Rails - Test validation of enum fields

Question

I'm using Rails 4 enums and I want to properly test them, so I set these tests up for my enum fields:

it { should validate_inclusion_of(:category).in_array(%w[sale sale_with_tax fees lease tax_free other payroll]) }
it { should validate_inclusion_of(:type).in_array(%w[receivable payable]) }

And this is the model they're validating:

class Invoice < ActiveRecord::Base
  belongs_to :user

  enum category: [:sale, :sale_with_tax, :fees, :lease, :tax_free, :other, :payroll]
  enum type: [:receivable, :payable]

  validates :user, presence: true
  validates :issue_date, presence: true
  validates :series, presence: true
  validates :folio, presence: true
  validates :issuing_location, presence: true
  validates :payment_method, presence: true
  validates :last_digits, presence: true
  validates :credit_note, presence: true
  validates :total, presence: true
  validates :subtotal, presence: true
  validates :category, presence: true
  validates_inclusion_of :category, in: Invoice.categories.keys
  validates :type, presence: true
  validates_inclusion_of :type, in: Invoice.types.keys
end

But when I run the tests I get:

1) Invoice should ensure inclusion of type in [0, 1]
     Failure/Error: it { should validate_inclusion_of(:type).in_array([0,1]) }
     ArgumentError:
       '123456789' is not a valid type
     # ./spec/models/invoice_spec.rb:20:in `block (2 levels) in <top (required)>'

  2) Invoice should ensure inclusion of category in [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
     Failure/Error: it { should validate_inclusion_of(:category).in_array([0,1,2,3,4,5,6]) }
     ArgumentError:
       '123456789' is not a valid category
     # ./spec/models/invoice_spec.rb:19:in `block (2 levels) in <top (required)>'

I've also tried with string values in the test arrays, but I get the same error and I really don't understand it.

This question is a duplicate of http://stackoverflow.com/questions/25597031/rails-4-enum-validation. As Albertis rightly states, "I'm not sure that this validation makes sense, since trying to assign an invalid value to status raises an ArgumentError" — ctc, Apr 21 '15 at 18:47
May not be related, but definitely an interesting read: [Using Enum as abstraction when testing](http://craftingruby.com/posts/2015/07/07/using-enumerable-as-abstraction-when-testing.html) — onebree, Jul 21 '15 at 12:42

score 25 · Accepted Answer · edited May 11 '23 at 23:11

25

Using Shoulda matchers we can use the following to test the enum

it { should define_enum_for(:type).with([:receivable, :payable]) }

it { should define_enum_for(:category).
            with([:sale, :sale_with_tax, :fees, :lease, :tax_free, :other, :payroll]) }

edited May 11 '23 at 23:11

Bhavik Parmar

424
1
6
9

answered Nov 09 '16 at 17:18

shivashankar

1,147
1
10
16

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 21 '15 at 18:28

2

Try this:

it { should validate_inclusion_of(:category).in_array(%w[sale sale_with_tax fees lease tax_free other payroll].map(&:to_sym)) }

Additionally, for code-cleanup, try putting the valid categories/types in a corresponding constant. Example:

class Invoice < ActiveRecord::Base
  INVOICE_CATEGORIES = [:sale, :sale_with_tax, :fees, :lease, :tax_free, :other, :payroll]
  enum category: INVOICE_CATEGORIES
end

answered Apr 21 '15 at 18:28

Chuck Callebs

16,293
8
56
71

1

Same issue with your solution, thanks for the cleanup tips, though. – 8vius Apr 21 '15 at 18:39

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 21 '15 at 18:41

2

Your migration could be the issue, it should look something like:

t.integer :type, default: 1

You may also consider testing this another way.

Maybe more like:

it "validates the category" do
  expect(invoice with category fee).to be_valid
end

answered Apr 21 '15 at 18:41

Chase

2,748
2
23
32

The migration looks the same just defaulting to 0 since the values start from there. And didn't consider it that way, could be enough. – 8vius Apr 21 '15 at 18:43
its best to use the new Rspec syntax (opinion), and its better to test validity rather than directly testing inclusion in cases like these. – Chase Apr 21 '15 at 20:19

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited May 13 '23 at 12:42

2

Use shoulda matchers along with check for column_type.

it do
  should define_enum_for(:type).
         with_values([:receivable, :payable]).
         backed_by_column_of_type(:integer)
end

it do 
  should define_enum_for(:category).
         with_values([:sale, :sale_with_tax, :fees, :lease, :tax_free, :other, :payroll]).
         backed_by_column_of_type(:integer)
end

edited May 13 '23 at 12:42

Bhavik Parmar

424
1
6
9

answered Aug 13 '20 at 07:56

Ayush Billore

109
5

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 05 '19 at 15:14

1

Just use shoulda matchers:

it { should define_enum_for(:type).with_values([:receivable, :payable]) }

it { should define_enum_for(:category).with_values(:sale, :sale_with_tax, :fees, :lease, :tax_free, :other, :payroll)}

answered Sep 05 '19 at 15:14

Matheus Porto

169
1
5

score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Nov 21 '22 at 11:38

0

You have this string in your validations:

validates_inclusion_of :category, in: Invoice.categories.keys

In case of enum

Invoice.categories.keys #=> ["sale", "sale_with_tax", "fees", "lease", "tax_free", "other", "payroll"]

You should update your object data with one of names of your enum.

edited Nov 21 '22 at 11:38

trinaldi

2,872
2
32
37

answered Jul 21 '15 at 08:53

Alexey Mironov

1
1

Rails - Test validation of enum fields

6 Answers6

Linked