toBe()
versus toEqual()
: toEqual()
checks equivalence. toBe()
, on the other hand, makes sure that they're the exact same object.
I would say use toBe()
when comparing values, and toEqual()
when comparing objects.
When comparing primitive types, toEqual()
and toBe()
will yield the same result. When comparing objects, toBe()
is a stricter comparison, and if it is not the exact same object in memory this will return false. So unless you want to make sure it's the exact same object in memory, use toEqual()
for comparing objects.
Check this link out for more info : http://evanhahn.com/how-do-i-jasmine/
Now when looking at the difference between toBe()
and toEqual()
when it comes to numbers, there shouldn't be any difference so long as your comparison is correct. 5
will always be equivalent to 5
.
A nice place to play around with this to see different outcomes is here
Update
An easy way to look at toBe()
and toEqual()
is to understand what exactly they do in JavaScript. According to Jasmine API, found here:
toEqual() works for simple literals and variables, and should work for objects
toBe() compares with ===
Essentially what that is saying is toEqual()
and toBe()
are similar Javascripts ===
operator except toBe()
is also checking to make sure it is the exact same object, in that for the example below objectOne === objectTwo //returns false
as well. However, toEqual()
will return true in that situation.
Now, you can at least understand why when given:
var objectOne = {
propertyOne: str,
propertyTwo: num
}
var objectTwo = {
propertyOne: str,
propertyTwo: num
}
expect(objectOne).toBe(objectTwo); //returns false
That is because, as stated in this answer to a different, but similar question, the ===
operator actually means that both operands reference the same object, or in case of value types, have the same value.
toEqual()
will compare by key/values-content;toBe()
will compare by object reference. – Andre Elrico