Callback not a function - Mocha/Mongoose - node.js

So I've tried looking up this bug, but I can't seem to find an answer that caters to my bug. I'm using mocha and chai-http to test some API's. I'm just hitting the endpoints using their corresponding RESTFUL methods (POST, GET, PUT) and checking the response (really straight forward). The problem is, individually my test suites work (if I were to run them one at a time), but when I run them using my gulp command ... I get "callback not a function" for some of the test cases (the ones in the if hook if you're familiar with mocha)
Here's the error I'm getting:
Uncaught TypeError: callback.apply is not a function
at Immediate.<anonymous> (node_modules/mongoose/lib/model.js:3683:16)
at Immediate._onImmediate (node_modules/mongoose/node_modules/mquery/lib/utils.js:137:16)
Here's the structure of my directory that my test cases reside:
test
backend
assignments_tests.js
application_tests.js
courses_test.js
& I have a gulp file with the following:
// Set the environment variable for the test cases to point to production
gulp.task('set-testing-env', function() {
return process.env.NODE_ENV = 'production';
})
// gulp task for backend
gulp.task('test-backend', ['set-testing-env'], function() {
return gulp.src('test/backend/**/*.js', {read: false})
.pipe(mocha({
reporter: 'spec',
timeout: 60000
}))
.on('error', function(err) {
// console.log(err);
process.exit();
});
});
& finally a sample of my test case:
describe("testing GET" ....
before(function(done) {
... setting up stuff here and calling done ...
})
describe("get courses information and courses offered", function() {
it("gets a courses information", function(done) {
const endpoint = test.endpoint + "/courseInfo/" + test.course
chai.request(app)
.get(endpoint)
.end(function(err, res) {
expect(err, "Error hitting endpoint").to.be.null;
expect(res, "Expected data in json format").to.be.json;
expect(res, "Expected status to be 200").to.have.status(200);
expect(res.body, "Expected course info!").to.have.length(1);
expect(res.body[0],"Missing keys").to.have.all.keys(courseInfo);
done();
})
})
})
describe("testing POST" ...
before(function(done) {
... setting up and calling done ...
})
describe(...
it(...)
})
})
I'm not too sure why I'm getting a callback not a function error. :(
Any help would be much appreciated!

Probably in some part of code that you didn't include here you are calling a Mongoose method passing something like too many objects as parameters, like in this question:
Async.each throwing error
One of those objects gets interpreted as a function but cannot be called as such.
This is a common problem but you didn;t include any code that runs Mongoose methods so it's hard to tell if that is the issue here.

Related

node.js: calling a function in webdriverio using mocha

I am writing many test cases. In all of them there is a common part (signing in the user and doing some other stuff).
So instead of writing that part in every test, I want a function to call it.
I have tried using .then and .call but it throws error:
.setValue('#signin_email', LogInEmail)
^
SyntaxError: Unexpected token .
How is this thing done?
Do you mean this? http://webdriver.io/guide/usage/customcommands.html
browser.addCommand("LogInEmail", function () {
return browser
.setValue('#signin_email', 'emailaddress')
.setValue('#password', 'password');
});
// to invoke
browser.LogInEmail()
If you want to run your common part before every mocha test then put it in beforeEach() function like this.
describe('some test', function() {
beforeEach(function() {
// your common part here
});
it('it should do something, function() {
...
});
...
it('it should do something else', function() {
...
});
});

