Why the cryptic MultipleFailureException error message with the SpringJUnit4ClassRunner.withAfterClasses method

Question

Why is my spring test set up failing with the following not-so-useful error messages below? All suggestions are appreciated.

JUnit Output

Answer 1

Update -- September 2015

Spring Framework 4.2.2 throws a more meaningful exception if JUnit 4.9 is not in the classpath. See SPR-13521 for details.

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The following is an excerpt from the class-level Javadoc for SpringJUnit4ClassRunner:

NOTE: As of Spring Framework 4.1, this class requires JUnit 4.9 or higher.

The class in question, MultipleFailureException, was introduced in JUnit 4.9.

So that's why your test is failing with the ClassNotFoundException.

Upgrading to JUnit 4.9 (or preferably 4.12) will therefore solve your problem.

Regards,

Sam (author of the Spring TestContext Framework)