How to define a simple global variable in an rspec test that can be accesed by helper functions

Question

I cant figure out how to use a simple global variable in an rspec test. It seems like such a trivial feature but after much goggleing I havent been able to find a solution.

Answer 1

This is an old thread, but i had this question today. I just needed to define a long string to stub out a command that is in multiple files as:

# in each spec file that needed it
let(:date_check) do
   <<~PWSH.strip
   # lots of powershell code
   PWSH
end

# in any context in that file (or a shared context)
before(:each) do
  stub_command(date_check).and_return(false)
end

Searched, Stack Overflow, etc, landed on this: Note the usage of the variable doesn't change at all! (Assumes all specs require 'spec_helper')

# in spec_helper.rb
def date_check 
  <<~PWSH.strip
  # lots of powershell code
  PWSH
end

# in any context in any spec file
before(:each) do
  stub_command(date_check).and_return(false)
end

Answer 2

It turns out the easiest way is to use a $ sign to indicate a global variable.

See Preserve variable in cucumber?

Answer 3

Consider using a global before hook with an instance variable: http://www.rubydoc.info/github/rspec/rspec-core/RSpec/Core/Configuration

In your spec_helper.rb file:

RSpec.configure do |config|
  config.before(:example) { @concept0 = 'value' }
end

Then @concept0 will be set in your examples (my_example_spec.rb):

RSpec.describe MyExample do
  it { expect(@concept0).to eql('value') } # This code will pass
end