RSpec integration tests for a simple Rails API

The Model is simple: a Player class with three attributes: first_name, last_name, and team_id.

I'm just trying to get a handle on TDD for what will expand into a much more robust API. Here is my first stab at the integration/controller specs for REST actions on the API.

I haven't seen a lot of concrete examples of RSpec and API tests, so feedback is very welcome.

I'm using Rabl in my views for rendering the JSON Responses.

```
describe Api::V1::PlayersController do
render_views

before do
@player1 = FactoryGirl.create(:player, first_name: "Joe", last_name: "Smith", team_id: 1)
@player2 = FactoryGirl.create(:player, first_name: "Bob", last_name: "Jones", team_id: 2)
@player3 = FactoryGirl.create(:player, first_name: "Peter", last_name: "Wilson", team_id: 3)
end

describe "#index" do

before do
get :index, :format => :json
end

it "should retrieve status code of 200" do
response.response_code.should == 200
end

it "should retrieve license header" do
response.header["X-LS-License"].should == "All Rights Reserved"
end

it "should retrieve application name header" do
response.header["X-LS-Application"].should == "league-server"
end

it "should retrieve records-returned header" do
response.header["X-LS-Records-Returned"].should be_present
end

it "should retrieve a content-type of json" do
response.header['Content-Type'].should include 'application/json'
end

it "should retrieve list of players" do
players = Player.all
players.count.should == 3

response.body.should include(@player1.id.to_s)
response.body.should include(@player2.id.to_s)
response.body.should include(@player3.id.to_s)
response.body.should include('Joe Smith')
response.body.should include('Bob Jones')
response.body.should include('Peter Wilson')
end
end

describe "#show" do

before do
get :show, id: @player1.id, :format => :

You might consider replacing this:

it "should retrieve status code of 200" do
  response.response_code.should == 200
end

with

it { response.response_code.should == 200 }

I find that very simple code checks are better done with the second form to eliminate duplication when you're reading the test.

It's helpful to review this occasionally. Something good is added frequently.

Quote from https://github.com/rspec/rspec-expectations


One-liners


The one-liner syntax supported by rspec-core uses should even when
config.syntax = :expect. It reads better than the alternative, and
does not require a global monkey patch:


describe User do it { should validate_presence_of :email } end

This is another helpful reference: https://www.relishapp.com/rspec/rspec-rails/v/2-13/docs/controller-specs

StackExchange Code Review Q#17860, answer score: 3