Project: RSpec Expectations 2.0

Publisher: RSpec

Operator matchers

RSpec provides a number of matchers that are based on Ruby's built-in
operators. These mostly work like you expect. For example, each of these pass:

7.should == 7
25.2.should < 100
8.should > 7
17.should <= 17
3.should >= 2
[1, 2, 3].should == [1, 2, 3]
"this is a string".should =~ /^this/
"this is a string".should_not =~ /^that/
String.should === "this is a string"

RSpec also provides a =~ matcher for arrays that disregards differences in
the ording between the actual and expected array. For example:

[1, 2, 3].should =~ [2, 3, 1] # pass
[:a, :c, :b].should =~ [:a, :c] # fail

Scenarios

numeric operator matchers
string operator matchers
array operator matchers

numeric operator matchers

Given

a file named "numeric_operator_matchers_spec.rb" with:

describe 18 do
  it { should == 18 }
  it { should < 20 }
  it { should > 15 }
  it { should <= 19 }
  it { should >= 17 }

  it { should_not == 28 }
  it { should_not < 15 }
  it { should_not > 20 }
  it { should_not <= 17 }
  it { should_not >= 19 }

  # deliberate failures
  it { should == 28 }
  it { should < 15 }
  it { should > 20 }
  it { should <= 17 }
  it { should >= 19 }

  it { should_not == 18 }
  it { should_not < 20 }
  it { should_not > 15 }
  it { should_not <= 19 }
  it { should_not >= 17 }
end

When

I run "rspec numeric_operator_matchers_spec.rb"

Then

the output should contain "20 examples, 10 failures"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should == 28 }
     expected: 28,
          got: 18 (using ==)

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should < 15 }
     expected: < 15,
          got:   18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should > 20 }
     expected: > 20,
          got:   18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should <= 17 }
     expected: <= 17,
          got:    18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should >= 19 }
     expected: >= 19,
          got:    18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not == 18 }
     expected not: == 18,
              got:    18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not < 20 }
     expected not: < 20,
              got:   18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not > 15 }
     expected not: > 15,
              got:   18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not <= 19 }
     expected not: <= 19,
              got:    18

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not >= 17 }
     expected not: >= 17,
              got:    18

string operator matchers

Given

a file named "string_operator_matchers_spec.rb" with:

describe "Strawberry" do
  it { should == "Strawberry" }
  it { should < "Tomato" }
  it { should > "Apple" }
  it { should <= "Turnip" }
  it { should >= "Banana" }
  it { should =~ /berry/ }

  it { should_not == "Peach" }
  it { should_not < "Cranberry" }
  it { should_not > "Zuchini" }
  it { should_not <= "Potato" }
  it { should_not >= "Tomato" }
  it { should_not =~ /apple/ }

  it "reports that it is a string using ===" do
    String.should === subject
  end

  # deliberate failures
  it { should == "Peach" }
  it { should < "Cranberry" }
  it { should > "Zuchini" }
  it { should <= "Potato" }
  it { should >= "Tomato" }
  it { should =~ /apple/ }

  it { should_not == "Strawberry" }
  it { should_not < "Tomato" }
  it { should_not > "Apple" }
  it { should_not <= "Turnip" }
  it { should_not >= "Banana" }
  it { should_not =~ /berry/ }

  it "fails a spec asserting that it is a symbol" do
    Symbol.should === subject
  end
end

When

I run "rspec string_operator_matchers_spec.rb"

Then

the output should contain "26 examples, 13 failures"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should == "Peach" }
     expected: "Peach",
          got: "Strawberry" (using ==)

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should < "Cranberry" }
     expected: < "Cranberry",
          got:   "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should > "Zuchini" }
     expected: > "Zuchini",
          got:   "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should <= "Potato" }
     expected: <= "Potato",
          got:    "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should >= "Tomato" }
     expected: >= "Tomato",
          got:    "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should =~ /apple/ }
     expected: /apple/,
          got: "Strawberry" (using =~)

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not == "Strawberry" }
     expected not: == "Strawberry",
              got:    "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not < "Tomato" }
     expected not: < "Tomato",
              got:   "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not > "Apple" }
     expected not: > "Apple",
              got:   "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not <= "Turnip" }
     expected not: <= "Turnip",
              got:    "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not >= "Banana" }
     expected not: >= "Banana",
              got:    "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not =~ /berry/ }
     expected not: =~ /berry/,
              got:    "Strawberry"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: Symbol.should === subject
     expected: "Strawberry",
          got: Symbol (using ===)

array operator matchers

Given

a file named "array_operator_matchers_spec.rb" with:

describe [1, 2, 3] do
  it { should == [1, 2, 3] }
  it { should_not == [1, 3, 2] }

  it { should =~ [1, 2, 3] }
  it { should =~ [1, 3, 2] }
  it { should =~ [2, 1, 3] }
  it { should =~ [2, 3, 1] }
  it { should =~ [3, 1, 2] }
  it { should =~ [3, 2, 1] }

  # deliberate failures
  it { should_not == [1, 2, 3] }
  it { should == [1, 3, 2] }
  it { should =~ [1, 2, 1] }
end

When

I run "rspec array_operator_matchers_spec.rb"

Then

the output should contain "11 examples, 3 failures"

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should_not == [1, 2, 3] }
     expected not: == [1, 2, 3],
              got:    [1, 2, 3]

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should == [1, 3, 2] }
     expected: [1, 3, 2],
          got: [1, 2, 3] (using ==)

And

the output should contain:

     Failure/Error: it { should =~ [1, 2, 1] }
     expected collection contained:  [1, 1, 2]
     actual collection contained:    [1, 2, 3]
     the missing elements were:      [1]
     the extra elements were:        [3]

Last published about 4 years ago by dchelimsky.

Operator matchers

RSpec Expectations settings