How do I compare two objects in Java where the expected objects properties are dynamic

Question

I'm looking for a way to compare objects in Java based on dynamic properties written in Cucumber/Gherkin format.

Has anyone implemented anything like this or knows of a framework which can achieve this?

Here is an example of what I'm trying to do:

cucumber.feature

Feature: Cucumber Feature 1

  Scenario: Test 1
    Given my micro-service is up and running
    When I submit something to my API
    Then I verify the response object looks like this:
      | property1 | value1 |
      | property3 | value3 |
      | property5 | value5 |

StepDefinitions.java

public class StepDefinitions {

    private ResponseObject storedResponseObject;

    @Given("^my micro-service is up and running$")
    public void given() throws Throwable {
        ...
    }

    @When("^I submit something to my API$")
    public void when() throws Throwable {
        storedResponseObject = postSomethingToAPI();
    }

    @Then("^I verify the response object looks like this:$")
    public void then(Map<String, String> gherkinMap) throws Throwable {
        ObjectMapper objectMapper = new ObjectMapper();
        ResponseObject expectedResponseObject = objectMapper.convertValue(gherkinMap, ResponseObject.class);
        ResponseObject actualResponseObject = storedResponseObject;
        Assert.assertEquals(expectedResponseObject, actualResponseObject);
    }
}

ResponseObject.java

public class ResponseObject {

    private String property1;
    private String property2;
    private String property3;
    private String property4;
    private String property5;

    public String getProperty1() {
        return property1;
    }

    public void setProperty1(String property1) {
        this.property1 = property1;
    }

    public String getProperty2() {
        return property2;
    }

    public void setProperty2(String property2) {
        this.property2 = property2;
    }

    public String getProperty3() {
        return property3;
    }

    public void setProperty3(String property3) {
        this.property3 = property3;
    }

    public String getProperty4() {
        return property4;
    }

    public void setProperty4(String property4) {
        this.property4 = property4;
    }

    public String getProperty5() {
        return property5;
    }

    public void setProperty5(String property5) {
        this.property5 = property5;
    }
}

Note - The Assert.assertEquals() clearly isn't going to work.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Ben :)

Maybe using a dictionary instead of generic properties would be a good option. I leave you an example https://stackoverflow.com/questions/13543457/how-do-you-create-a-dictionary-in-java — Oshant, Jul 24 '17 at 14:46
Some kind of Reflection comparer (e.g. org.apache.commons.lang.builder.EqualsBuilder.reflectionEquals). But it might actually be more useful to compare JSON output. — David Lavender, Jul 24 '17 at 14:54

Vadim Beskrovnov · Answer 1 · 2017-07-24T14:35:12.367

1

Override equals method in ResponseObject. In overrided method realize comparing logic.

EDIT

As @Wietlol noticed, override hashcode method too. More about this you can read here In Java, why must equals() and hashCode() be consistent?

edited Jul 24 '17 at 14:35

answered Jul 24 '17 at 14:32

Vadim Beskrovnov

853
4
16

2

Also make sure to override the hashCode() method... and to make equals() take in an object – Wietlol Jul 24 '17 at 14:33

How do I compare two objects in Java where the expected objects properties are dynamic

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