Default columns in fixtures

January 3rd 2008

Ever find yourself writing out the same old column names in fixtures just so your tests will work? Ever wonder if there’s a better way? Well there is!

Fixtures, now with NEW default columns!

All you need to do is bung a method in your test/test_helper.rb file that looks like this:

def default_columns
  columns = <<END_OF_STRING
created_at: 1 Jan 2007
created_by: 1
updated_at: 1 Jan 2007
updated_by: 1
lock_version: 1
  END_OF_STRING     
end

Now, in each fixture that requires the default columns put this at the top:

<% require "#{RAILS_ROOT}/test/test_helper.rb" %>

And then for each fixture bung in this inline code:

one:
id: 1
name: MyString
<%= default_columns %>

Voila! No more repeating yourself with stupid columns! Hooray!

Note: spacing is important in yaml files – so make sure you put the <%= default_columns %> in an appropriate place