Execute an rspec stub at runtime instead of at stub declaration?

Question

Let's say I needed to stub a method so it returned the current time: MyClass.stub(:my_method).and_return(Time.now.utc)

The problem is, this stub returns the time at stub declaration, not when I run MyClass.new.my_method.

Is there any way to make a stub run when the method is called?

Answer 1

Pass in a block to and_return that does the work you want done at runtime, like so...

describe MyClass do

  it "runs at runtime" do
    puts Time.now.utc

    MyClass.stub(:my_method).and_return do
      Time.now.utc
    end
    sleep 5.seconds

    puts MyClass.my_method
  end
end