The Mock Object pattern
The Mock Object pattern is a powerful tool for isolating components during testing by simulating their behavior. Mock objects help create controlled testing environments and verify interactions between components.
The Mock Object pattern provides three features:
- Isolation: Mocks isolate the unit of code being tested, ensuring that tests run in a controlled environment where dependencies are predictable and do not have external side effects.
- Behavior verification: By using mock objects, you can verify that certain behaviors happen during a test, such as method calls or property accesses.
- Simplification: They simplify the setup of tests by replacing complex real objects that might require significant setup of their own.
Comparison with stubs
Stubs also replace real implementations but are used only to provide indirect input to the code under test. Mocks, by contrast, can also verify interactions, making them more flexible in many testing...
