Connecting to MySQL DB in Ruby Rspec

Question

[n00b alert] I'm probably doing this all wrong... RSpec outputs this failure:

1)...                                       #skipped irrelevant info
   Failure/Error: graph.read_db('example1')
   Not connected to any DB.                 #error msg
   #./prim.rb:135:in 'read_db'
   #./prim_spec.rb:171:in 'block (2 levels) in <top (required)>'

I have set up a MySQL database on the same machine. The program provides an algorithm for computing a graph's minimum spanning tree. Has methods for file I/O, database I/O using ActiveRecord, etc. All WORKS WELL except RSpec tests. Code (irrelevant parts left out):

prim_spec.rb

describe PGraph, "online" do
    before (:all) do
        ActiveRecord::Base.establish_connection(
        :adapter => "mysql2",
        :host => "localhost",
        :username => "root",
        :password => "xxxxx",
        :database => "rubytasks" )
        #the exact same statement works perfectly when running the program itself, but fails in RSpec
    end
    before (:each) do
        @graph = PGraph.new
    end

    it "should correctly retrieve data from database" do
        @graph.read_db('example1')   #line 171
        #business part goes here
    end
end

prim.rb

class PGraph
    def read_db(graphID)
        #the error which is raised (line 135):
        raise "Not connected to any DB." unless ActiveRecord::Base.connected?
        #reading goes here
    end
end

Connection and PGraph manipulation is performed in ui.rb. So, ummm, what's the correct way to access a real DB (I'm lazy) for testing (or is the problem elsewhere?)? Preferably something simple, since this is just a school assignment. And without messing with Rails or other gems. PS: I'm using the most recent versions of all gems and server. On Windows 7 x86. Ruby 1.9.2. Thanks.

Answer 1

I'm guessing not everything is loaded properly when you run your rspec tests. Are all classes that setup your database connection loaded properly and with the right parameters when running rspec?