README.rdoc

RailsModelFaker¶ ↑

Author

The Working Group, Inc

Version

0.0.4

A simple method for adding automatic fake record generation to Ruby on Rails via a plugin.

Installation¶ ↑

script/plugin install git://github.com/theworkinggroup/rails_model_faker.git

Examples¶ ↑

Adding support to an existing model is easy:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  can_fake :name, :with => lambda { Faker::Name.name }
end

An alternative syntax is to append a block to the can_fake call:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  can_fake :name do
    Faker::Name.name
  end
end

Multiple fields can also be faked with a single call:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  can_fake :work_email, :home_email do
    Faker::Internet.email
  end
end

Any related model can be faked without any special options:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  belongs_to :account
  can_fake :account
end

This also works for associations:

class MyModel < ActiveRecord::Base
  has_many :accounts
end

fake = MyModel.create_fake
fake_account = fake.accounts.create_fake

Additionally, generic fake methods can be defined using an initalizer:

# config/initializers/faker.rb

RailsModelFaker.config do
  # Define a simple company_name generator
  can_fake :company_name do
    Faker::Company.name
  end

  # The model class and the defined parameters are provided,
  # but do not need to be used. In this case it will push
  # in multiple parameters
  can_fake :full_name do |model_class, params|
    params[:first_name] = Faker::Name.first_name
    params[:last_name] = Faker::Name.last_name

    # If not intending to populate a specific field, return
    # the modified params.
    params
  end
end

These module extensions can be used to simplify the definition of fakers:

class MyCompany < ActiveRecord::Base
  can_fake :name, :with => :company_name
end

Once defined, a model class can be used to fake individual parameters:

MyCompany.fake(:name)

Using a fake-capable model is straightforward either by a direct call, or by an intermediate step:

# Prepare a fake model
fake = MyModel.build_fake
# Equivalent method using fake_params
fake = MyModel.new(MyModel.fake_params)

# Create an instance of a fake model
fake = MyModel.create_fake
# Equivalent method using fake_params
fake = MyModel.create(MyModel.fake_params)

# Create an instance of a fake model and throw exceptions on a
# validation failure.
fake = MyModel.create_fake!
# Equivalent method using fake_params
fake = MyModel.create!(MyModel.fake_params)

In all cases, options can be passed in to the various methods to seed the fake with some pre-defined data:

fake = MyModel.create_fake(:name => 'Test')

Any keys that are defined will not be re-populated.

All models can be interrogated as to their faking capability:

MyModel.can_fake?(:name) # => true

Copyright © 2009-2010 The Working Group (twg.ca/)