NAME

       POE::Test::Sequence - POE test helper to verify a sequence of events

SYNOPSIS

         Sorry, there isn't a synopsis at this time.

         However, see t/90_regression/whjackson-followtail.t in POE's test
         suite for a full example.

DESCRIPTION

       POE::Test::Sequence is a test helper that abstracts a lot of the tedious trickery needed
       to verify the relative ordering of events.

       With this module, one can test the sequence of events without necessarily relying on
       specific times elapsing between them.

   create_generic_session
       The create_generic_session() method creates a POE::Session that routes all vents through
       the POE::Test::Sequence object.  It returns the POE::Session object, but the test program
       does not need to store it anywhere.  In fact, it's recommended not to do that without
       understanding the implications.

       The implications can be found in the documentation for POE::Kernel and POE::Session.

       An example of create_generic_session() can be found in POE's
       t/90_regression/leolo-alarm-adjust.t test program.

   new
       Create a new sequence object.  Takes named parameter pairs, currently just "sequence",
       which references an array of steps.  Each step is an array reference containing the
       expected event, a required parameter to that event, and a code reference for the optional
       next step to take after testing for that event.

         my $sequence = POE::Test::Sequence->new(
           sequence => [
           [ got_idle_event => 0, sub { append_to_log("text") } ],
           ...,
         ]
         );

       next() uses the first two step elements to verify that steps are occurring in the order in
       which they should.  The third element is returned by next() and is suitable for use as a
       goto() target.  See the next() method for more details.

   next
       The next() method requires an event name and a scalar parameter.  These are compared to
       the first two elements of the next sequence step to make sure events are happening in the
       order in which they should.

         sub handle_start_event {
           goto $sequence->next("got_start_event", 0);
         }

   test_count
       test_count() returns the number of test steps in the sequence object.  It's intended to be
       used for test planning.

         use Test::More;
         my $sequence = POE::Test::Sequence->new( ... );
         plan tests => $sequence->test_count();

BUGS

       create_generic_session() is hard-coded to pass only the event name and the numeric value 0
       to next().  This is fine for only the most generic sequences.

AUTHORS & LICENSING

       Please see POE for more information about authors, contributors, and POE's licensing.