@@ -114,25 +114,18 @@ Rails by default automatically loads all fixtures from the +test/fixtures+ folde
* Load the fixture data into the table
* Dump the fixture data into a variable in case you want to access it directly
h5. Hashes with Special Powers
h5. Fixtures are ActiveRecord objects
Fixtures are basically Hash objects. As mentioned in point #3 above, you can access the hash object directly because it is automatically setup as a local variable of the test case. For example:
Fixtures are instances of ActiveRecord. As mentioned in point #3 above, you can access the object directly because it is automatically setup as a local variable of the test case. For example:
<ruby>
# this will return the Hash for the fixture named david
# this will return the User object for the fixture named david
users(:david)
# this will return the property for david called id
users(:david).id
</ruby>
Fixtures can also transform themselves into the form of the original class. Thus, you can get at the methods only available to that class.
<ruby>
# using the find method, we grab the "real" david as a User
david = users(:david).find
# and now we have access to methods only available to a User class
# one can also access methods available on the User class