power-assert

Power Assert in JavaScript. Provides descriptive assertion messages through standard assert interface.

DESCRIPTION

What is power-assert?

• is an implementation of "Power Assert" concept in JavaScript.
• provides descriptive assertion messages through standard assert interface.
• see slides: "power-assert, mechanism and philosophy" -- talk at NodeFest 2014.
• to gain power-assert output, you need to transform your test code to produce power-assert output (without transformation, power-assert works just as normal assert does).
• with power-assert, you don't need to learn many assertion library APIs. It's just assert.
• fully compatible with assert. So you can stop using power-assert and back to assert easily.
• has online demo site.
• works both on server side and browser side.
• available via npm and bower.
• supports sourcemaps so you can debug as usual.
• Now supports ES6 through babel plugin.
• provides browserify transform.
• provides webpack loader.
• provides grunt task and gulp plugin.
• provides command.
• provides custom module loader and its convenient config module.
• provides karma preprocessor.
• supports ES6 through babel plugin, module loader for Traceur Compiler, and module loader for Babel.
• supports CoffeeScript.
• has TypeScript type definition
• is a beta version product. Pull-requests, issue reports and patches are always welcomed.

power-assert provides descriptive assertion messages for your tests, like this.

  1) Array #indexOf() should return index when the value is present:
     AssertionError: # /path/to/test/mocha_node.js:10

  assert(this.ary.indexOf(zero) === two)
              |   |       |     |   |
              |   |       |     |   2
              |   -1      0     false
              [1,2,3]

  [number] two
  => 2
  [number] this.ary.indexOf(zero)
  => -1

API

power-assert enhances these assert functions. Produces descriptive message when assertion is failed.

• assert(value, [message])
• assert.ok(value, [message])
• assert.equal(actual, expected, [message])
• assert.notEqual(actual, expected, [message])
• assert.strictEqual(actual, expected, [message])
• assert.notStrictEqual(actual, expected, [message])
• assert.deepEqual(actual, expected, [message])
• assert.notDeepEqual(actual, expected, [message])

power-assert is fully compatible with assert. So functions below are also available though they are not enhanced (does not produce descriptive message).

• assert.fail(actual, expected, message, operator)
• assert.throws(block, [error], [message])
• assert.doesNotThrow(block, [message])
• assert.ifError(value)

power-assert provides an API for customization.

• assert.customize(options)

As written below, power-assert is constructed with many family modules. See more details of empower and others.

CHANGELOG

See CHANGELOG

EXAMPLE

See HOW TO USE section for more details.

Note: There is an online demo site available.

Target test code (using Mocha in this example)

var assert = require('power-assert');

describe('Array', function(){
    beforeEach(function(){
        this.ary = [1,2,3];
    });
    describe('#indexOf()', function(){
        it('should return index when the value is present', function(){
            var zero = 0, two = 2;
            assert(this.ary.indexOf(zero) === two);
        });
        it('should return -1 when the value is not present', function(){
            var minusOne = -1, two = 2;
            assert.ok(this.ary.indexOf(two) === minusOne, 'THIS IS AN ASSERTION MESSAGE');
        });
    });
});

describe('various types', function(){
    function Person(name, age) {
        this.name = name;
        this.age = age;
    }
    beforeEach(function(){
        this.types = [
            'string', 98.6, true, false, null, undefined,
            ['nested', 'array'],
            {object: true},
            NaN, Infinity,
            /^not/,
            new Person('alice', 3)
        ];
    });
    it('demo', function(){
        var index = this.types.length -1,
            bob = new Person('bob', 5);
        assert(this.types[index].name === bob.name);
    });
});

Be sure to transform test code

To use power-assert, you need to transform your test code for power-assert output.

Code transform is done by instrumentors below:

• espower-loader (with intelli-espower-loader)
• espower-cli
• espowerify
• webpack-espower-loader.
• grunt-espower
• gulp-espower
• karma-espower-preprocessor
• espower-coffee
• espower-traceur
• espower-babel
• babel-plugin-espower

If you are using Node.js only, the easiest way is to use intelli-espower-loader. Steps are as follows.

