What is the most effective method for creating unit testing functions in JavaScript?

When it comes to JavaScript, there are multiple ways to write the same functions. For example, consider the following options. Which approach is ideal for unit testing scenarios?

 // Option 1 ============ 
var app = {};
app.name = "abc"
app.init = function () {
    return "test";
};

// Option 2 ============
function app() {
    this.name = "abc";
};
app.prototype.init = function () {
    return "test";
};

Answer №1

Testing this code can be done in two ways:

// Method 1
assert.equal(app.name, 'abc')
assert.equal(app.init(), 'test')

// Method 2
var appInstance = new app()
assert.equal(appInstance.name, 'abc')
assert.equal(appInstance.init(), 'test')

It's important to note that in "Method 2," the variable app should be in uppercase (as is the convention for Constructors).

Testing might be more complex with "Method 1" since var app needs to be exported as a global variable, making it difficult to test against a mutable global object (which can lead to side-effects).

Therefore, I suggest using "Method 2" as it allows for a clean test setup by re-instantiating the constructor in a beforeEach block (especially when using a testing framework like Mocha):

describe('the app'', function() {
  var app
  beforeEach(function() {
    app = new App()
  })

  it(...)
  it(...)
})

If you prefer not to use prototypes, you can achieve the same level of testability using the following approach:

var createApp = function() {
  var app = {};
  app.name = "abc"
  app.init = function () {
   return "test";
  };
  return app;
}

Similar questions

If you have not found the answer to your question or you are interested in this topic, then look at other similar questions below or use the search

Submitting an Ajax form refreshes the page

After submitting the form, the page reloads and I am trying to prevent that from happening. Latest Update: After receiving some feedback, I have made changes to my code. The form submission now works correctly, but the page still reloads. Previously, this ...

VueJS Components experiencing issues with displaying images

Recently, I delved into learning VueJS and successfully created a basic restaurant menu page all within a single file. Excited by my progress, I decided to refactor the project using vue-cli, but hit a snag with the images not displaying properly. The cur ...

The v-show directive is not activated by a Vuex commit

I am experimenting with vuex for the first time, and I have come across an issue where a v-show directive is not triggering after a mutation commit on the store. // store.js import Vue from "vue" import Vuex from "vuex" const states = ...

What is the best way to reset an angularJS form after it has been submitted

I am trying to figure out a way to clear form fields on a modal window after the user executes the save method. I have attempted using $setPristine in AngularJS, but it's not working as expected. Any suggestions on how to achieve this task? Here is t ...

The Material UI button feature neglects to account for custom CSS styles when attempting to override the default settings

Utilizing a custom bootstrap css styles in my react app, I am seeking to enhance the default material ui components with the bootstrap styles. import React, {useState} from 'react'; import 'cg-bootstrap/core/build/cg-bootstrap-standard.css&a ...

What is the advantage of utilizing the ng-idle library for monitoring user idle status when we have the ability to create custom JavaScript code to track inactivity based on keyboard and mouse events?

I have implemented a method to detect user idle time using mouse and key events as shown below. @HostListener('window:keydown', ['$event']) @HostListener('window:mousedown', ['$event']) @HostListener('window:mou ...

Ensure a button is automatically highlighted within an active class script

I have created a set of buttons that allow users to change the font family of the text. I would like the border and text color to update automatically when a specific option is selected. Currently, the JavaScript code works well, but when the page first l ...

retrieve the variable contained within the callback function

const axios = require('axios'); const options = { url: 'https://api.github.com/repos/axios/axios', headers: { 'User-Agent': 'axios' } }; function handleResponse(error, response, body) { if (!error && re ...

Stop the form submission until validation is complete

I'm currently working on a form and encountering some validation issues. HTML: <form id="regForm" class="form-group" method="POST" action="signup.php"> <div class="col-md-12"> <h2>Job Pocket</h2> </div> <di ...

Changing Image Size in Real Time

Trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation - I need to call a static image from an API server that requires height and width parameters for generating the image size. My website is CSS dynamic, adapting to different screen sizes including ...

Are your file uploaders malfunctioning by saving empty image files?

I am currently working on a file uploader using JavaScript and Classic ASP. The process involves importing an image into a canvas, converting it to a base64 URL, and then sending that URL to the ASP script for decoding and downloading. Although my AJAX re ...

"Utilizing JavaScript to locate a corresponding row in a table within an MVC view

I am currently updating my row using Ajax call and now I want to update the row with the new data without refreshing the page. Right now, I am matching based on DisplayName but I would like to match it with the ID since it's unique and the ID is conta ...

Retrieve the route.js directory using Node.js

My server.js file is located in the directory: /dir1. To start the server, I use the command node server.js. In the directory /dir1/app/, I have my file named routes.js. I am trying to find out the directory path of the server.js file. However, I am unc ...

Manipulating deeply nested state data in Vuex actions can be a challenge

When working in the store, I have an action that updates certain data. The action is structured like this: setRoomImage({ state }, { room, index, subIndex, image }) { state.fullReport.rooms[room].items[index].items[subIndex].image = image; co ...

Angular Transclude - ng-repeat fails to iterate over elements

Recently, I've been experimenting with Angular directives and encountered a peculiar issue... Check out the code snippet below: <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Directive test</title> <script type="text/ja ...

What might be causing the issue in the build process of my next.js project?

**Why is my Node.js YAML file causing an error?** name: Node.js CI on: push: branches: [ "main" ] pull_request: branches: [ "main" ] jobs: build: runs-on: ubuntu-latest strategy: matrix: node-ver ...

Is there a way to assign a role to a user without requiring them to send a message beforehand?

I've been searching for a solution to this issue, but all I could find were instructions on how to assign a server role to someone who has interacted in some way. Is there a way to locate a specific user on a server and assign a role to them without ...

Comparison between WAMP and Live server integration with Facebook for connecting applications

I've been facing some challenges while integrating my website with Facebook Connect. I have been following the instructions provided in this guide. When attempting to run the following code from localhost, please note that for security reasons, my ap ...

Node.js Conditional Logic using Javascript

Can a check be implemented for the following scenario? A continuous loop of numbers, such as 1 2 3 4, is being sent to the server. However, I only want each number to be accepted once. Here is my current approach. I believe I am missing one additional c ...

Implement code to execute exclusively on the initial success of react-query

I have a unique scenario where I need to utilize standard useQuery behavior, while also executing a piece of code only on the initial onSuccess event. Although I understand that I can accomplish this using useRef, I am curious if there is an alternative a ...