The document discusses the challenges and solutions in improving test-driven development (TDD) speeds using Rails, focusing on the limitations of the Ruby runtime and various methods to enhance test feedback loops. It proposes several strategies such as upgrading Ruby, using preloading techniques, and employing tools like Spork and Guard to expediate testing processes. Ultimately, while some techniques yield significant improvements, the document emphasizes that these methods may introduce complexities and do not resolve the underlying issues of Rails' architecture.

1. Speedy TDD with Rails
Reclaiming your feedback loop (the wrong way)
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Ash Moran
2.0 UK: England & Wales License PatchSpace Ltd

2. ier
Speedy TDD with Rails
Reclaiming your feedback loop (the wrong way)
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Ash Moran
2.0 UK: England & Wales License PatchSpace Ltd

3. What say Google about tests?

4. JavaScript
Nothing unusual here

5. Clojure
Seems pretty uneventful too

6. Scala
Equally unexciting

7. Python
Testing is pretty boring really

8. Java
You’re probably ok as long as you speak German

9. C#
More concerned with recruitment than code

10. Fortran
You’re on your own

11. Django
Since, in fairness, we’re testing web apps here

12. Rails
You can hear their pained cries for help

13. Why does test speed matter?

14. Red
Refactor Green
The TDD loop
This constrains how fast you can learn whether
your code implements the specification

15. TDD orders of magnitude
0.01s
Full-app validation on every run
0.1s
Continuous development flow
1s
Interrupted development flow
10s
Check Twitter more than you check your app

16. What is the current situation?

17. Rails: one test
One RSpec example
RSpec 2.8.0 on MRI Ruby 1.9.3

18. Rails: 16 tests
Booting Rails is the constraint

19. What can we do?

20. Attack vector 1:
The Ruby Runtime

21. Upgrade from Ruby 1.9.2
The `require` method is much faster in 1.9.3
But… Heroku currently only offers 1.9.2

22. Switch to 1.8.7
This was seriously proposed to me on the rspec-users
list
Baby + bathwater?

23. Attack vector 2:
Pre-loading and forking Rails

24. Spin
https://github.com/jstorimer/spin
Start the server (loads Rails): spin serve
Run tests
spin push test/unit/product_test.rb
spin push a_test.rb b_test.rb …
No changes to the app whatsoever
Internally does some jiggery-pokery for RSpec

25. Guard::Spin
guard 'spin' do
watch(%r{^spec/.+_spec.rb})
watch(%r{^app/(.+).rb}) { |m| "spec/#{m[1]}_spec.rb" }
watch(%r{^app/(.+).haml}) { |m| "spec/#{m[1]}.haml_spec.rb" }
watch(%r{^lib/(.+).rb}) { |m| "spec/lib/#{m[1]}_spec.rb" }
watch(%r{^app/controllers/(.+)_(controller).rb}) { |m|
[
"spec/routing/#{m[1]}_routing_spec.rb",
"spec/#{m[2]}s/#{m[1]}_#{m[2]}_spec.rb",
"spec/requests/#{m[1]}_spec.rb"
]
}
end

26. Guard::Spin
Faster, but not an order of magnitude faster
Outcome: only worth it if it causes no problems

27. Spork
https://github.com/sporkrb/spork
Requires changing spec_helper.rb
Uses enough metaprogramming monkey-patching of
Rails to summon a Greater Uncle Bob Daemon
https://github.com/sporkrb/spork/blob/master/lib/
spork/app_framework/rails.rb#L43-80

28. Spork monkey-patching
def preload_rails
if deprecated_version && (not /^3/.match(deprecated_version))
puts "This version of spork only supports Rails 3.0. To use spork with rails 2.3.x, downgrade to spork 0.8.x."
exit 1
end
require application_file
::Rails.application
::Rails::Engine.class_eval do
def eager_load!
# turn off eager_loading, all together
end
end
# Spork.trap_method(::AbstractController::Helpers::ClassMethods, :helper)
Spork.trap_method(::ActiveModel::Observing::ClassMethods, :instantiate_observers)
Spork.each_run { ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection rescue nil } if Object.const_defined?(:ActiveRecord)
…

29. Spork monkey-patching
…
AbstractController::Helpers::ClassMethods.module_eval do
def helper(*args, &block)
([args].flatten - [:all]).each do |arg|
next unless arg.is_a?(String)
filename = arg + "_helper"
unless ::ActiveSupport::Dependencies.search_for_file(filename)
# this error message must raise in the format such that LoadError#path returns the filename
raise LoadError.new("Missing helper file helpers/%s.rb" % filename)
end
end
Spork.each_run(false) do
modules_for_helpers(args).each do |mod|
add_template_helper(mod)
end
_helpers.module_eval(&block) if block_given?
end
end
end

