Mocking vs End-to-End Testing

Developers should use mocking when writing unit tests to isolate code from external dependencies, enabling faster and more deterministic tests that don't rely on network calls, databases, or third-party services meets developers should use end-to-end testing when building complex applications with multiple interconnected modules, such as web apps with frontend, backend, and database layers, to catch integration bugs that unit or integration tests might miss. Here's our take.

Mocking

Nice Pick

Developers should use mocking when writing unit tests to isolate code from external dependencies, enabling faster and more deterministic tests that don't rely on network calls, databases, or third-party services

Pros

• It's particularly useful in test-driven development (TDD) and continuous integration pipelines to ensure code quality and catch bugs early, such as when testing API integrations or complex business logic without actual data sources
• Related to: unit-testing, test-driven-development

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

End-to-End Testing

Developers should use end-to-end testing when building complex applications with multiple interconnected modules, such as web apps with frontend, backend, and database layers, to catch integration bugs that unit or integration tests might miss

Pros

• It's particularly valuable for critical user journeys like login processes, checkout flows, or data submission pipelines, where failures could directly impact user experience or business operations
• Related to: test-automation, cypress

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Mocking is a concept while End-to-End Testing is a methodology. We picked Mocking based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Mocking wins

Based on overall popularity. Mocking is more widely used, but End-to-End Testing excels in its own space.