How do we clear spy programmatically in Jasmine?

Question

How do we clear the spy in a jasmine test suite programmatically? Thanks.

beforeEach(function() {
  spyOn($, "ajax").andCallFake(function(params){
  })
})

it("should do something", function() {
  //I want to override the spy on ajax here and do it a little differently
})

Answer 1

This worked for me in Jasmine 2.5 to allow re-setting of mock ajax.

function spyOnAjax(mockResult) {
    // must set to true to allow multiple calls to spyOn:
    jasmine.getEnv().allowRespy(true);

    spyOn($, 'ajax').and.callFake(function () {
        var deferred = $.Deferred();
        deferred.resolve(mockResult);
        return deferred.promise();
    });
}

Then you can call it multiple times without error. spyOnAjax(mock1); spyOnAjax(mock2);

Answer 2

So spies are reset automatically between specs.

You actually do not get the benefit of "restoration" of the original function if you use andCallFake() within a beforeEach() and then attempt to forcibly change it within a spec (which is likely why it tries to prevent you from doing so).

So be careful, especially if your spy is being set on a global object such as jQuery.

Demonstration:

var a = {b:function() { return 'default'; } }; // global scope (i.e. jQuery)
var originalValue = a.b;

describe("SpyOn test", function(){
  it('should return spy1', function(){
    spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
      return 'spy1';
    })
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy1');
  });

  it('should return default because removeAllSpies() happens in teardown', function(){
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('default');
  });


  it('will change internal state by "forcing" a spy to be set twice, overwriting the originalValue', function(){
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('default');

    spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
      return 'spy2';
    })
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy2');

    // This forces the overwrite of the internal state
    a.b.isSpy = false;
    spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
      return 'spy3';
    })
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy3');

  });

  it('should return default but will not', function(){
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('default'); // FAIL

    // What's happening internally?
    expect(this.spies_.length).toBe(1);
    expect(this.spies_[0].originalValue).toBe(originalValue); // FAIL
  });

});

describe("SpyOn with beforeEach test", function(){
  beforeEach(function(){
    spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
      return 'spy1';
    })
  })

  it('should return spy1', function(){
    // inspect the internal tracking of spies:
    expect(this.spies_.length).toBe(1);
    expect(this.spies_[0].originalValue).toBe(originalValue);

    expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy1');
  });

  it('should return spy2 when forced', function(){
    // inspect the internal tracking of spies:
    expect(this.spies_.length).toBe(1);
    expect(this.spies_[0].originalValue).toBe(originalValue);

    // THIS EFFECTIVELY changes the "originalState" from what it was before the beforeEach to what it is now.
    a.b.isSpy = false;
    spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
        return 'spy2';
    })
    expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy2');
  });

  it('should again return spy1 - but we have overwritten the original state, and can never return to it', function(){
    // inspect the internal tracking of spies:
    expect(this.spies_.length).toBe(1);
    expect(this.spies_[0].originalValue).toBe(originalValue); // FAILS!

    expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy1');
  });
});

// If you were hoping jasmine would cleanup your mess even after the spec is completed...
console.log(a.b == originalValue) // FALSE as you've already altered the global object!

Answer 3

From jasmine 2.5, you can use this global setting to update a spy within your test cases:

jasmine.getEnv().allowRespy(true);

Answer 4

I'm not sure if its a good idea but you can simply set the isSpy flag on the function to false:

describe('test', function() {
    var a = {b: function() {
    }};
    beforeEach(function() {
        spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
            return 'spy1';
        })
    })
    it('should return spy1', function() {
        expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy1');
    })

    it('should return spy2', function() {
        a.b.isSpy = false;
        spyOn(a, 'b').andCallFake(function(params) {
            return 'spy2';
        })
        expect(a.b()).toEqual('spy2');
    })

})

But maybe its a better idea to create a new suite for this case where you need an other behavior from your spy.

Answer 5

I think that's what .reset() is for:

spyOn($, 'ajax');

$.post('http://someUrl', someData);

expect($.ajax).toHaveBeenCalled();

$.ajax.calls.reset()

expect($.ajax).not.toHaveBeenCalled();

Answer 6

just set the spy method to null

mockedService.spiedMethod = null;