MochaJS: How to share assertion/"it('should')" code between tests

I have some mocha tests I run with Nodejs to test a web server.
Many of the tests should cause the server to return an error, e.g. 400 Bad Request.
Currently the tests are peppered with many copies of the following code:
it('should respond with 400 (Bad Request)', function (){
expect(httpResponse.statusCode).to.equal(httpstatus.BAD_REQUEST);
});
Here's a simplified pseudocode example:
describe('When passing bad JSON data', function(){
var response
before(function(done){
callUrlToInsert(url, badJson, function(err, resp){
response = resp
done()
}
}
it('should respond with 400 (Bad Request)', function (){
expect(httpResponse.statusCode).to.equal(httpstatus.BAD_REQUEST)
})
}
This bugs me because as a programmer I avoid duplicate code wherever possible.
However, putting this into a function does not work:
function verifyItReturnedBadRequest400(httpResponse)
{
it('should respond with 400 (Bad Request)', function (){
expect(httpResponse.statusCode).to.equal(httpstatus.BAD_REQUEST);
});
}
because the call to it() doesn't test the assertion right then; my [limited] understanding is that it() adds the closure to the list of tests. So by the time that check is done, the httpResponse variable has gone out of scope. (I don't understand why that is the case, because in both cases there is a call to it(); why would it matter that in one case it's inside another level of function call? I'm probably missing something with regard to Javascript scoping.)
Is there a common way to avoid all this duplicate code? Or is everyone out there duplicating all their assertion code everywhere? This is my first foray into Mocha so I am probably missing something obvious.
Also, bonus points for explaining why doesn't the function approach work?
Thanks!
There is an article on wiki about this.
https://github.com/mochajs/mocha/wiki/Shared-Behaviours
I guess you have some bugs in your test. Placing it() into wrapper function works fine. Here's a small working demo.
'use strict';
const assert = require('assert');
const xEqualsOne = () => {
it('should be equal 1', () => {
assert.equal(this.x, 1);
});
};
describe('async number', () => {
this.x = 0;
before(done => {
this.x++
setTimeout(done, 100);
});
xEqualsOne();
});
I guess your code looks something like this:
describe('When passing bad JSON data', function(){
var response
before(function(done){
callUrlToInsert(url, badJson, function(err, resp){
response = resp
done()
}
}
verifyItReturnedBadRequest400(httpResponse)
}
Think about it like this:
it() creates a test.
All the calls to it happen before any tests are actually run (you have to create tests before you run them)
The function passed to `before' is run after the tests have been created, but before they are run.
verifyItReturnedBadRequest400 calls it, to create a test, but you're passing in httpResponse right then before any tests have run, so before hasn't run yet either.
You could continue to use that sort of pattern, but you'll need to put the httpresponse in a container so you can pass a reference to it:
describe('When passing bad JSON data', function(){
var data = {};
before(function(done){
callUrlToInsert(url, badJson, function(err, resp){
data.response = resp
done()
}
}
verifyItReturnedBadRequest400(data)
}
and then your verifyItReturnedBadRequest400 becomes:
function verifyItReturnedBadRequest400(data) {
it('should respond with 400 (Bad Request)', function (){
expect(data.response.statusCode).to.equal(httpstatus.BAD_REQUEST);
});
}

Integration testing with mongojs to cover database errors

I'm working with mongojs and writing tests for mocha running coverage with istanbul. My issue is that I would like to include testing db errors.
var mongojs = require('mongojs');
var db = mongojs.connect(/* connection string */);
var collection = db.collection('test');
...
rpc.register('calendar.create', function(/*... */) {
collection.update({...}, {...}, function (err, data) {
if (err) {
// this code should be tested
return;
}
// all is good, this is usually covered
});
});
the test looks like this
it("should gracefully fail", function (done) {
/* trigger db error by some means here */
invoke("calendar.create", function (err, data) {
if (err) {
// check that the error is what we expect
return done();
}
done(new Error('No expected error in db command.'));
});
});
There is a fairly complex setup script that sets up the integration testing environment. The current solution is to disconnect the database using db.close() and run the test resulting in an error as wanted. The problem with this solution arises when all the other tests after that require the database connection fail, as I try to reconnect without success.
Any ideas on how to solve this neatly? Preferably without writing custom errors that might not be raised by next version of mongojs. Or is there a better way of structuring the tests?
What about mocking the library that deals with mongo?
For example, assuming db.update is eventually the function that gets called by collection.update you might want to do something like
describe('error handling', function() {
beforeEach(function() {
sinon.stub(db, 'update').yields('error');
});
afterEach(function() {
// db.update will just error for the scope of this test
db.update.restore();
});
it('is handled correctly', function() {
// 1) call your function
// 2) expect that the error is logged, dealt with or
// whatever is appropriate for your domain here
});
});
I've used Sinon which is
Standalone test spies, stubs and mocks for JavaScript. No dependencies, works with any unit testing framework.
Does this make sense?

