Using implicit `subject` with `expect` in RSpec-2.11

Question

With the new expect syntax in rspec-2.11, how is it possible to use the implicit subject? Is there a better way than explicitly referencing subject, like below?

describe User do
  it 'is valid' do
    expect(subject).to be_valid    # <<< can `subject` be implicit?
  end
end

Answer 1

If you configure RSpec to disable the should syntax, you can still use the old one-liner syntax, since that doesn't involve should being added to every object:

describe User do
  it { should be_valid }
end

We briefly discussed an alternate one-liner syntax, but decided against it since it wasn't needed and we felt like it might add confusion. You can, however, easily add this yourself if you prefer how it reads:

RSpec.configure do |c|
  c.alias_example_to :expect_it
end

RSpec::Core::MemoizedHelpers.module_eval do
  alias to should
  alias to_not should_not
end

With this in place, you could write this as:

describe User do
  expect_it { to be_valid }
end

Answer 2

With Rspec 3.0 you can use is_expected as described here.

describe Array do
  describe "when first created" do
    # Rather than:
    # it "should be empty" do
    #   subject.should be_empty
    # end

    it { should be_empty }
    # or
    it { is_expected.to be_empty }
  end
end

Answer 3

One could use the new named subject syntax, although it's not implicit.

describe User do
  subject(:author) { User.new }

  it 'is valid' do
    expect(author).to be_valid
  end
end