Simulating a service call in an AngularJS controller

Here is the code for my Controller:

(function () {
    'use strict';
    angular.module('myApp').controller('myCtrl', function ($scope, myService) {

        // Start -----> Service call: Get Initial Data
        myService.getInitialData().getData(function (featureManagerdata) {
            var serviceData = featureManagerdata;
        }, function (error) {
            showErrorMessage(error, 'getinitialdata');                
        });
    });
}());

This is my service implementation using $resource to make a call on getInitialData with getData as a custom function.

(function () {
    'use strict';
    angular.module('myApp').factory('myService', ['$resource', myService]);

    function myService($resource) {
        var hostUrl = 'http://x.x.x.x/WebAPIDev';

        function getInitialData() {
            var url = hostUrl + '/featuremanager/allfeatures';
            var options = {
                getData: {
                    method: 'GET',
                    isArray: true
                }
            };
            return $resource(url, {}, options);
        );

        return {
            getInitialData: getInitialData
        };
    }
}());

I am trying to test the service call in the controller using karma-jasmine. Below is the test script for my controller:

TestMyCtrl:

describe('Test my controller', function() {
    beforeEach(module('myApp'));

    var scope, Ctrl, service;

    angular.module('myApp').service('mockService', function($resource) {
        getInitialData = function() {
            return {
                'featureId': 1
            };
        }
    });

    beforeEach(inject(function(_$controller_, $rootScope, mockService) {
        scope = $rootScope.$new();
        Ctrl = _$controller_('myCtrl', {
            $scope: scope,
            service: mockService
        });
    }));

    it('should test get initial data', function() {
        var response, mockUserResource, $httpBackend, result;

        service.getInitialData().getData(function(data) {
            response = data;
            // verify data
        });
    });
});

However, I encountered an error stating that service.getInitialData is not a function. Any insights on why this error is occurring or suggestions on a better way to test the service call?

Answer №1

When working with Angular, it's important to understand the distinctions between factory and service. For more information on this topic, you can refer to Service vs Factory vs Provider in Angular.

One key difference is that a factory returns a reference Object, while a service returns an Instance.

In a factory, if you need to define or mock a function or property, you would return an Object with the desired property name and value. On the other hand, in a service, you would set it to this.

Additionally, make sure to return an Object that defines a function called getData, which can be invoked in your final test case. If this function is not defined correctly, you may encounter an error stating that undefine is not a function.

To update your TestMyCtrl, you can follow this example:

describe('Test my controller', function() {
    beforeEach(module('myApp'));

    var scope, Ctrl, service;

    angular.module('myApp').service('mockService', function($resource) {
        // Set the function to 'this'
        this.getInitialData = function() {
            return {
                getData: function(func) {
                    var data = {
                        featureId: 1
                    };
                    func(data);
                }
            };
        }
    });

    beforeEach(inject(function(_$controller_, $rootScope, mockService) {
        scope = $rootScope.$new();
        Ctrl = _$controller_('myCtrl', {
            $scope: scope,
            service: mockService
        });
    }));

    it('should test get initial data', function() {
        var response, mockUserResource, $httpBackend, result;

        service.getInitialData().getData(function(data) {
            response = data;
            // Verify data here
        });
    });
});

I hope this explanation helps clarify the differences for you!

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