30. Forking Rails?
Only saves part of the time
Introduces potential problems
Reloading the pre-fork
Hacks to make it work
Can introduce many subtle bugs
Doesn’t address the real problem: depending on Rails

31. Attack vector 3:
Hijack code reloading for
browser integration tests

32. Code reloading
Used in the development environment
Called cache_classes
This is a lie! Ruby does not have real code reloading
like Erlang
Can be used to speed up browser integration tests
Called “acceptance” here, which may not be true

33. Guard::Rails
# Running with `daemon: true` because I can't figure out how to turn off enough Rails logging
guard "rails", environment: "acceptance", server: :thin, port: 3100, daemon: true do
watch("Gemfile.lock")
watch(%r{^(config|lib)/.*})
end
guard "rspec", spec_paths: %w[ spec/acceptance ], cli: "--color --format Fuubar" do
watch(%r{^spec/acceptance/.+_spec.rb$})
end

34. environments/acceptance.rb
MyApp::Application.configure do
config.cache_classes = false
config.consider_all_requests_local = true
config.active_support.deprecation = :log
config.assets.compress = false
config.action_mailer.default_url_options = { :host => 'localhost:3000' }
config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :smtp
config.action_mailer.smtp_settings = {
:address => "localhost", :port => 1025, :enable_starttls_auto => false
}
# Disable logging for now (too much noise in Guard)
# I couldn't figure out how to make it log so running this as a daemon instead
# config.logger = nil
# config.action_controller.logger = nil
# config.action_view.logger = nil
end
Mongoid.configure do |config|
config.logger = nil
end

35. capybara-webkit tests
Feedback time comparable to controller tests

36. Code reloading summary
Speeds up start time of browser tests considerably
Tests must be written to work cross-process
Fewer issues than Spin/Spork (lesser of two evils)
No help at all speeding up controller tests
Still doesn’t address the real problem

37. Attack vector 4:
Split the tests by dependency

38. Example: Mongoid
require 'spec_helper'
require 'spec/environments/mongoid'
require_unless_rails_loaded 'app/models/question'
require_unless_rails_loaded 'app/models/user'
require 'spec/support/blueprints/question'
describe Question do
describe "#populate" do
let(:source_question) {
Question.make(value: "Submetric 1a Q1", comment: "Submetric 1a A1")
}
let(:target_question) {
Question.make(value: "this does not get overwritten", comment: "this gets overwritten")
}
before(:each) do
source_question.populate(target_question)
end
subject { target_question }
its(:value) { should be == "this does not get overwritten" }
its(:comment) { should be == "Submetric 1a A1" }
end
end

39. spec/environments/mongoid
require_relative 'common'
# Gem dependencies
require 'mongoid'
if !rails_loaded?
ENV["RACK_ENV"] ||= "test" # Hack to use the Mongoid.load!
Mongoid.load!("config/mongoid.yml")
Mongoid.configure do |config|
config.logger = nil
end
end
RSpec.configure do |config|
config.before(:each) do
Mongoid::IdentityMap.clear
end
end

40. spec/environments/common
def require_unless_rails_loaded(file)
require(file) unless rails_loaded?
end
This may be paranoia

41. spec_helper.rb
def rails_loaded?
Object.const_defined?(:MyApp) &&
MyApp.const_defined?(:Application)
end

42. Guardfile (multiple guards)
guard "rspec", spec_paths: %w[ spec/controllers ], cli: "--color --format Fuubar" do
watch('spec/environments/rails.rb') { "spec/controllers" }
watch(%r{^spec/controllers/.+_spec.rb$})
watch(%r{^app/controllers/(.+).rb$}) { |m| "spec/#{m[1]}_spec.rb" }
end
guard "rspec", spec_paths: %w[ spec/models ], cli: "--color --format Fuubar" do
watch('spec/spec_helper.rb') { "spec/models" }
watch('spec/environments/mongoid.rb') { "spec/models" }
watch(%r{^spec/support/(.+).rb$}) { "spec/models" }
watch(%r{^spec/models/.+_spec.rb$})
watch(%r{^app/models/(.+).rb$}) { |m| "spec/#{m[1]}_spec.rb" }
watch(%r{^app/models/concerns.rb$}) { |m| "spec/models" }
end

43. Running in Guard
Mongoid tests now running ~1s not ~10s
Not brilliant, but an order of magnitude change

44. Concluding thoughts

45. How much does this help?
Bypassing the Rails boot process can increase
feedback speed by an order of magnitude
Without changing your code, you can turn a nightmare
into a bad dream
The size of the gains depend on how many
dependencies you have left

46. Is this the right way?
No.
Tune in next month for “Speedy TDD in Rails (the
righter way”!