Jasmine - A guide to error testing techniques

SCENARIO:

Hey everyone! I'm currently diving into Jasmine to test my Angular application.

I've created a simple function that multiplies two numbers. If the input parameters are not numbers, the function throws an error.

Next, I wrote two basic tests:

The first one checks if the function correctly multiplies the numbers, and the second one verifies if the function correctly throws an error when a string is provided as a parameter.

The first test passed successfully, but the second one failed. I'm puzzled about the reason for the failure.

CODE SNIPPET:

The function:

function Multiply( num1, num2 )
{

    var result;

    if (isNaN(num1) || isNaN(num2)) 
    {
        throw new Error("not a number");
    }
    else
    {
        result = num1 * num2;

        return result;
    }

}

The spec:

describe('The function', function () 
{
    it('correctly multiplies two numbers', function () 
    {
        result = Multiply(10, 5);
        expect(result).toEqual(50);
    });

    it('throws an error if a parameter is not a number', function () 
    {
        result = Multiply(10, 'aaaa');

        expect(result).toThrow(new Error("not a number"));

    });

});

TEST RESULTS:

2 specs, 1 failure
Spec List | Failures
The function throw an error if a parameter is not a number
Error: not a number
Error: not a number
    at Multiply (http://localhost/jasmine_test/src/app.js:8:9)

As far as I understand Jasmine, both tests should pass since the function throws the error as expected in the second test.

QUESTION:

How can I accurately test if a function correctly throws an error?



EDIT:

I attempted this new code, but it still isn't working:

describe('The function', function () 
{

    it('throws an error if a parameter is not a number', function () 
    {

        expect(function() { Multiply(10, 'aaaa') }).toThrowError(new Error("not a number"));

    });

});

OUTPUT:

2 specs, 1 failure
Spec List | Failures
The function throw an error if a parameter is not a number
Error: Expected is not an Error, string, or RegExp.

Answer №1

To clarify, it seems that you are required to pass a function into the expect(...) call.

Instead of the code you currently have, which is:

expect(result).toThrow(new Error("not a number"));

You are checking the result of Multiply, which works fine when it works. However, .toThrow() expects a function, so using an anonymous function would be more appropriate. See the updated code below:

expect( function(){ Multiply(10, 'aaaa'); } ).toThrow(new Error("not a number"));

On another note, I found a detailed explanation of what I am referring to in this blog post.

Answer №2

To ensure that the code you anticipate will generate an error is properly handled, it must be enclosed within a function:

expect(function () {
    Multiply(10, 'aaaa');
}).toThrow(Error, 'not a number');

If you omit placing the code within a function, the error may be thrown outside the intended scope when running your assertions. For additional information on error matching syntax, refer to the jasmine documentation

Answer №3

  • For exceptions handled within methods, the methods mentioned above hold true.
  • When testing services, you can utilize a mocking mechanism for this purpose.
  • Take advantage of the NgModule providers section to create mocks.

  • Within the describe() block,

providers: [{ provide: APIService, useValue: { api: { filterTaskDetails: () => throwError('Error') }}}]

Remember to import throwError from rxjs.

  • When testing within the expect() block, do it like this:
spyOn(component['toaster'], 'showError');
/** Add relevant it() blocks **/
expect(component['toaster'].showError).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);

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