How to mock only one method using Sinon?

Question

I've got a single method in my namespace that I'd like to mock, but I'd prefer that all the others work normally. Is it possible to have sinon mock a specific method while leaving the others the same?

My understanding is I'm not looking for a spy because I want to assert that the mock was called with specific parameters.

Here's my code in CoffeeScript:

root.targeting.handleUnitsAttack = (gameState) ->
  units = gameState.heroes.concat(gameState.badGuys)
  for source in units
    for target in units
      gameState = root.targeting.sourceAttackTarget(gameState, source, target)
  gameState

I'd like to mock sourceAttackTarget and verify that its arguments are specific values.

Solution 1

Yes, that is one of the most common uses cases for sinon@2, but I believe that what you are looking for is neither a mock nor a spy, but instead a stub.

See: https://sinonjs.org/releases/v2.4.1/stubs/

var stub = sinon.stub(object, "foo");
//do your assertions
stub.restore(); //back to normal now.

This will allow you to create a default function that replaces object.foo().

From your question, however, it sounds like a no-op stub function is not what you are after, and instead want to override it with a custom function of your own:

var stub = sinon.stub(object, "foo", function customFoo() { /* ... */ });
//do your assertions
stub.restore(); //back to normal now.

HTH!

---

EDIT:

How to stub a single function:

The following stubs object.sourceAttackTarget()

var stub = sinon.stub(object, "sourceAttackTarget", function sourceAttackTargetCustom(gameState, source, target) {
    //do assertions on gameState, source, and target
    // ...
    return customReturn;
});
//do any further assertions
stub.restore(); //back to normal now.

How to stub a function to test for particular parameters

var stub = sinon.stub(object, "sourceAttackTarget");
stub.withArgs(1, "foo", "bar").returns("correctTarget");
stub.returns("wrongTarget");
var output = object.sourceAttackTarget(gameState, source, target);
equal(output, "correctTarget", 'sourceAttackTarget invoked with the right arguments');
//do any further assertions
stub.restore(); //back to normal now.

(Update)

There is also .calledWith() and .calledWithMatch(), which I just found out about. Could also prove quite useful for these sorts of tests.

How to mock just one method for an object:

"Mocks come with built-in expectations that may fail your test. Thus, they enforce implementation details. The rule of thumb is: if you wouldn’t add an assertion for some specific call, don’t mock it. Use a stub instead. In general you should never have more than one mock (possibly with several expectations) in a single test." - source

... so for the question asked above, a mock is not the right thing to use, and a stub is the appropriate choice. That being said, one of the scenarios can be tested easily with a mock, and that is the expectation that a method has been called with a particular set of arguments.

var mock = sinon.mock(object);
mock.expects("sourceAttackTarget").withArgs(1, "foo", "bar");
object.sourceAttackTarget(gameState, source, target);
mock.verify();

Solution 2

Starting with [email protected], the

var stub = sinon.stub(object, "method", func);

has been removed. One should rather use:

stub(object, "method").callsFake(func)

stub.callsFake(fakeFunction);
Makes the stub call the provided fakeFunction when invoked.

var myObj = {};
myObj.prop = function propFn() {
    return 'foo';
};

sinon.stub(myObj, 'prop').callsFake(function fakeFn() {
    return 'bar';
});

myObj.prop(); // 'bar'

Source: sinonjs docs

Comments

[Rana Ghosh]

I actually want to verify things at the end. I want to verify that the mock was called with specific parameters.

[Rana Ghosh]

and in fact, I actually want to control what the mocked method returns too. I feel like I want everything possible, although my code is pretty simple. I'll edit my question to show it.

[bguiz]

If you want to verify that the method was called with specific parameters, then a simple stub will suffice. Otherwise, use the second option, where you add the custom function, do your assertions within the custom function for the expected parameters, and then also return a the value that you wish.

[Rana Ghosh]

Can you update your example showing me how to do that?

[Rana Ghosh]

"If you want to verify that the method was called with specific parameters, then a simple stub will suffice." Can you show that part, too?

[Rana Ghosh]

And I'd also appreciate it if you showed how to mock a single function because others will come back here one day with a valid reason to know how to do that and want to see the answer.

[bguiz]

OK, just edited to add how to stub a function to test that particular parameters were used.

[bguiz]

... and just added a section on mocks - with a disclaimer, because mocks are not the right thing to do for what you have asked.

[Rana Ghosh]

A key to my question is what do I pass in for object in this case? Is it root.targeting?

[bguiz]

Yes, object is the variable which contains the function which you wish to stub. In this case, that would be root.targeting. What sinon does under the hood is var methodBeforeStubbing = object[methodName];

[bguiz]

Updatred answer to add .calledWIth() and .calledWithMatch()

[k0pernikus]

The answer is out-dated. The correct way to use sinon stub has become stub(obj, 'meth').callsFake(fn)