Clearing class instance variables in between Rspec examples

Question

I'm writing specs for a gem of mine that extends ActiveRecord. One of the things it has to do is set a class instance variable like so:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  @foo = "asd"
end

Right now when I set @foo in one it "should" {} it persists to the next one. I understand this is normal Ruby behavior but I thought RSpec had some magic that cleaned everything out in between specs. I'd like to know how I can re-use a single AR model for all my tests (since creating a bunch of tables would be a pain) while being sure that @foo is being cleared between each test. Do I need to do this manually?

"I thought RSpec had some magic that cleaned everything out in between specs" - can anyone comment on whether this is the case? — Andrew Grimm
– Andrew Grimm, Commented Oct 26, 2011 at 22:34

bloudermilk · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-27 00:57:26Z

1

I wound up generating a method in my helper class that generated new classes with Class.new, so I could be sure that nothing was being left over in between tests.

answered Oct 27, 2011 at 0:57

bloudermilk

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Comments

apneadiving · Accepted Answer · 2011-10-26 21:11:55Z

0

You should simply make good use of the after :each block.

after(:each) do 
  @foo = nil
end

answered Oct 26, 2011 at 21:11

apneadiving

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2 Comments

Christoph Petschnig Over a year ago

or even an around statement that remembers the value before the test and sets it back afterwards.

patrick Over a year ago

the author's instance variable is in the class under test, NOT in the test itself.

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