@MethodSource equivalent with support for simple EL

[crizzis]

I have an idea of a potential new feature and was wondering if you think it is worth the effort.

When using parameterized tests, I tend to shy away from using @MethodSource, bc in heavily parameterized suites, it would force you to add a ridiculous amount of extra methods. To me, the main culprit seems to be the requirement for each such method to be parameterless, thus completely resistant to any generalization.

I was wondering if it wouldn't make more sense to have sth like a @ExpressionSource where we could use some sort of an existing open-source EL engine.

In its simplest form, it would allow for passing primitive parameters to methods (imagine e.g. a security test where you could use expressions like @ExpressionSource("allRolesExceptFor('ADMIN')")).

In an advanced scenario, it could also allow access to: injected constructor params, test instance variables, test context (not sure how this would fit with the test lifecycle, though - it would probably require a little more investigation).

[Michael1993]

We have discussed supporting some kind of EL related to some issues - the main takeaway was that the costs seem to outweigh the benefits. This does not mean that we would outright refuse to support a good solution. Your idea could be solved with a straightforward @EnumSource - you can even have that enum in a separate file, so it does not clutter your tests.

I am uncertain about the last part of the issue, could you provide a bit more context?