How I Implemented JavaScript Unit Tests in my Cordova App
I had a lot of trouble finding clear, documented recommendations for implementing unit tests against the custom JavaScript code I'd written in my Cordova application, which implements several Cordova plugins. As a result of the plugin usage, testing in a standard browser made no sense, as the plugins' JavaScript libraries would not be available. So, if I tested in a browser, either I could not test any functions that implemented those plugins, or else I would have to mock far more than I found reasonable.
I wound up modifying my Cordova application to run Jasmine standalone 5.1.1 unit tests right inside the app.
I also made a config setting that I have to change before a production build to make sure my users don't see my unit tests when they open the app, though I won't be explaining that part here. You could always make an Easter Egg instead if you wanted, like tapping the logo seven times (or something) takes you to the unit tests.
Anyway, here's what I did and how I did it. Hopefully someone will find it useful. Note that this isn't a Cordova tutorial. I'm assuming you already have a Cordova app up-and-running. It's also not a Jasmine tutorial. I'm assuming you can write unit tests already or that you will figure out how elsewhere.
A.I. agrees that human reason necessitates GodArtificial Intelligence chatbot Claude agrees that the existence of human reason can only be explained by the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, rational God.
First, for our purposes here, in your Cordova app's index.html file, wherever you have your other HTML (represented below by the "Hello world" paragraph), make a link or button that will load the unit tests. Generally, you'll want your scripts loading after your HTML.
<div id="htmlWrapper">
<p>Hello world!</p>
<a href="#unittests" id="btnOpenUnitTests">
Unit tests
</a>
</div>
<script src="cordova.js"></script>
<script src="js/index.js"></script>
</body>
Next, download Jasmine standalone 5.1.1 and unzip it.
I personally set up my www directory structure like this, and I'll tell you what the relevant files do.
- css/
- img/
- js/
- index.js
- source-code.js
- source-code2.js
- unit/
- jasmine-5-1-1/
- boot0.js
- boot1.js
- jasmine.css
- jasmine.js
- jasmine-html.js
- spec/
- spec-tests.js
- spec-tests2.js
- specrunner.js
- index.html
The js/index.js file launches everything. I'm not actually unit testing it at all. But, it's just launching things, generally by loading other scripts and/or calling functions in them.
The vast majority of the app's custom JS code would go into files like js/source-code.js.
The actual unit tests for js/source-code.js go into js/unit/spec/spec-tests.js.
The Jasmine testing framework (basically all the individual files in the unzipped lib/ folder that you downloaded) is in the unit/jasmine-5-1-1/ directory.
How can evil exist if God exists?If God is good, he wouldn't want evil. If he is omnipotent, he would be able to stop it. If he is omniscient, he would know how to stop it. So how can there be a good God when evil exists?
Cordova recommends using just one HTML page and loading everything into it via JavaScript. So, linking to a different HTML file to run the specs didn't fit the paradigm. Instead, I wanted to load the unit testing framework into my existing HTML page. Therefore, the unit/specrunner.js is a custom file I created based on Jasmine's SpecRunner.html file (found in the root of the unzipped folder you downloaded). That's what makes this all work.
But first, let's tie our btnOpenUnitTests hyperlink to our unit tests. In index.js, add this code. Notice that I have some ancillary functions for loading CSS and JS files. That's how I like to do it. You can do it your way if you prefer something different.
