Why can't nested describe() blocks see vars defined in outer blocks?

Question

I\'ve run into this issue in real code, but I put together a trivial example to prove the point.

The below code works fine. I\'ve set up a variable in my root desc

Answer 1

Well you could still initialize variables outside the beforeEach block. I generally do it for constants and still remain DRY without introducing beforeEach blocks.

describe('simple object', function () {
    const orchard = {
        trees: {
            apple: 10,
            orange: 20
        },
        bushes: {
            boysenberry: 40,
            blueberry: 35
        }
    };


    describe('trees', function () {
        const trees = orchard.trees;

        it('should have apples and oranges', function () {


            expect(trees.apple).toBeDefined();
            expect(trees.orange).toBeDefined();

            expect(trees.apple).toEqual(10);
            expect(trees.orange).toEqual(20);
        });
        it('should NOT have pears or cherries', function () {
            var trees = orchard.trees;

            expect(trees.pear).toBeUndefined();
            expect(trees.cherry).toBeUndefined();
        });
    });
});