Domains not properly catching errors while testing nodeJS in mocha

When running tests that utilize domains for error handling, Mocha still appears to be throwing an error even if a domain handler inside a library should have caught the error. If I execute the code outside of Mocha, it functions correctly leading me to believe the problem is Mocha.
Example:
foo.js
module.exports = function(done) {
var domain = require("domain");
var d = domain.create();
d.on("error", function() {
done();
});
d.run(function() {
throw new Error("foo");
});
}
test.js - Error thrown inside foo.js is not being caught by the domain.
describe("test", function() {
it("should succeed", function(done) {
var foo = require("./foo.js");
foo(function() {
console.log("done");
done();
});
});
});
result : error thrown
script.js - error is being properly caught by the domain and bubbled up.
var foo = require("./foo.js");
foo(function() {
console.log("done");
});
result : done
As you can see above, if I node straight to script.js it functions as desired, the error is caught by the domain handler and the code continues. If I run the same block of code inside a Mocha test, the error halts the test and a failure is given. I believe this is because the error is being sent on an uncaughtException handler, or something like it. The other complication is that it works properly in Mocha, if I have a process.nextTick() around the function call, leading me to believe that Mocha is only unable to handle synchronous errors, but works just fine with async errors.
There is some talk of this problem here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/nodejs/n-W9BSfxCjI/SElI1DJ_6u0J and https://github.com/joyent/node/issues/4375 .
The confusion I have is that all of this discussion seems to state the problem has been resolved months ago. Anyone know of either a simple work-around for the issue, or a why I'm not seeing a bug fixed which other people seem to believe is fixed at this point in time.
I am running node v0.10.18 and Mocha 1.13.0 on CentOS 6.3 Vagrant VirtualBox on Windows 7.
Found the problem. NodeJS domains catch synchronous errors but the event continues to bubble to a try/catch. If you wrap a domain.run() in a try/catch then the domain error handler AND the catch will be executed.
Thus, it seems the best practice is to use process.nextTick inside all domain.run(). This is shown in the docs example, but isn't expressed as explicitly as I would prefer.
Example:
d.run(function() {
process.nextTick(function() {
// do stuff
});
});
In this case, the flaw is not in Mocha.
Proof of NodeJS domains not catching synchronous errors in try/catch: https://gist.github.com/owenallenaz/7141699
nodejs domains do definitely catch synchronous errors
See this simple test case
var domain = require("domain");
var d = domain.create();
d.on("error", function() {
console.log("domain caught");
});
d.run(function() {
throw new Error("foo");
});
// result: domain caught
EDIT: Since writing this answer I have written a blog post describing what is going on with domains and try catch and whether you can use domains as a wholesale replacement for try catch. It summarises most of what has been discussed here.
http://www.lighthouselogic.com/node-domains-as-a-replacement-for-try-catch/
ORIGINAL ANSWER:
Actually there is a problem with Mocha.
I wrote the following test function:
function error(callback){
var d = domain.create().on('error', function(err){
console.log("Caught Error in Domain Handler")
return callback(err);
});
d.enter();
throw new Error("TestError");
d.exit();
}
Then I wrote a simple test without mocha:
error(function(err){
if(err)
{
console.log("Error was returned");
}else
{
console.log("Error was not returned")
}
})
The output I received was:
Caught Error in Domain Handler
Error was returned
When I tested using Mocha:
describe('Domain Tests', function(){
it('Should return an error when testing', function(done){
error(function(err){
if(err)
{
console.log("Error was returned");
}else
{
console.log("Error was not returned")
}
return done();
})
});
});
I received the following output:
․
0 passing (4ms)
1 failing
1) Domain Tests Should return an error when testing:
Error: TestError
at error (/Users/bensudbury/Documents/node_projects/testMochaDomains/test.js:9:11)
at Context.<anonymous> (/Users/bensudbury/Documents/node_projects/testMochaDomains/testMocha.js:6:3)
at Test.Runnable.run (/usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runnable.js:194:15)
at Runner.runTest (/usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runner.js:358:10)
at /usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runner.js:404:12
at next (/usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runner.js:284:14)
at /usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runner.js:293:7
at next (/usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runner.js:237:23)
at Object._onImmediate (/usr/local/share/npm/lib/node_modules/mocha/lib/runner.js:261:5)
at processImmediate [as _immediateCallback] (timers.js:330:15)
As you can see: the domain error handler was short circuited.
This problem seems to be related to the following issues:
https://github.com/visionmedia/mocha/issues/513
While the Node issue has been closed, the issue in mocha is still open.
The workaround that was suggested at: https://gist.github.com/mcollina/4443963 didn't resolve the issue in this case.
I dug through the code of Mocha and found that the problem occurs because mocha wraps the tests in a try catch block. This means that the exception is caught and never sent to the uncaughtException or _fatalException handler depending upon the version of node that you are using.
Your workaround is good, but nodejs domains do definitely catch synchronous errors so I wouldn't change your code but instead change your test. Your new test should look like:
describe("test", function() {
it("should succeed", function(done) {
process.nextTick(function(){
var foo = require("./foo.js");
foo(function() {
console.log("done");
done();
});
})
});
});
I haven't tested this code, but similar code for my example works properly:
it('Should return an error when testing', function(done){
process.nextTick(function(){
error(function(err){
if(err)
{
console.log("Error was returned");
}else
{
console.log("Error was not returned")
}
return done();
});
})
});
I have added a comment to the end of the issue in Mocha to see if it can be resolved:
https://github.com/visionmedia/mocha/issues/513

