Extend assertInstanceEqual to accept a list of data fields to exclude from comparison with the instance

netbox/utilities/testing/api.py

@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ class APIViewTestCases:
 
     class CreateObjectViewTestCase(APITestCase):
         create_data = []
+        validation_excluded_fields = []
 
         def test_create_object_without_permission(self):
             """
@@ -205,6 +206,7 @@ class APIViewTestCases:
             self.assertInstanceEqual(
                 self._get_queryset().get(pk=response.data['id']),
                 self.create_data[0],
+                exclude=self.validation_excluded_fields,
                 api=True
             )
 
@@ -229,11 +231,13 @@ class APIViewTestCases:
                 self.assertInstanceEqual(
                     self._get_queryset().get(pk=obj['id']),
                     self.create_data[i],
+                    exclude=self.validation_excluded_fields,
                     api=True
                 )
 
     class UpdateObjectViewTestCase(APITestCase):
         update_data = {}
+        validation_excluded_fields = []
 
         def test_update_object_without_permission(self):
             """
@@ -266,7 +270,12 @@ class APIViewTestCases:
             response = self.client.patch(url, update_data, format='json', **self.header)
             self.assertHttpStatus(response, status.HTTP_200_OK)
             instance.refresh_from_db()
-            self.assertInstanceEqual(instance, update_data, api=True)
+            self.assertInstanceEqual(
+                instance,
+                update_data,
+                exclude=self.validation_excluded_fields,
+                api=True
+            )
 
     class DeleteObjectViewTestCase(APITestCase):
 

netbox/utilities/testing/views.py

@@ -126,20 +126,25 @@ class TestCase(_TestCase):
             err_message = f"Expected HTTP status {expected_status}; received {response.status_code}: {err}"
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, expected_status, err_message)
 
-    def assertInstanceEqual(self, instance, data, api=False):
+    def assertInstanceEqual(self, instance, data, exclude=None, api=False):
         """
         Compare a model instance to a dictionary, checking that its attribute values match those specified
         in the dictionary.
 
-        :instance: Python object instance
-        :data: Dictionary of test data used to define the instance
-        :api: Set to True is the data is a JSON representation of the instance
+        :param instance: Python object instance
+        :param data: Dictionary of test data used to define the instance
+        :param exclude: List of fields to exclude from comparison (e.g. passwords, which get hashed)
+        :param api: Set to True is the data is a JSON representation of the instance
         """
-        model_dict = self.model_to_dict(instance, fields=data.keys(), api=api)
+        if exclude is None:
+            exclude = []
 
-        # Omit any dictionary keys which are not instance attributes
+        fields = [k for k in data.keys() if k not in exclude]
+        model_dict = self.model_to_dict(instance, fields=fields, api=api)
+
+        # Omit any dictionary keys which are not instance attributes or have been excluded
         relevant_data = {
-            k: v for k, v in data.items() if hasattr(instance, k)
+            k: v for k, v in data.items() if hasattr(instance, k) and k not in exclude
         }
 
         self.assertDictEqual(model_dict, relevant_data)