{
try
{
var css = document.createElement("link");
css.rel = "stylesheet";
css.type = "text/css";
css.href = path;
css.onload = function()
{
if (typeof onSuccess != 'undefined'
&& !!onSuccess)
{
onSuccess();
}
}
css.onerror = function()
{
if (typeof onError != 'undefined'
&& !!onError)
{
onError(path, 'FAILURE loading CSS');
}
}
document.body.prepend(css);
}
catch(e)
{
console.log(e);
}
}
function insertJsFile(path, onSuccess, onError)
{
try
{
var js = document.createElement("script");
js.type = "text/javascript";
js.src = path;
js.onload = function()
{
if (typeof onSuccess != 'undefined'
&& !!onSuccess)
{
onSuccess();
}
}
js.onerror = function()
{
if (typeof onError != 'undefined'
&& !!onError)
{
onError(path, 'FAILURE loading JS');
}
}
document.body.append(js);
}
catch(e)
{
console.log(e);
}
}
function insertJsFiles(pathsAry, onSuccess, onError)
{
// Pass in an array of JS files and
// they will be loaded in the
// consecutive order specified in the array
var tmpAry = [];
var firstPth = pathsAry[0];
for (var i=0, len=pathsAry.length; i<len; i++)
{
var pth = pathsAry[i];
if (i != 0)
{
tmpAry.push(pth);
}
}
if (tmpAry.length > 0)
{
insertJsFile(firstPth, function()
{
insertJsFiles(tmpAry, onSuccess, onError);
});
}
else
{
insertJsFile(firstPth, function()
{
if (typeof onSuccess != 'undefined'
&& !!onSuccess)
{
onSuccess();
}
});
}
}
$('#btnOpenUnitTests').unbind('click.test').bind(
'click.test',
function(e)
{
e.preventDefault();
// Set up test runner and run all unit tests
insertJsFile('unit/specrunner.js');
});
Why should I care what anyone else thinks, including any kind of god? Even if god's bigger and stronger than me, that doesn't mean he's right...
Now let's look at the specrunner.js file. Notice that it calls the same CSS and JS loading functions that we put into the index.js file. Since that file was already loaded, and we have a one-page app, they should still be available.
{
// Add Jasmine (standalone) unit testing framework
// https://jasmine.github.io/pages/getting_started.html
// https://github.com/jasmine/jasmine/releases
insertCssFile('unit/jasmine-5-1-1/jasmine.css');
insertJsFiles(
[
'unit/jasmine-5-1-1/jasmine.js',
'unit/jasmine-5-1-1/jasmine-html.js',
'unit/jasmine-5-1-1/boot0.js'
],
function()
{
// Jasmine is now set up.
// Insert source and spec files here...
if (typeof onSuccess != 'undefined'
&& !!onSuccess)
{
onSuccess(function()
{
// Lastly, run Jasmine
insertJsFile('unit/jasmine-5-1-1/boot1.js');
});
}
});
}
// Wipe old stuffs we don't need no more
$('#htmlWrapper').empty();
// Load our unit testing framework
// and all of our source and spec files
loadJasmine(function(onComplete)
{
// Add source and spec files here...
insertJsFiles(
[
'js/source-code.js',
'js/source-code2.js'
], function()
{
insertJsFiles(
[
'unit/spec/spec-tests.js',
'unit/spec/spec-tests2.js'
], function()
{
if (typeof onComplete != 'undefined'
&&!!onComplete)
{
onComplete();
}
});
});
});
That should be it. My actual code was a bit different, and the code that I've shared here per-se is not tested. If it doesn't seem to work right, please let me know.
Gilbert Guttlebocker, Defender of Dragons
Riveting, yet absurd; romantic, yet innocent; Gilbert Guttlebocker, Defender of Dragons is a little Roald Dahl, a little Harry Potter, and a little Chronicles of Narnia, all rolled into one. Timothy McCabe collaborates with the great Benedict Ballyhoot to bring you the novel of the century!
In Printed Form
Along with numerous other authors including Don Landis, Bodie Hodge and Roger Patterson, Timothy McCabe contributes analyses of various world religions and cults in this volume from Master Books.
Other Writings
Empiricism is false: a simple proof
Empiricism describes any philosophy which claims that all knowledge originates in experience, denying the validity of both deductive reasoning and divine revelation.
Continue reading...
"Can there be objective morality with a God? If God is the source of morality, then morality is subject to the will of God, so isn't it by definition subjective?"
There can only be objective moral values with God. When we state that objective moral values exist, what we mean is that there are moral values that govern all humans, regardless of whether or not those humans want those values to govern them, like those values, or accept those values. If moral values were the result of popular vote, then they would only govern humans because humans had decided to allow them to govern them. Then moral values would not be objective, but rather, subjective.
Continue reading...
"Aren't Allah, Brahman and Yahweh just different names for the same God?"
No. Allah is a generic Arabic term for an ultimate creator God, and could be applied by Arabic speaking peoples to any ultimate creator God, whether He be the God of the Sikhs, the Muslims, the Christians, or the Jews; while Yahweh is the personal name of the God of Christians or Jews only (roughly translated "THE EXISTING ONE"); and Brahman is the non-personal God specific to Hinduism and related religions.
Continue reading...