Setup

npm install --save-dev mocha power-assert intelli-espower-loader

Run

Put tests into test directory then run. You will see the power-assert output appears.

  $ ./node_modules/.bin/mocha --require intelli-espower-loader /path/to/test/mocha_node.js

  Array
    #indexOf()
      1) should return index when the value is present
      2) should return -1 when the value is not present
  
  various types
    3) demo    

  0 passing (14 ms)
  3 failing

  1) Array #indexOf() should return index when the value is present:
     AssertionError: # /path/to/test/mocha_node.js:10
  
    assert(this.ary.indexOf(zero) === two)
                |   |       |     |   |
                |   |       |     |   2
                |   -1      0     false
                [1,2,3]
    
    [number] two
    => 2
    [number] this.ary.indexOf(zero)
    => -1

      at decoratedAssert (/path/to/node_modules/power-assert/node_modules/empower/lib/decorate.js:44:26)
      at powerAssert (/path/to/node_modules/power-assert/node_modules/empower/index.js:57:32)
      at Context.<anonymous> (/path/to/test/mocha_node.js:13:13)
  
  
  2) Array #indexOf() should return -1 when the value is not present:
     AssertionError: THIS IS AN ASSERTION MESSAGE # /path/to/test/mocha_node.js:14

    assert.ok(this.ary.indexOf(two) === minusOne, 'THIS IS AN ASSERTION MESSAGE')
                   |   |       |    |   |
                   |   |       |    |   -1
                   |   1       2    false
                   [1,2,3]
    
    [number] minusOne
    => -1
    [number] this.ary.indexOf(two)
    => 1
  
      at Function.decoratedAssert [as ok] (/path/to/node_modules/power-assert/node_modules/empower/lib/decorate.js:44:26)
      at Context.<anonymous> (/path/to/test/mocha_node.js:21:20)
  
  
  3) various types demo:
     AssertionError: # /path/to/test/mocha_node.js:37

    assert(this.types[index].name === bob.name)
                |    ||      |    |   |   |
                |    ||      |    |   |   "bob"
                |    ||      |    |   Person{name:"bob",age:5}
                |    ||      |    false
                |    |11     "alice"
                |    Person{name:"alice",age:3}
                ["string",98.6,true,false,null,undefined,#Array#,#Object#,NaN,Infinity,/^not/,#Person#]
    
    --- [string] bob.name
    +++ [string] this.types[index].name
    @@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
    -bob
    +alice
    
    
      at decoratedAssert (/path/to/node_modules/power-assert/node_modules/empower/lib/decorate.js:44:26)
      at powerAssert (/path/to/node_modules/power-assert/node_modules/empower/index.js:57:32)
      at Context.<anonymous> (/path/to/test/mocha_node.js:55:9)

SEED PROJECTS

Some seed projects are available to help you start with power-assert.

| module | env | tech stack | |:-------|:------------|:------------| | power-assert-node-seed | Node.js | power-assert + intelli-espower-loader | | power-assert-testem-seed | Browsers(by testem) | power-assert + gulp-espower + testem. | | power-assert-karma-seed | Browsers(by Karma) | power-assert + espowerify + browserify + Karma. |

HOW TO USE

There are four ways to use power-assert. (If you want to see running examples, see SEED PROJECTS)

1. power-assert + espower-loader: Highly recommended but only works under Node.
2. power-assert + Babel + babel-plugin-espower: Recommended if you are writing ES6 with Babel
3. power-assert + espower-coffee or espower-traceur or espower-babel : Use power-assert through transpilers. Recommended but only works under Node.
4. power-assert + espowerify or webpack-espower-loader: Recommended if you are using browserify or webpack.
5. power-assert + espower-cli or grunt-espower or gulp-espower : Generate instrumented code so works anywhere.

using espower-loader

If you are writing Node.js app/module, you can instrument Power Assert feature without code generation by using espower-loader.

First, install power-assert and espower-loader via npm.

$ npm install --save-dev power-assert espower-loader

Second, require power-assert in your test.

