2 files changed, 52 insertions, 9 deletions
diff --git a/actionpack/lib/action_view/test_case.rb b/actionpack/lib/action_view/test_case.rb
index 0eb4a663de..ac59c16d7c 100644
--- a/actionpack/lib/action_view/test_case.rb
+++ b/actionpack/lib/action_view/test_case.rb
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ module ActionView
       end
 
       def render(options = {}, local_assigns = {}, &block)
-        view.assign(_assigns)
+        view.assign(view_assigns)
         @rendered << output = view.render(options, local_assigns, &block)
         output
       end
@@ -169,15 +169,19 @@ module ActionView
 
       alias_method :_view, :view
 
-      EXCLUDE_IVARS = %w{
+      INTERNAL_IVARS = %w{
+        @__name__
         @_assertion_wrapped
+        @_assertions
         @_result
+        @_routes
         @controller
         @layouts
         @locals
         @method_name
         @output_buffer
         @partials
+        @passed
         @rendered
         @request
         @routes
@@ -187,18 +191,26 @@ module ActionView
         @view_context_class
       }
 
-      def _instance_variables
-        instance_variables.map(&:to_s) - EXCLUDE_IVARS
+      def _user_defined_ivars
+        instance_variables.map(&:to_s) - INTERNAL_IVARS
       end
 
-      def _assigns
-        _instance_variables.inject({}) do |hash, var|
-          name = var[1..-1].to_sym
-          hash[name] = instance_variable_get(var)
-          hash
+      # Returns a Hash of instance variables and their values, as defined by
+      # the user in the test case, which are then assigned to the view being
+      # rendered. This is generally intended for internal use and extension
+      # frameworks.
+      def view_assigns
+        _user_defined_ivars.inject({}) do |hash, var|
+          hash.merge(var.sub('@','').to_sym => instance_variable_get(var))
         end
       end
 
+      def _assigns
+        ActiveSupport::Deprecation.warn "ActionView::TestCase#_assigns is deprecated and will be removed in future versions. " <<
+          "Please use view_assigns instead."
+        view_assigns
+      end
+
       def _routes
         @controller._routes if @controller.respond_to?(:_routes)
       end
diff --git a/actionpack/test/template/test_case_test.rb b/actionpack/test/template/test_case_test.rb
index 8526db61cc..a745999622 100644
--- a/actionpack/test/template/test_case_test.rb
+++ b/actionpack/test/template/test_case_test.rb
@@ -116,6 +116,37 @@ module ActionView
     end
   end
 
+  class AssignsTest < ActionView::TestCase
+    setup do
+      ActiveSupport::Deprecation.stubs(:warn)
+    end
+
+    test "_assigns delegates to user_defined_ivars" do
+      self.expects(:view_assigns)
+      _assigns
+    end
+
+    test "_assigns is deprecated" do
+      ActiveSupport::Deprecation.expects(:warn)
+      _assigns
+    end
+  end
+
+  class ViewAssignsTest < ActionView::TestCase
+    test "view_assigns returns a Hash of user defined ivars" do
+      @a = 'b'
+      @c = 'd'
+      assert_equal({:a => 'b', :c => 'd'}, view_assigns)
+    end
+
+    test "view_assigns excludes internal ivars" do
+      INTERNAL_IVARS.each do |ivar|
+        assert defined?(ivar), "expected #{ivar} to be defined"
+        assert !view_assigns.keys.include?(ivar.sub('@','').to_sym), "expected #{ivar} to be excluded from view_assigns"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+  
   class HelperExposureTest < ActionView::TestCase
     helper(Module.new do
       def render_from_helper