Question 413200 in Laravel Question posted in
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Laravel – How can I use Carbon::setTestNow() to influence the results of the FakerPHP dateTimeBetween method?

I’m using model factory methods in my Laravel test suite that return date ranges. For instance:

class WorkSiteFactory extends Factory
{
  // ... Other factory stuff....

  /**
  * Indicate that the Permit status is fully approved.
  */
  public function withApprovedPermit(): self
  {
      return $this->state([
        'permit_paid_at' => $this->faker->dateTimeBetween('-12 days', '-8 days'),
        'permit_approved_at' => $this->faker->dateTimeBetween('-12 days', '-8 days')
      ]);
  }
}

In tests, I’ll sometimes mock the date using Carbon::setTestNow() and then make my test assertions. But unfortunately the dateTimeBetween usages don’t respond to the mocked date.

use AppModelsWorkSite;
use IlluminateSupportCarbon;
use TestsTestCase;

class SchedulerControllerTest extends TestCase
{

    /** @test */
    public function index_returns_correct_number_of_work_sites(): void
    {  
        // Set the mocked "now" time
        $mockNow = Carbon::parse('2024-10-01');
        Carbon::setTestNow($mockNow);
    

        // Incomplete WorkSites won't show up as available
        WorkSite::factory()
            ->count(2)
            ->incomplete()
            ->create();
         
        // 4 WorkSites Ready to Work
        $workSites = WorkSite::factory()
            ->count(4)
            ->readyToWork() 
            ->withApprovedPermit() // ❌ <- this should set the permit dates correctly but it doesn't adjust according to the mocked date
            ->create();

        $response = $this
            ->actingAs(User::factory()->create())
            ->get(route('scheduler.index'))
            ->assertOk();

        // Then asserting that the right number of
        // WorkSites are returned according to the date...
        // ...
    }
}

I’ve done some source diving and thought maybe there was a way to override "now" in the Faker package but I don’t see any.

I’ve also tried to wrap the returned values in Carbon::instance() and Carbon::parse(), both didn’t work.

I’m sure there’s a hacky way of writing a method that takes the result of the Faker and adjusts it according to the Carbon::now() time but that seems like the wrong solution.

Thanks in advance!

Tags:

2

Answers


  1. 0

    Faker is using PHP’s DateTime class and doesn’t use Carbon (which extends DateTime) in any way.

    As the model factory is only used in the test suites, you can add a parameter to withApprovedPermit() where you can provide a DateTime object.

    Or you can set the Date of the objects manually after creation (provided you have the required setters)

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  2. 0

    Based on Carbon’s documentation, you can use some ways:

    • Carbon::parse('-12 days')->daysUntil('-8 days');
    • Carbon::parse('-12 days')->diff('-8 days')->stepBy('day');
    • CarbonPeriod::between('-12 days', '-8 days');

    This will give you an iterable from initial date to end date, what you can do is then use faker to get a random day from that iterable.

    If you do this, you will always use Carbon, so you can use Carbon::setTestNow(now()) anywhere and then the factory will take that into account:

    // Code before you trigger factory
$mockNow = Carbon::parse('2024-10-01');
Carbon::setTestNow($mockNow);

// Part of the factory

// Instead of
$this->faker->dateTimeBetween('-12 days', '-8 days');

// Use
$this->faker->randomElement(CarbonCarbonPeriod::between('-12 days', '-8 days'));

    I saw you are using Carbon::setTestNow(), prefer to use "native" Laravel way of doing it:

    // Instead of
$mockNow = Carbon::parse('2024-10-01');
Carbon::setTestNow($mockNow);

// Use
$this->travelTo(Carbon::parse('2024-10-01'));
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