


What is the concept of mocking and stubbing in the context of PHP unit testing?
Jun 13, 2025 am 12:16 AMIn PHP unit tests, mocking is used to verify interaction behavior, and stubbing is used to predefined return values. 1. Mocking creates a mock object and sets the expectation of method calls, such as verifying whether the method is called once and whether the parameters are correct; 2. Stubbing sets the fixed return value of the method, and does not pay attention to the call method, which is suitable for state-based testing; 3. PHPUnit supports both through getMockBuilder(), which can be used alone or in combination to achieve fast and reliable unit testing.
In PHP unit testing, mocking and stubbing are techniques used to isolate the code being tested from its dependencies. The main idea is to simulate how these dependencies behave without relying on their actual implementation — which might involve databases, external APIs, or complex logic.
What Is Mocking?
Mocking is a way to create test doubles (fake objects) that mimic the behavior of real ones. In unit testing, you often don't want your test to fail because of an issue in a dependent class or method — that's what integration tests are for. So instead, you use mocks to define expectations on how certain methods should be called.
For example, if your class depends on a PaymentGateway
object that communicates with a remote API, you can mock it so your test doesn't actually send requests during execution.
A typical scenario:
- You tell the mock: “Expect a call to
charge()
with amount 100.” - If that method isn't called as expected, the test fails.
Mocks are useful when you care about how dependencies interact — like verifying method calls, number of invocations, or argument values.
What Is Stubbing?
Stubbing is similar to mocking but focuss on providing predefined responses rather than setting expectations on behavior. Stubs help control the return value of method calls so you can test different scenarios predictably.
Say you're testing a method that checks user roles using $user->hasRole('admin')
. Instead of creating a real user object and database setup, you can stub this method to always return true
or false
.
Stubs are handy when:
- You only need specific return values.
- You don't care how a method is called, just what it returns.
This makes stubs more suitable for state-based testing , where you're focused on outcomes, not interactions.
How Do They Work in PHPUnit?
PHPUnit provides built-in support for both mocking and stubbing through its getMockBuilder()
method.
Here's a simple example:
$mock = $this->getMockBuilder(SomeClass::class) ->disableOriginalConstructor() ->getMock();
To set up a mock expectation:
$mock->expects($this->once()) -> method('someMethod') ->with($this->equalTo(5));
To create a stub:
$stub->method('getData') ->willReturn(['key' => 'value']);
You can combine both behaviors in one object if needed, depending on what your test requires.
So, mocking and stubbing in PHP unit testing are tools to make your tests fast, reliable, and focused.
Use mocks when you want to verify interactions , and stubs when you just need controlled return values ??.
They're not magic — just practical ways to manage dependencies during unit tests.
The above is the detailed content of What is the concept of mocking and stubbing in the context of PHP unit testing?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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