Knapsack Pro

unexpected vs Spinach comparison of testing frameworks
What are the differences between unexpected and Spinach?

unexpected

http://unexpected.js.org/

Spinach

https://github.com/codegram/spinach
Programming language

JavaScript

Ruby

Category

Unit Testing

Acceptance Testing

General info

An extensible BDD assertion toolkit

Unexpected is an extensible BDD assertion toolkit that is compatible with all test frameworks,is Node.js ready (require('unexpected')) and supports asynchronous assertions using promises among other features. It can be used with any test runner that catches exceptions, but the developer recommends Mocha, Jest or Jasmine as they are integrated tested with every release

Spinach is a BDD framework on top of Gherkin

Spinach is a high-level BDD framework that leverages the Gherkin language to help define executable specifications of your application or library's acceptance criteria.
xUnit
Set of frameworks originating from SUnit (Smalltalk's testing framework). They share similar structure and functionality.

N/A

No

Client-side
Allows testing code execution on the client, such as a web browser

Yes

Unexpected can be used in a browser environment to test front-end components and functionality

N/A

Server-side
Allows testing the bahovior of a server-side code

Yes

Unexpected is used in a Node.JS environment to test server behaviour and functionality

Yes

You can test any server-side behaviour with Spinach
Fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data (fixtures) that are test-local. This ensures specific environment for a single test

N/A

No

Group fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data for a group of tests (group-fixtures). This ensures specific environment for a given group of tests.

N/A

No

Generators
Supports data generators for tests. Data generators generate input data for test. The test is then run for each input data produced in this way.

N/A

Yes

Spinach has inbuilt generator methods
Licence
Licence type governing the use and redistribution of the software

MIT License

MIT License

Mocks
Mocks are objects that simulate the behavior of real objects. Using mocks allows testing some part of the code in isolation (with other parts mocked when needed)

N/A

Yes

Spinach can access the rspec-mocks methods
Grouping
Allows organizing tests in groups

N/A

Yes

Spinach Integrates with your RSpec test suite which allows declaring example groups and contexts.
Other
Other useful information about the testing framework