Field Assertion DSL

note

Available since Kensa 0.8.0.

Declare named fields once; compose them at the test call-site to produce readable, self-describing assertions on JSON and XML responses.

then(theFeasibilityResponseAsJson(),
    (anAddressPostcode of fixtures[postcode])
        .and(serviceable of true)
        .and(profileCount of 3)
        .and(fastestProfileType of "FTTP")
        .and(fastestProfileSupplier of fixtures[voiceSupplier])
        .and(fastestProfileDownloadSpeed of fixtures[voiceDownloadSpeed])
)

Each line names the field being checked and the expected value. Failure messages include the field's human-readable description automatically — no custom assertion messages needed.

Why use it

Asserting on a JSON or XML response typically requires either direct path access scattered throughout the test, a custom helper per assertion, or a third-party library incompatible with your assertion library. The field DSL avoids all three by producing standard Matcher<T?> values that compose with your existing library and integrate with Kensa's then(collector, matcher) overload without special wiring.

Kotest vs Hamkrest

The DSL ships in two flavours. The API surface is identical — the only differences are the matcher type, composition syntax, and import paths.

	Kotest	Hamkrest
Matcher type	io.kotest.matchers.Matcher<T?>	com.natpryce.hamkrest.Matcher<T?>
Composition	.and(other) method call	and / or infix operators
String-field regex	matching(regex) via Kotest match	matching(regex) via present(matches(...))
Ordered list	containExactly	equalTo(list)
shouldHaveAll	calls should(Matcher.all(...))	calls assertThat(this, allOf(...))

Both flavours cover the same field classes (Core, XML, JSON) and phrasing sugar (with, thatHas, thatIs, shouldHaveAll).

Modules

Artifact	What it provides
kensa-kotest-test-support / kensa-hamkrest-test-support	MatcherField<T, R> interface + all extension functions
kensa-kotest-test-support-xml / kensa-hamkrest-test-support-xml	XML field classes backed by W3C DOM + javax.xml.xpath
kensa-kotest-test-support-json / kensa-hamkrest-test-support-json	JSON field classes backed by Jackson JsonNode + JSONPointer

The XML and JSON modules each depend on the corresponding core module. No additional XML library is needed beyond the JDK XPath API; no additional JSON library beyond Jackson.

Dependencies

Kotest

// build.gradle.kts
dependencies {
    testImplementation("dev.kensa:kensa-kotest-test-support:0.8.0")

    // Add the modules you need:
    testImplementation("dev.kensa:kensa-kotest-test-support-xml:0.8.0")
    testImplementation("dev.kensa:kensa-kotest-test-support-json:0.8.0")
}

Hamkrest

// build.gradle.kts
dependencies {
    testImplementation("dev.kensa:kensa-hamkrest-test-support:0.8.0")

    // Add the modules you need:
    testImplementation("dev.kensa:kensa-hamkrest-test-support-xml:0.8.0")
    testImplementation("dev.kensa:kensa-hamkrest-test-support-json:0.8.0")
}

Worked example

The clearwave-example project contains end-to-end demonstrations:

• FeasibilityResponseFields.kt — JSON field declarations
• FibreVisionResponseFields.kt — XML field declarations
• FieldDslExamplesTest.kt — tests using those fields

The rendered HTML report is at kensa-dev.github.io/clearwave-example.

When to use this DSL

Reach for it when:

• You are asserting on a structured response (JSON, XML) and want the assertion to be self-documenting.
• You want failures to name the field that failed rather than printing raw paths.
• You want to compose multiple field checks into a single then(collector, matcher) call.
• You have domain value types and need a custom infix function (see Core — toMatcher).

You do not need it for simple single-value assertions where a plain shouldBe or equalTo is already readable.

Next

• Core — MatcherField, extension functions, phrasing sugar
• XML Fields — XmlField family
• JSON Fields — JsonField family
• Report Rendering — wire @RenderedValueWithHint so paths show as on-hover hints