In mocha testing while calling asynchronous function how to avoid the timeout Error: timeout of 2000ms exceeded

In my node application I'm using mocha to test my code. While calling many asynchronous functions using mocha, I'm getting timeout error (Error: timeout of 2000ms exceeded.). How can I resolve this?
var module = require('../lib/myModule');
var should = require('chai').should();
describe('Testing Module', function() {
it('Save Data', function(done) {
this.timeout(15000);
var data = {
a: 'aa',
b: 'bb'
};
module.save(data, function(err, res) {
should.not.exist(err);
done();
});
});
it('Get Data By Id', function(done) {
var id = "28ca9";
module.get(id, function(err, res) {
console.log(res);
should.not.exist(err);
done();
});
});
});
You can either set the timeout when running your test:
mocha --timeout 15000
Or you can set the timeout for each suite or each test programmatically:
describe('...', function(){
this.timeout(15000);
it('...', function(done){
this.timeout(15000);
setTimeout(done, 15000);
});
});
For more info see the docs.
I find that the "solution" of just increasing the timeouts obscures what's really going on here, which is either
Your code and/or network calls are way too slow (should be sub 100 ms for a good user experience)
The assertions (tests) are failing and something is swallowing the errors before Mocha is able to act on them.
You usually encounter #2 when Mocha doesn't receive assertion errors from a callback. This is caused by some other code swallowing the exception further up the stack. The right way of dealing with this is to fix the code and not swallow the error.
When external code swallows your errors
In case it's a library function that you are unable to modify, you need to catch the assertion error and pass it onto Mocha yourself. You do this by wrapping your assertion callback in a try/catch block and pass any exceptions to the done handler.
it('should not fail', function (done) { // Pass reference here!
i_swallow_errors(function (err, result) {
try { // boilerplate to be able to get the assert failures
assert.ok(true);
assert.equal(result, 'bar');
done();
} catch (error) {
done(error);
}
});
});
This boilerplate can of course be extracted into some utility function to make the test a little more pleasing to the eye:
it('should not fail', function (done) { // Pass reference here!
i_swallow_errors(handleError(done, function (err, result) {
assert.equal(result, 'bar');
}));
});
// reusable boilerplate to be able to get the assert failures
function handleError(done, fn) {
try {
fn();
done();
} catch (error) {
done(error);
}
}
Speeding up network tests
Other than that I suggest you pick up the advice on starting to use test stubs for network calls to make tests pass without having to rely on a functioning network. Using Mocha, Chai and Sinon the tests might look something like this
describe('api tests normally involving network calls', function() {
beforeEach: function () {
this.xhr = sinon.useFakeXMLHttpRequest();
var requests = this.requests = [];
this.xhr.onCreate = function (xhr) {
requests.push(xhr);
};
},
afterEach: function () {
this.xhr.restore();
}
it("should fetch comments from server", function () {
var callback = sinon.spy();
myLib.getCommentsFor("/some/article", callback);
assertEquals(1, this.requests.length);
this.requests[0].respond(200, { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
'[{ "id": 12, "comment": "Hey there" }]');
expect(callback.calledWith([{ id: 12, comment: "Hey there" }])).to.be.true;
});
});
See Sinon's nise docs for more info.
If you are using arrow functions:
it('should do something', async () => {
// do your testing
}).timeout(15000)
A little late but someone can use this in future...You can increase your test timeout by updating scripts in your package.json with the following:
"scripts": {
"test": "test --timeout 10000" //Adjust to a value you need
}
Run your tests using the command test
For me the problem was actually the describe function,
which when provided an arrow function, causes mocha to miss the
timeout, and behave not consistently. (Using ES6)
since no promise was rejected I was getting this error all the time for different tests that were failing inside the describe block
so this how it looks when not working properly:
describe('test', () => {
assert(...)
})
and this works using the anonymous function
describe('test', function() {
assert(...)
})
Hope it helps someone, my configuration for the above:
(nodejs: 8.4.0, npm: 5.3.0, mocha: 3.3.0)
My issue was not sending the response back, so it was hanging. If you are using express make sure that res.send(data), res.json(data) or whatever the api method you wanna use is executed for the route you are testing.
Make sure to resolve/reject the promises used in the test cases, be it spies or stubs make sure they resolve/reject.

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