Why Python is Better than Java
Sunday, December 10th, 2023Reason 1: Mocking.
unittest.mock, Python’s mocking framework is so much more powerful than EasyMock, Mockito, or any other Java mock framework I’ve ever used. You can replace any method you like with essentially arbitrary code. No longer do you have to contort APIs with convoluted dependency injection just to mock out network connections or reproduce error conditions.
Instead you just identify a method by name and module within the scope of the test method. When that method is invoked, the actual code is replaced with the mock code. You can do this long after the class being mocked was written. Model classes do not need to participate in their own mocking. You can mock any method anywhere at any time, in your own code or in dependencies. No dependency injection required. You can even mock fields.
By contrast Java only lets you mock objects (not methods) and only when you have an available API to insert the mock in place of the real thing.
Reason 2: None
is its own type.
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