RSpec::Longrun

RSpec is a fine unit-testing framework, but is also handy for acceptance and integration tests. But the default report formatters make it difficult to track progress of such long-running tests.

The RSpec::Longrun::Formatter outputs the name of each test as it starts, rather than waiting until it passes or fails. It also provides a mechanism for reporting on progress of a test while it is still executing.

Add this line to your application's Gemfile:

gem 'rspec-longrun'

In a Rails project, you can safely limit it to the "test" group.

Specify the custom output format when invoking RSpec, as follows:

rspec -r rspec/longrun -f RSpec::Longrun::Formatter spec ...

The resulting test output looks something like:

Example group {
  First example OK (1.2s)
  Second example OK (3.4s)
  Third example PENDING (Not implemented yet) (0.2s)
} (5.2s)

(though a little more colourful).

Include RSpec::Longrun::DSL to define the 'step' method, which can be used to group blocks of code within the context of a large test. For example:

describe "Account management" do

  include RSpec::Longrun::DSL     # <-- important

  example "Log in and alter preferences" do

    step "Log in" do
      ui.go_home
      ui.authenticate_as "joe", "fnord"
    end

    step "Navigate to preferences page" do
      ui.nav.prefs_link.click
    end

    step "Change preferences" do
      ui.prefs_pane.enter_defaults
      ui.prefs_pane.save
    end

  end

end

The resulting test output looks something like:

Account management {
  Log in and alter preferences {
    Log in (0.5s)
    Navigate to preferences page (0.2s)
    Change preferences (5.2s)
  } OK (7.1s)
} OK (7.2s)

which gives you some extra context in the event that something fails, or hangs, during the test run.

rspec-longrun is on Github. You know what to do.