Verify a Ruby Class Method is Called with Arguments in Rspec, Without Doubles or Mocks

While working on Testing Chef's ruby_blocks with ChefSpec, I found that I was struggling to find any resources explaining my seemingly niche request:

• testing a ruby block calls a class (static) method
• verifying that the correct arguments are passed to it
• while preserving original implementation - therefore ruling out using doubles or mocks

As this didn't seem to dig up much (perhaps due to using the wrong words for names) I ended up being able to bruteforce a solution using Rspec's expected syntax:

# impl
def function(arg)
  ...
  val = Chef::Recipe::RubyBlockHelper.run_state_public_key(arg1, arg2, arg3)
  ...
end

# spec
it '...' do
  # given
  expect(Chef::Recipe::RubyBlockHelper).to receive(:run_state_public_key)
    .with('hello', 'www-spectatdesigns-co-uk', 'blah_blah_key')
    .and_call_original

  # when
  out = other_object.function('arg')

  # then
  expect(out).to ...
end

A couple of points to note:

• by using an expect here, instead of an allow, Rspec will raise an error if run_state_public_key isn't received
• .and_call_original ensures we will preserve original functionality of run_state_public_key