RequireJSTestCase

A test case for JsTestDriver that allows the dynamic use of RequireJS modules without having to compile the modules with r.js.

Credit

Inspired by jstd_amd, but distinct enough that is is not a fork. jstd_amd supports stubbing, and you access the dependencies a bit differently. Otherwise, I copied the same technique of using AsyncTestCase to make sure the dependencies load before the setup method is called for the first test. If you want to stub modules, check out Sinon.JS.

Usage

Here's how to declare a test case:

    RequireJSTestCase("testname",
        {
            FirstDep: 'lib/first-dep',
            SecondDep: 'lib/second-dep',
        },
        {
            setUp: function() {
            },
            
            "test modules loaded": function() {
                // Some JSTestDriver assertions
                assertNotUndefined("FirstDep is present", this.r.FirstDep);
                assertNotUndefined("SecondDep is present", this.r.SecondDep);
            },
        }
    );

As you can see, this.r is where all the loaded dependencies reside.

There are three arguments to RequireJSTestCase(testname, dependencies, methods):

• testname: the JSTestDriver test name
• dependencies: an object whose keys are the local name for the module, and whose values are the requireJS dependency names. The local name is used as the key to access the loaded module out of the this.r object.
• methods: this is the normal object that you would pass to a JsTestDriver test case. Since we use AsyncTestCase behind the scenes, all the test methods are passed a queue object you can use for async testing if so needed.

RequireJS/JsTestDriver config

In jsTestDriver.conf, just make sure require.js and require-js-testcase.js are loaded before your scripts (obviously).

To set the RequireJS config, just create a separate script that is loaded after require but before your tests:

    // tests/require-config.js
    require.config({
        // Assuming your modules are under the /js folder on your test server
        baseUrl: '/js',
    });

Then, specify the file in the right order (after require.js) in the jsTestDriver.conf file:

    # jsTestDriver.conf
    server: ...
    load:
     # ...
     - lib/require.js
     - tests/require-config.js
     - tests/lib/require-js-testcase.js
     # test cases go here...

    # This allows the modules to be loaded dynamically from a local test server.
    # Can also use the 'serve' option
    proxy: 
     - {matcher: "*", server: "http://localhost:3000"}

JsTestDriver also appears to have a serve directive which could be used instead of proxy if you don't want to be dependant on a separate server.

Presently, there is no way to specify test-specific config for RequireJS.

Running JsTestDriver

jstd_amd requires you to run JsTestDriver with the --reset option to reset the runner everytime. It seems to work quite well that way, so do it. Plus, it seems with this option, you can refresh the capture window and JSTestDriver won't konk out on you so much for doing so.

Updates to your app code will be seen upon rerunning a test since we use the urlArgs config option in RequireJS to circumvent the RequireJS module cache. Unfortunately, if you use Firebug to debug your tests, this means you can't set breakpoints in your app code unless you put a breakpoint at the beginning of the test and then find the proper js file that has been reloaded and breakpoint it after the test begins. Firebug can get quite cluttered with the reloaded scripts over time, but a simple refresh of the JsTestDriver capture window will clear it.

Compatibility

RequireJSTestCase has been tested with RequireJS 1.0.5 and JsTestDriver 1.3.2. There is one dependency on an undocumented feature of RequireJS (the require.s.contexts.\_ object). Otherwise, it should work with future versions without a problem.