Mockolate.
fake chocolate, mock objects and test spies.
mockolate.org Documentation, examples, elaboration. Drew Bourne Contact.
This tagline is probably a hint that Mockolate is most useful when testing software. Whether you are doing test-driven-development, post-crunch-time fill-in-the-gaps, or exploratory-I-have-no-idea-what-is-going-on testing Mockolate can help.
Mock Objects
A mock object can be used to simulate the behaviour of complex, real (non-mock) objects when using the real object would be impractical or impossible. Situations where a mock object would be useful:
- When an object is slow (like a database or webservice),
- is non-deterministic (like the current time),
- has states that are difficult to reproduce (like network connections)
The above is mostly appropriated from Mock Objects at Wikipedia. I could keep rewriting it here, but it's really quite a good read.
Test Spies
In espionage, spies infiltrate a system, recording and relaying information to their handlers. The handlers may use that information to check facts, inform others, or take action.
In testing, a Test Spy records which methods are called, which getters are got, which setters are set. The handler (typically a testcase) can then check the facts against what should or should not have happened and take action (typically an assertion).
Mockolate?
- clean consistent syntax
- expectation-based or record-replay
- dynamically generates proxy Classes
- supports handcoded proxy Classes
- provides a FlexUnit 4 Rule and Runner
- uses proven libraries, FlexUnit 4, FLoxy and Hamcrest-as3
Next
Head over to http://mockolate.org/ for documentation and examples:
- Mockolate?
- Getting Mockolate
- Preparing and Creating
- Stubbing and Mocking
- Recoding and Replaying
- Verifying and Test Spies
- Decorating Mockolates
- Limitations and Gotchas
Thanks
Richard Szalay with FLoxy, and Maxim Porges with Loom for their work on Class proxy generation.
Brian LeGros for hassling me about -mock-as3- enough that I added class proxy generation to it. Except you can ignore that project in favour of Mockolate.
