests.  See |vspec-faq|.
	- Fix a bug that |:it| fails if {example} starts with a number.
	- Fix to generate a proper failure message for TAP harness if an
	  unexpected error happens outside |:it| blocks.  In old versions,
	  vspec generates only a diagnostic message.
	- Fix to correctly show multiline error messages, especially for
	  multiline tracebacks given from Python.

1.1.3	2014-02-02T20:18:47+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.1.3*
	- Accept double-quoted strings in |:describe| and |:it|.
	- Add a known issue on |:read|.  See |vspec-faq|.

1.1.2	2013-06-11T22:30:06+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.1.2*
	- Fix |bin/vspec| to output lines with LF, not CR LF.
	- Add |vspec-custom-matcher-examples|.

1.1.1	2013-06-10T22:30:31+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.1.1*
	- Fix |bin/vspec| to work properly when
	  - No {non-standard-runtimepath} is given.
	  - Any {non-standard-runtimepath} contains spaces.

1.1.0	2012-10-29T22:19:45+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.1.0*
	- |:Expect-not|:
	  - Show proper messages for failed expectations.
	- |vspec-custom-matcher|:
	  - Change the naming guideline.
	    - Use snake_case instead of camelCase.
	    - Add new aliases for predefined custom matcheres.
	    - Old aliases are still supported, but deprecated.
	  - Support custom failure message.
	    - See |vspec#customize_matcher()| for the details.
	    - It was not possible to show meaningful messages for failed
	      expectations using custom mathcers with old versions.
	    - Change the syntax to register new matcher.
	    - Old syntax is still supported, but deprecated.
	  - Fix to properly support custom matchers with 2 or more arguments.

1.0.2	2012-02-12T21:02:50+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.0.2*
	- |bin/vspec|:
	  - Remove user's |after-directory| from 'runtimepath' to avoid
	    unexpected interference to run tests.
	  - Remove the output adjustment for the current directory.
	- |:Expect|: Fix to parse expressions including '"' and '|' correctly.
	- Add missing syntax highlighting for |:SKIP| and |:TODO|.

1.0.1	2012-02-10T23:00:35+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.0.1*
	- Fix not to install test scripts.

1.0.0	2012-01-31T00:32:15+09:00		*vspec-changelog-1.0.0*
	- Completely rewritten.  No compatibility with old versions.
	  - Output format is changed to Test Anything Protocol version 12.
	  - The style to write examples is changed.
	    See also |vspec-examples| for the details.
	  - Change the order of arguments to |bin/vspec|.
	  - Change the syntax for |vspec-custom-matcher| to be extensible and
	    readable.
	  - Add |:Expect-not| for counter examples.
	  - Add |:TODO| for incomplete examples.
	  - Add |:SKIP| for environment-specific examples.
	  - Add |:before| blocks and |:after| blocks.

0.0.4	2010-04-04T20:59:35+09:00		*vspec-changelog-0.0.4*
	- Add additional syntax file for |vspec-commands|.
	- |:Should|: Provide expression completion for convenience.
	- Improve minor stuffs.

0.0.3	2010-03-12T21:43:12+09:00		*vspec-changelog-0.0.3*
	- Add test driver |bin/vspec|.

0.0.2	2010-02-20T23:11:03+09:00		*vspec-changelog-0.0.2*
	- Add |vspec-custom-matcher|.
	- Fix typos in the document.

0.0.1	2009-11-18T20:44:13+09:00		*vspec-changelog-0.0.1*
	- Test driver: Fix not to read/write viminfo file for reproducibility
	  and to avoid overwrite user's viminfo unexpectedly.

0.0.0	2009-10-12T10:51:26+09:00		*vspec-changelog-0.0.0*
	- Initial version.




==============================================================================
vim:tw=78:ts=8:ft=help:norl:fen:fdl=0:fdm=marker: