Why
Great testing includes isolation
Most parts of a software system do not work in isolation, but collaborate with other parts to get their job done.
In a lot of cases, we do not care about using real collaborators implementation in unit testing, as we trust these collaborators.
Mock Objects replace collaborators of the unit under test.
How
Isolation involves Mock Objects
To test a unit in isolation or mount a sufficient environment, we have to simulate the collaborators in the test.
A Mock Object is a test-oriented replacement for a collaborator. It is configured to simulate the object that it replaces in a simple way.
In contrast to a stub, a Mock Object also verifies whether it is used as expected.
What
EasyMock makes mocking easier
EasyMock has been the first dynamic Mock Object generator, relieving users of hand-writing Mock Objects, or generating code for them.
EasyMock provides Mock Objects by generating them on the fly using Java proxy mechanism.
