Differences from Mock

If you’ve previously used the Mock package, you may be wondering how Doubles is different and why you might want to use it. There are a few main differences:

• Mock follows what it describes as the “action –> assertion” pattern, meaning that you make calls to test doubles and then make assertions afterwards about how they are used. Doubles takes the reverse approach: you declare explicitly how your test doubles should behave, and any expectations you’ve made will be verified automatically at the end of the test.
• Mock has one primary class, also called Mock, which can serve the purpose of different types of test doubles depending on how it’s used. Doubles uses explicit terminology to help your tests better convey their intent. In particulary, there is a clear distinction between a stub and a mock, with separate syntax for each.
• Doubles ensures that all test doubles adhere to the interface of the real objects they double. This is akin to Mock‘s “spec” feature, but is not optional. This prevents drift between test double usage and real implementation. Without this feature, it’s very easy to have a passing test but broken behavior in production.
• Doubles has a fluid interface, using method chains to build up a specification about how a test double should be used which matches closely with how you might describe it in words.