--- a/test/your_test.js
+++ b/test/your_test.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-var assert = require('assert');
+var assert = require('power-assert');

Third, put enable-power-assert.js somewhere in your project, where pattern matches to target test files.

require('espower-loader')({
    // directory where match starts with
    cwd: process.cwd(),
    // glob pattern using minimatch module
    pattern: 'test/**/*.js'
});

Then run mocha, with --require option. No code generation required.

$ ./node_modules/.bin/mocha --require ./path/to/enable-power-assert test/your_test.js

FYI: You may be interested in intelli-espower-loader to go one step further. With intelli-espower-loader, you don't need to create loader file (like enable-power-assert.js). Just define test directory in package.json wow!

using espower-coffee

If you are writing Node.js app/module in CoffeeScript, you can instrument Power Assert feature without code generation by using espower-coffee.

see espower-coffee README.

using babel-plugin-espower

If you are writing your code in ES6, you can instrument Power Assert feature with Babel and babel-plugin-espower.

see babel-plugin-espower README.

using espower-traceur or espower-babel

If you are writing Node.js app/module in ES6, you can instrument Power Assert feature without code generation by using espower-traceur or espower-babel. espower-traceur uses Traceur Compiler, espower-babel uses Babel.

see espower-traceur README or espower-babel README.

using espowerify

On the browser side and you are using browserify, you can instrument Power Assert feature via espowerify.

see espowerify README.

using webpack-espower-loader

If you are using webpack, you can instrument Power Assert feature via webpack-espower-loader.

see webpack-espower-loader README.

using espower-cli

On the browser side and you don't want to use grunt,gulp or browserify, you can use power-assert via bower, with generated code by espower-cli

First, install power-assert via bower and espower-cli via npm. This means that you run espower command (on Node), then run tests on browser.

$ bower install --save-dev power-assert
$ npm install --save-dev espower-cli

Second, require build/power-assert.js (all-in-one build for browsers) in your test html.

<script type="text/javascript" src="./path/to/bower_components/power-assert/build/power-assert.js"></script>

Then, generate espowered code.

$ espower test/your_test.js > powered/your_test.js

Lastly, run your test in your way. For example,

$ mocha-phantomjs path/to/test.html

using grunt-espower

On the browser side and you are not using browserify but bower and Grunt, you can use power-assert via bower, with generated code by grunt-espower

First, install power-assert via bower and grunt-espower via npm. This means that you run grunt (on Node), then run tests on browser.

$ bower install --save-dev power-assert
$ npm install --save-dev grunt-espower

Second, require build/power-assert.js (all-in-one build for browsers) in your test html.

<script type="text/javascript" src="./path/to/bower_components/power-assert/build/power-assert.js"></script>

Third, configure grunt-espower task to generate espowered code.

grunt.initConfig({

  . . . 

  espower: {
    test: {
      files: [
        {
          expand: true,        // Enable dynamic expansion.
          cwd: 'test/',        // Src matches are relative to this path.
          src: ['**/*.js'],    // Actual pattern(s) to match.
          dest: 'espowered/',  // Destination path prefix.
          ext: '.js'           // Dest filepaths will have this extension.
        }
      ]
    },
  },

  . . . 

})

Then, generate espowered code using espower task.

$ grunt espower:test

Lastly, run your test in your way. For example,

$ grunt test

using gulp-espower

On the browser side and you are not using browserify but bower and gulp, you can use power-assert via bower, with generated code by gulp-espower

First, install power-assert via bower and gulp-espower via npm. This means that you run gulp (on Node), then run tests on browser.

$ bower install --save-dev power-assert
$ npm install --save-dev gulp-espower

Second, require build/power-assert.js (all-in-one build for browsers) in your test html.

<script type="text/javascript" src="./path/to/bower_components/power-assert/build/power-assert.js"></script>

Third, configure gulp-espower task to generate espowered code.

var gulp = require('gulp'),
    espower = require('gulp-espower');
  . . . 
gulp.task('espower', function() {
    return gulp
        .src('test/**/*_test.js', {base: './test/'})
        .pipe(espower())
        .pipe(gulp.dest('espowered'));
});
  . . . 
})

Then, generate espowered code (in this example, using espower task).

