java.lang.AssertionError: expected - unit-testing

Question

My TestNG test implementation throws an error despite the expected value matches with the actual value.
Here is the TestNG code:
#Test(dataProvider = "valid")
public void setUserValidTest(int userId, String firstName, String lastName){
User newUser = new User();
newUser.setLastName(lastName);
newUser.setUserId(userId);
newUser.setFirstName(firstName);
userDAO.setUser(newUser);
Assert.assertEquals(userDAO.getUser().get(0), newUser);
}
The error is:
java.lang.AssertionError: expected [UserId=10, FirstName=Sam, LastName=Baxt] but found [UserId=10, FirstName=Sam, LastName=Baxt]
What have I done wrong here?

Answer 1

The reason is simple. Testng uses the equals method of the object to check if they're equal. So the best way to achieve the result you're looking for is to override the equals method of the user method like this.
public class User {
private String lastName;
private String firstName;
private String userId;
// -- other methods here
#Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) {
if (obj == null) {
return false;
}
if (!User.class.isAssignableFrom(obj.getClass())) {
return false;
}
final User other = (User) obj;
//If both lastnames are not equal return false
if ((this.lastName == null) ? (other.lastName != null) : !this.lastName.equals(other.lastName)) {
return false;
}
//If both lastnames are not equal return false
if ((this.firstName == null) ? (other.firstName != null) : !this.firstName.equals(other.firstName)) {
return false;
}
//If both lastnames are not equal return false
if ((this.userId == null) ? (other.userId != null) : !this.userId.equals(other.userId)) {
return false;
}
return true;
}
}
and it'll work like magic

Answer 2

It seems you are either comparing the wrong (first) object or equals is not correctly implemented as it returns false.
The shown values are just string representations. It doesn't actually mean that both objects have to be equal.
You should check if userDAO.getUser().get(0) actually returns the user you are setting before.
Posting the implementation of User and the userDAO type might help for further clarification.

Answer 3

NOTE: Note directly related to this question but it's answer to my issue that got me to this question. I am sure more ppl might end-up on this post looking for this solution.
This is not precisely the a solution if Equals method needs overriding but something that I very commonly find myself blocked due to:
If you have used Capture and are asserting equality over captured value, please be sure to get the captured value form captured instance.
eg:
Capture<Request> capturedRequest = new Capture<>();
this.testableObj.makeRequest(EasyMock.capture(capturedRequest))
Assert.assertEquals(capturedRequest.getValue(), expectedRequest);
V/S
Assert.assertEquals(capturedRequest, expectedRequest);
while the compiler wont complain in either case, the Assertion Obviously fails in 2nd case