What does jest.fn() do and how can I use it? - unit-testing

Question

Can anyone explain how jest.fn() actually works, with a real world example, as I'm confused on how to use it and where it has to be used.
For example if I have the component Countries which fetches country List on click of a button with help of the Utils Function
export default class Countries extends React.Component {
constructor(props) {
super(props)
this.state = {
countryList:''
}
}
getList() {
//e.preventDefault();
//do an api call here
let list = getCountryList();
list.then((response)=>{ this.setState({ countryList:response }) });
}
render() {
var cListing = "Click button to load Countries List";
if(this.state.countryList) {
let cList = JSON.parse(this.state.countryList);
cListing = cList.RestResponse.result.map((item)=> { return(<li key={item.alpha3_code}> {item.name} </li>); });
}
return (
<div>
<button onClick={()=>this.getList()} className="buttonStyle"> Show Countries List </button>
<ul>
{cListing}
</ul>
</div>
);
}
}
Utils function used
const http = require('http');
export function getCountryList() {
return new Promise(resolve => {
let url = "/country/get/all";
http.get({host:'services.groupkt.com',path: url,withCredentials:false}, response => {
let data = '';
response.on('data', _data => data += _data);
response.on('end', () => resolve(data));
});
});
}
Where could I use jest.fn() or how can I test that getList() function is called when I click on the button?

Answer 1

Jest Mock Functions
Mock functions are also known as "spies", because they let you spy on the behavior of a function that is called indirectly by some other code, rather than just testing the output. You can create a mock function with jest.fn().
Check the documentation for jest.fn()
Returns a new, unused mock function. Optionally takes a mock implementation.
const mockFn = jest.fn();
mockFn();
expect(mockFn).toHaveBeenCalled();
With a mock implementation:
const returnsTrue = jest.fn(() => true);
console.log(returnsTrue()) // true;
So you can mock getList using jest.fn() as follows:
jest.dontMock('./Countries.jsx');
const React = require('react/addons');
const TestUtils = React.addons.TestUtils;
const Countries = require('./Countries.jsx');
describe('Component', function() {
it('must call getList on button click', function() {
var renderedNode = TestUtils.renderIntoDocument(<Countries />);
renderedNode.prototype.getList = jest.fn()
var button = TestUtils.findRenderedDOMComponentWithTag(renderedNode, 'button');
TestUtils.Simulate.click(button);
expect(renderedNode.prototype.getList).toBeCalled();
});
});