$ gulp espower

Lastly, run your test in your way. For example,

$ gulp test

CUSTOMIZATION API

power-assert provides an API for customization.

var assert = assert.customize(options)

Through this API, you can customize power-assert by changing some options.

var assert = require('power-assert').customize({
    output: {
        maxDepth: 2
    }
});

options

options has two top-level keys. assertion and output.

options.assertion

customization options for empower module. See empower API documentation for details. Note that some default values are different from empower's (modifyMessageOnRethrow: true and saveContextOnRethrow: true).

options.output

customization options for power-assert-formatter module. See power-assert-formatter API documentation for details.

default values

customizable properties and their default values are as follows.

var assert = require('power-assert').customize({
    assertion: {
        destructive: false,
        modifyMessageOnRethrow: true,
        saveContextOnRethrow: true,
        patterns: [
            'assert(value, [message])',
            'assert.ok(value, [message])',
            'assert.equal(actual, expected, [message])',
            'assert.notEqual(actual, expected, [message])',
            'assert.strictEqual(actual, expected, [message])',
            'assert.notStrictEqual(actual, expected, [message])',
            'assert.deepEqual(actual, expected, [message])',
            'assert.notDeepEqual(actual, expected, [message])'
        ]
    },
    output: {
        lineDiffThreshold: 5,
        maxDepth: 1,
        anonymous: 'Object',
        circular: '#@Circular#',
        lineSeparator: '\n',
        ambiguousEastAsianCharWidth: 2,
        widthOf: (Function to calculate width of string. Please see power-assert-formatter's documentation)
        stringify: (Function to stringify any target value. Please see power-assert-formatter's documentation)
        diff: (Function to create diff string between two strings. Please see power-assert-formatter's documentation)
        writerClass: (Constructor Function for output writer class. Please see power-assert-formatter's documentation)
        renderers: [
            './built-in/file',
            './built-in/assertion',
            './built-in/diagram',
            './built-in/binary-expression'
        ]
    }
});

INTERNAL DESIGN

power-assert family provides 1 main module, 4 core modules and many more instrumentors.

Main (facade) module is,

| module | description | |:-------|:------------| | power-assert | Standard assert function on top of empower and power-assert-formatter |

core modules are,

| module | description | |:-------|:------------| | empower | Power Assert feature enhancer for assert function/object. | | power-assert-formatter | Power Assert output formatter. | | espower | Power Assert feature instrumentor core based on the Mozilla JavaScript AST. | | espower-source | Power Assert instrumentor from source to source, with source-map. (Thin wrapper of espower). |

and instrumentors are,

| module | description | |:-------|:------------| | espower-cli | Command line tool for power-assert. | | espower-loader | Node module loader to apply espower on the fly. | | intelli-espower-loader | configure espower-loader with ease. | | babel-plugin-espower | Babel plugin to instrument power-assert feature into target files. | | espowerify | Browserify transform to apply espower to target files. | | webpack-espower-loader | Power Assert instrumentor module for webpack. | | grunt-espower | Grunt task to apply espower to target files. | | gulp-espower | Gulp plugin to apply espower to target files. | | karma-espower-preprocessor | karma-preprocessor for power-assert. | | espower-coffee | power-assert instrumentor for CoffeeScript. | | espower-traceur | power-assert instrumentor for ES6 using Traceur Compiler. | | espower-babel | power-assert instrumentor for ES6 using Babel. |

power-assert provides standard assert compatible function with Power Assert feature. (Best fit with Mocha. If you use assert-like objects provided by various testing frameworks such as QUnit or nodeunit. Please use empower and power-assert-formatter modules directly).

Internally, power-assert uses empower module to enhance power assert feature into the standard assert module, to run with the power assert feature added code by espower module, and prettify output using power-assert-formatter.

See power-assert-demo project for power-assert Demo running with mocha.

TESTED FRAMEWORKS

• Mocha
• QUnit
• nodeunit
• buster-assertions

TESTED ENVIRONMENTS

• Node.js
• Rhino
• PhantomJS
• RequireJS
• Browserify

AUTHOR

• Takuto Wada

CONTRIBUTORS

• azu
• vvakame

LICENSE

Licensed under the MIT license.

