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Why can't nested describe() blocks see vars defined in outer blocks?

I've run into this issue in real code, but I put together a trivial example to prove the point.

The below code works fine. I've set up a variable in my root describe() block that is accessible within my sub-describe()s' it() blocks.

describe('simple object', function () {
    var orchard;

    beforeEach(function () {
        orchard = {
            trees: {
                apple: 10,
                orange : 20
            },
            bushes: {
                boysenberry : 40,
                blueberry: 35
            }
        };
    });

    describe('trees', function () {
        it ('should have apples and oranges', function() {
            var trees = orchard.trees;

            expect (trees.apple).toBeDefined();
            expect (trees.orange).toBeDefined();

            expect (trees.apple).toEqual(10);
            expect (trees.orange).toEqual(20);
        });
        it ('should NOT have pears or cherries', function() {
            var trees = orchard.trees;

            expect (trees.pear).toBeUndefined();
            expect (trees.cherry).toBeUndefined();
        });
    });
});

http://jsfiddle.net/w5bzrkh9/

However, if I try to DRY up my code a little by doing the following, it breaks:

describe('simple object', function () {
    var orchard;

    beforeEach(function () {
        orchard = {
            trees: {
                apple: 10,
                orange : 20
            },
            bushes: {
                boysenberry : 40,
                blueberry: 35
            }
        };
    });

    describe('trees', function () {
        var trees = orchard.trees; // TypeError: Cannot read property 'trees' of undefined

        it ('should have apples and oranges', function() {
            expect (trees.apple).toBeDefined();
            expect (trees.orange).toBeDefined();

            expect (trees.apple).toEqual(10);
            expect (trees.orange).toEqual(20);
        });
        it ('should NOT have pears or cherries', function() {
            expect (trees.pear).toBeUndefined();
            expect (trees.cherry).toBeUndefined();
        });
    });
});

http://jsfiddle.net/goqcev42/

Within the nested describe() scope, the orchard object is undefined, even though it's defined within the it() blocks within it.

Is this intentional on the part of Jasmine's developers, possibly to avoid issues with resetting the object in beforeEach() and possible breaking some references? How do they make it happen? I could see how this might be useful, I'm just very curious as to how it works. (My guess is some apply() or call() magic, but I'm not sure how...)

--

As a side-note, I can still DRY up my code by simply using another beforeEach() block:

describe('simple object', function () {
    var orchard;

    beforeEach(function () {
        orchard = {
            trees: {
                apple: 10,
                orange : 20
            },
            bushes: {
                boysenberry : 40,
                blueberry: 35
            }
        };
    });

    describe('trees', function () {
        var trees;

        beforeEach(function() {
            trees = orchard.trees;
        });

        it ('should have apples and oranges', function() {
            expect (trees.apple).toBeDefined();
            expect (trees.orange).toBeDefined();

            expect (trees.apple).toEqual(10);
            expect (trees.orange).toEqual(20);
        });
        it ('should NOT have pears or cherries', function() {
            expect (trees.pear).toBeUndefined();
            expect (trees.cherry).toBeUndefined();
        });
    });
});
Solution

  • The body of a describe block is executed before the beforeEach blocks.

    This is exactly as expected. The problem is that your var trees variable is trying to access orchard before it has been initialized. The body of a describe block is executed before the beforeEach blocks. To solve this problem, the third code snippet is the only way to go.

    Jasmine will first execute the describe blocks, and then execute the beforeEach blocks before running each test.