RSpec and Cucumber both are the example of testing frameworks. RSpec uses traditional Unit Testing. It means it uses testing a class or part of the application in isolation from the rest of the application. So your model does what your model is supposed to do, the controller does what it is supposed to do, etc. RSpec and Cucumber both are used for Acceptance Testing, also called ATDD, BDD, etc.
Difference between RSpec and Cucumber
* The main difference between RSpec and Cucumber is the business readability factor.
* RSpec is mainly used for Unit Testing. On the other hand, Cucumber is mainly used for Behavior-driven development. We can also use it for System and Integration Testing.
* In Cucumber, the specifications or features are separate from the test code, so the product owners can provide or review the specification without going through the code. These are the .feature files that you make in Cucumber.
* RSpec also has a similar mechanism, but instead of describing a step with a Describe or Context, it uses the business specification to execute that statement. This approach is a little easier for developers to work with but a bit harder for non-technical guys.
Which should we use?
* For a core developer, it is the best choice to use RSpec. It is easier to understand for a technical person and offers a few advantages in keeping things scoped and under control because you don't have to mess up with RegExs for test steps.
* If you are building this for a client, you should choose Cucumber for Acceptance Testing and use RSpec for Unit Testing.