MORE OUTPUT EXAMPLES

Target test code (using QUnit in this example)

var q = require('qunitjs');

(function () {
    var empower = require('empower'),
        formatter = require('power-assert-formatter'),
        qunitTap = require("qunit-tap");
    empower(q.assert, formatter(), {destructive: true});
    qunitTap(q, require('util').puts, {showSourceOnFailure: false});
    q.config.autorun = false;
})();

q.test('spike', function (assert) {
    assert.ok(true);

    var hoge = 'foo';
    var fuga = 'bar';
    assert.ok(hoge === fuga, 'comment');

    var piyo = 3;
    assert.ok(fuga === piyo);

    var longString = 'very very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong message';
    var anotherLongString = 'yet another loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong message';
    assert.ok(longString === anotherLongString);

    assert.ok(4 === piyo);

    assert.ok(4 !== 4);

    var falsyStr = '';
    assert.ok(falsyStr);

    var falsyNum = 0;
    assert.ok(falsyNum);

    var ary1 = ['foo', 'bar'];
    var ary2 = ['aaa', 'bbb', 'ccc'];
    assert.ok(ary1.length === ary2.length);
    assert.deepEqual(ary1, ary2);

    var actual = 16;
    assert.ok(5 < actual && actual < 13);

    actual = 4;
    assert.ok(5 < actual && actual < 13);

    actual = 10;
    assert.ok(actual < 5 || 13 < actual);


    var propName = 'bar',
        foo = {
            bar: {
                baz: false
            }
        };

    assert.ok(foo.bar.baz);
    assert.ok(foo['bar'].baz);
    assert.ok(foo[propName]['baz']);


    var truth = true;
    assert.ok(!truth);


    var func = function () { return false; };
    assert.ok(func());


    var obj = {
        age: function () {
            return 0;
        }
    };
    assert.ok(obj.age());


    var isFalsy = function (arg) {
        return !(arg);
    };
    var positiveInt = 50;
    assert.ok(isFalsy(positiveInt));


    var sum = function () {
        var result = 0;
        for (var i = 0; i < arguments.length; i += 1) {
            result += arguments[i];
        }
        return result;
    };
    var one = 1, two = 2, three = 3, seven = 7, ten = 10;
    assert.ok(sum(one, two, three) === seven);
    assert.ok(sum(sum(one, two), three) === sum(sum(two, three), seven));
    assert.ok((three * (seven * ten)) === three);


    var math = {
        calc: {
            sum: function () {
                var result = 0;
                for (var i = 0; i < arguments.length; i += 1) {
                    result += arguments[i];
                }
                return result;
            }
        }
    };
    assert.ok(math.calc.sum(one, two, three) === seven);
});

q.load();

espower code above then running under Node.js

# module: undefined
# test: spike
ok 1 - okay
not ok 2 - comment # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:17
#
# assert.ok(hoge === fuga, 'comment')
#           |    |   |
#           |    |   "bar"
#           |    false
#           "foo"
#
# --- [string] fuga
# +++ [string] hoge
# @@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
# -bar
# +foo
#
# , test: spike
not ok 3 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:20
#
# assert.ok(fuga === piyo)
#           |    |   |
#           |    |   3
#           |    false
#           "bar"
#
# [number] piyo
# => 3
# [string] fuga
# => "bar"

