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I am new to writing unit tests so learning as I go along. I am using Rhino Mocks with MsTest frameworks and have some questions.

Where can I find some documentation on rhino mocks, outlining its features with explanations, so I can print off and examine?

I have seen numerous examples of the 2 following techniques regarding expectations, which is the better or more apt for a particular situation?

Expect.Call( delegate { mockTestClass.MethodToMock(param) } ).Return(true);

or

var mockTestClass = MockRepository.GenerateMock<TestClass>();

mockTestClass.Expect( m => m.MethodToMock(param) ).Return( true );

Next I am wondering what the difference between stubbing and mocking a class is and what should be used in which scenarios?

Thanks for any help.

amateur
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  • [The Art of Unit Testing](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Unit-Testing-Examples-NET/dp/1933988274) is a really good book for learning about unit testing - it's what I started with. It goes into the use of mocks and stubs too. – Samuel Slade Nov 25 '11 at 14:09

2 Answers2

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Where can I find some documentation on rhino mocks, outlining its features with explanations, so I can print off and examine?

Rhino Mocks docs are here and a good wiki is here. In general, be careful with anything mentioning versions 3.3 or lower, as it will be somewhat outdated.

which is the better or more apt for a particular situation?

The second way is more "fluent" and recommended.

what the difference between stubbing and mocking

Here are some resources about this:

BTW if you're just getting started with these concepts I think you'll be better off using NUnit and Moq. Here's an introduction with examples.

Community
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Mauricio Scheffer
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If you want to check that specific method was called and return value does not matter I would suggest using AAA syntax and AssertWasCalled() method:

// Arrange
var mock = MockRepository.GenerateMock<ICustomType>();
var service = new MyService(mock);

// Act
service.DoSomething();

// Assert 
// ensures that SomeMethod of the mock was called 
// whilst service.DoSomething() call
mock.AssertWasCalled(m => m.SomeMethod());

Difference between stubs and mocks from RhinoMocks framework perspectives are following:

  • Expectations can be set for both Mocks and Stubs but they are verified only for Mocks, for instance you would not be able specify Repeat().Any() and so on for stub
  • Stubs never fail when accessing methods or properties, all properties and methods return default(T) for given return type T, properties of Stub is normal properties

More details regarding difference between Mocks and Stubs see in a good set of links provided in the Mauricio's answer, I would suggest Martin Fowler's work.

sll
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