what is the use of test/dummy folder in rails?

Question

I am starting to learn plugin development in rails, I was wondering what is the use of the test/dummy folder in the rails plugin environment. I understand that it has all the features of a regular app but what how does this help in the plugin environment. Furthermore I was unable to find good resources online for exploring the rails plugin development system, it would be helpful if good resources were posted.

Answer 1

The dummy app with /test works like fixture, to provide a basic environment to run the plugin's functional/integration tests.

Because this is a plugin(actually it's a gem), even it lives in /lib currently, it should have no dependency on your real app. But functional/integration tests need a Rails app, so here comes the dummy.