Exploring the methods for testing controller directives within AngularJS

Despite extensive research, I have struggled to successfully test an Angular directive due to the inability to access functions within its controller.

Here is the snippet of the directive code:

angular.module('app').
    directive("accordionItem", function () {
        return{
            restrict: 'E',
            replace: true,
            templateUrl: function (elem, attr) {
                return 'partials/invoice/' + attr.temp + '.html';
            },
            scope: {
                invoice: '=',
                temp: '@'
            },
            controller: function ($scope, listSelectionService, $state) {

            $scope.selectItem = function () {
                if ($scope.isOpen()) {
                    listSelectionService.selectedItem = -1;
                }
                else {
                    listSelectionService.selectedItem = $scope.invoice;
                }
            };
            $scope.isOpen = function () {
                return listSelectionService.selectedItem === $scope.invoice;
            };
            $scope.showFaturasSubscription = function () {
                $state.go('app.ultimasFaturasSubscription', {subscriptionId: $scope.invoice.subscriptionId});
            };
        }
    };
});

Below is my test script for the directive:

describe('Invoice', function() {
    var $scope = {}, controller, $httpBackend, $controller, form, element;
    beforeEach(module('app'));

    describe('Directives', function() {
        beforeEach(inject(function($compile, $rootScope, _$httpBackend_, _$controller_) {
            $httpBackend = _$httpBackend_;
            $httpBackend.expect('GET', 'data/translation/?lang=pt').respond(200, []);
            $httpBackend.when('GET', 'partials/invoice/undefined.html').respond(200, []);
            $httpBackend.when('GET', 'partials/templates/loading.html').respond(200, []);
            $httpBackend.when('GET', 'partials/invoice/invoiceContent.html').respond(200, []);
            $scope = $rootScope.$new();
            $controller = _$controller_;

            form = $compile("<accordion-item temp='invoiceContent'></accordion-item>")($scope);
            $scope.$digest();

        }));
        it('should submitButtonDisabled', inject(function($injector) {
            var listSelectionService = $injector.get("listSelectionService");
            $scope.selectItem();
            expect(listSelectionService.selectedItem).toBe(-1);
        }));
    });
});

Despite documentation suggesting that we should have access to the controller of the directive after calling $digest(), I am encountering the error message below:

TypeError: $scope.selectItem is not a function
at null.<anonymous> (http://localhost:8234/spec/invoice/invoiceDirectivesSpec.js:27:20)
...
Error: Declaration Location
...

I would greatly appreciate any assistance with this issue.

Answer №1

When it comes to testing directive controllers, my approach is pretty similar to how I test regular controllers.

Instead of defining the controller inline within the directive, consider registering it on a module just like you would for a view controller:

Add the controller to a module:

angular.module('app').controller('DirectiveController', function($scope) { ... });

Specify the controller in the directive setup:

controller: 'DirectiveController'

Test the controller separately:

This method can either replace or complement testing the actual directive. It's much easier to test the controller outside of the directive because you don't have to worry about setting up the directive or dealing with DOM elements. If the directive template is simple enough, sometimes I skip writing tests for the directive and only focus on testing the controller. Here's a basic example:

var controller, scope;

beforeEach(inject(function($rootScope, $controller) {
    scope = $rootScope.$new();
    controller = $controller('DirectiveController', {$scope: scope});
}));

describe('controller', function() {
  it('should exist', function() {
    expect(controller).toBeDefined();
    expect(controller).not.toBeNull();
  });
});

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