Stubs And Drivers vs Test Doubles

Developers should use stubs and drivers during integration testing in large or complex software projects where modules are developed independently or asynchronously meets developers should use test doubles when writing unit tests to isolate code from external dependencies, making tests faster and more deterministic by avoiding network calls, database access, or unpredictable behavior. Here's our take.

Stubs And Drivers

Nice Pick

Developers should use stubs and drivers during integration testing in large or complex software projects where modules are developed independently or asynchronously

Pros

• They are particularly useful in top-down or bottom-up integration approaches to verify module interactions without waiting for all components to be complete, reducing dependencies and allowing early detection of interface errors
• Related to: integration-testing, unit-testing

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Test Doubles

Developers should use test doubles when writing unit tests to isolate code from external dependencies, making tests faster and more deterministic by avoiding network calls, database access, or unpredictable behavior

Pros

• They are essential in test-driven development (TDD) and continuous integration pipelines to ensure code quality without relying on real infrastructure, such as when testing a payment service without hitting actual payment gateways
• Related to: unit-testing, test-driven-development

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Stubs And Drivers is a methodology while Test Doubles is a concept. We picked Stubs And Drivers based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Stubs And Drivers wins

Based on overall popularity. Stubs And Drivers is more widely used, but Test Doubles excels in its own space.