gistfile1.rb

# Basic Rspec question:
# How do I 'catch' that an Alert was sent to verify my test?

require 'spec'

class MyTask
  def problem
    a = Alert.new
    a.send_alert
  end
end

class Alert
  def send_alert(message='problem with system')
    puts "Warning Will Robinson!: #{message}"
  end
end

describe 'MyTask' do
  it 'should send an alert when there is a problem' do
    task = MyTask.new
    task.problem
    Alert.should_receive(:new)
  end
end

__END__

OUTPUT:
  MyTask
Warning Will Robinson!: problem with system
- should send an alert when there is a problem (FAILED - 1)

1)
Spec::Mocks::MockExpectationError in 'MyTask should send an alert when there is a problem'
<Alert (class)> expected :new with (any args) once, but received it 0 times
./spec/test_alert.rb:20:

Finished in 0.07813 seconds

1 example, 1 failure