# , test: spike
not ok 4 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:24
#
# assert.ok(longString === anotherLongString)
#           |          |   |
#           |          |   "yet another loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong message"
#           |          false
#           "very very loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong message"
#
# --- [string] anotherLongString
# +++ [string] longString
# @@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
# -yet anoth
# +very v
#  er
# +y
#   loo
#
# , test: spike
not ok 5 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:26
#
# assert.ok(4 === piyo)
#             |   |
#             |   3
#             false
#
# [number] piyo
# => 3
# [number] 4
# => 4
# , test: spike
not ok 6 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:28
#
# assert.ok(4 !== 4)
#             |
#             false
# , test: spike
not ok 7 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:31
#
# assert.ok(falsyStr)
#           |
#           ""
# , test: spike
not ok 8 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:34
#
# assert.ok(falsyNum)
#           |
#           0
# , test: spike
not ok 9 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:38
#
# assert.ok(ary1.length === ary2.length)
#           |    |      |   |    |
#           |    |      |   |    3
#           |    |      |   ["aaa","bbb","ccc"]
#           |    2      false
#           ["foo","bar"]
#
# [number] ary2.length
# => 3
# [number] ary1.length
# => 2
# , test: spike
not ok 10 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:39
#
# assert.deepEqual(ary1, ary2)
#                  |     |
#                  |     ["aaa","bbb","ccc"]
#                  ["foo","bar"]
# , expected: [
#   "aaa",
#   "bbb",
#   "ccc"
# ], got: [
#   "foo",
#   "bar"
# ], test: spike
not ok 11 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:42
#
# assert.ok(5 < actual && actual < 13)
#             | |      |  |      |
#             | |      |  16     false
#             | 16     false
#             true
# , test: spike
not ok 12 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:45
#
# assert.ok(5 < actual && actual < 13)
#             | |      |
#             | 4      false
#             false
# , test: spike
not ok 13 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:48
#
# assert.ok(actual < 5 || 13 < actual)
#           |      |   |     | |
#           |      |   |     | 10
#           |      |   false false
#           10     false
# , test: spike
not ok 14 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:58
#
# assert.ok(foo.bar.baz)
#           |   |   |
#           |   |   false
#           |   Object{baz:false}
#           Object{bar:#Object#}
# , test: spike
not ok 15 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:59
#
# assert.ok(foo['bar'].baz)
#           |  |       |
#           |  |       false
#           |  Object{baz:false}
#           Object{bar:#Object#}
# , test: spike
not ok 16 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:60
#
# assert.ok(foo[propName]['baz'])
#           |  ||        |
#           |  |"bar"    false
#           |  Object{baz:false}
#           Object{bar:#Object#}
# , test: spike
not ok 17 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:64
#
# assert.ok(!truth)
#           ||
#           |true
#           false
# , test: spike
not ok 18 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:68
#
# assert.ok(func())
#           |
#           false
# , test: spike
not ok 19 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:76
#
# assert.ok(obj.age())
#           |   |
#           |   0
#           Object{age:#function#}
# , test: spike
not ok 20 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:83
#
# assert.ok(isFalsy(positiveInt))
#           |       |
#           false   50
# , test: spike
not ok 21 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:94
#
# assert.ok(sum(one, two, three) === seven)
#           |   |    |    |      |   |
#           |   |    |    |      |   7
#           6   1    2    3      false
#
# [number] seven
# => 7
# [number] sum(one, two, three)
# => 6
# , test: spike
not ok 22 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:95
#
# assert.ok(sum(sum(one, two), three) === sum(sum(two, three), seven))
#           |   |   |    |     |      |   |   |   |    |       |
#           |   |   |    |     |      |   12  5   2    3       7
#           6   3   1    2     3      false
#
# [number] sum(sum(two, three), seven)
# => 12
# [number] sum(sum(one, two), three)
# => 6
# , test: spike
not ok 23 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:96
#
# assert.ok(three * (seven * ten) === three)
#           |     |  |     | |    |   |
#           |     |  |     | |    |   3
#           |     |  |     | 10   false
#           |     |  7     70
#           3     210
#
# [number] three
# => 3
# [number] three * (seven * ten)
# => 210
# , test: spike
not ok 24 - # /path/to/examples/qunit_node.js:110
#
# assert.ok(math.calc.sum(one, two, three) === seven)
#           |    |    |   |    |    |      |   |
#           |    |    |   |    |    |      |   7
#           |    |    6   1    2    3      false
#           |    Object{sum:#function#}
#           Object{calc:#Object#}
#
# [number] seven
# => 7
# [number] math.calc.sum(one, two, three)
# => 6
# , test: spike
1..24

Have fun!