Load file error on Rspec - ruby-on-rails

Question

I'm following along with a tutorial on testing with Rspec. Getting a syntax error when trying to run the test. Here's my test code:
require 'rails_helper'
RSpec.describe CommentsController, type: :controller do
describe "comments#create action" do
it "should allow admins to create comments on posts" do
post = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
admin = FactoryGirl.create(:admin)
sign_in admin
post :create, params: { post_id: post.id, comment: { message: 'awesome post' } }
expect(response).to redirect_to root_path
expect(post.comments.length).to eq 1
expect(post.comments.first.message).to eq "awesome gram"
end
it "should require an admin to be logged in to comment on a post" do
post = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
post :create, params: { post_id: post.id, comment: { message: 'awesome post' } }
expect(response).to redirect_to new_admin_session_path
end
it "should return http status code of not found if the post isn't found" do
admin = FactoryGirl.create(:admin)
sign_in admin
post :create, params: { post_id: 'SUNSHINE', comment: { message: 'awesome post'} }
expect(response).to have_http_status :not_found
end
end
end
Here's the controller:
class CommentsController < ApplicationController
before_action :authenticate_admin!, only: [:create]
def create
#post = Post.find_by_id(params[:post_id])
return render_not_found if #post.blank?
#post.comments.create(comment_params.merge(admin: current_admin))
redirect_to root_path
end
private
def render_not_found(status=:not_found)
render plain: "#{status.to_s.titleize} :(", status: status
end
def comment_params
params.require(:comment).permit(:message)
end
end
Here's the terminal output when running the test:
Terminal output
What's odd is that when I comment the lines that are producing the error, the tests run as intended with the last test passing. I've checked the test file along with similar posts that describe the same problem and it looks to me like the syntax is correct. New to Rails so pardon the rookie mistakes.

Answer 1

The problem is that you have a variable named post:
post = FactoryGirl.create(:post) # define `post` variable
post :create, params: ... # try to call `post` method
Therefore, on subsequent lines post will refer to the variable, not the post method.
Solution 1: Rename the variable
my_post = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
post :create, params: { post_id: my_post.id, ... }
Solution 2: Use self.post to access the method
post = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
self.post :create, params: { post_id: post.id, ... }
Replicating the issue in irb:
def foo
"bar"
end
foo = "wat"
#=> "wat"
foo :hello
# SyntaxError: (irb):63: syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting end-of-input
# foo :hello
# ^

Answer 2

I think it has to do with you defining a variable named post then trying to call the Rspec method post:
it "should require an admin to be logged in to comment on a post" do
post = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
post :create, params: { post_id: post.id, comment: { message: 'awesome post' } }
expect(response).to redirect_to new_admin_session_path
end
Try re-naming it:
to call the Rspec method post:
it "should require an admin to be logged in to comment on a post" do
message = FactoryGirl.create(:post)
post :create, params: { post_id: message.id, comment: { message: 'awesome post' } }
expect(response).to redirect_to new_admin_session_path
end