Preferred unit testing isolation framework for .net

Question

I have used the RhinoMocks product for quite some time and have been quite happy with the product - never had a reason to look elsewhere really. I was recently asked by the good folks at TypeMock to give their product a whirl and was wondering what other developers opinions are about Typemock Isolator. Are there any other isolation/mocking frameworks that you would suggest and why?

Answer 1

Moq is what I have been using recently. It is well worth a look; I especially like the lambda syntax. I achieve a great deal in a very terse yet readable manner.

Moq

Answer 2

Personnally, I use RhinoMocks and I'm pretty satisfied with this mock framework especially since they implemented the AAA pattern with lambda syntax.

I never used Typemock but I read that this framework is very powerful and can mock almost everything. Some person thinks that it is not a good thing since it does not force the developer to design his classes for testability. Personnally, I think TypeMock can be very useful when you have legacy code to test and you do not have the time and resource to refactor it.

Other frameworks:

Moq

NMock

Answer 3

Hi there.

I've used TypeMock for over a year and there is no way I'd work on a project without it. I hear a lot of people saying that TypeMock is too powerful, well so what if it is? Having all that power does not make me design my code poorly.

I've messed about with other mocking frameworks, but what I like about TypeMock is that it can mock almost anything, without me having to create interfaces all over the place, since some mocking frameworks can only mock an interface, rather then the actual object. This is highlighted with my current work which is developing code on SharePoint. Without TypeMock, there is no way I could write good unit tests. I can't see Moq or RhinoMocks allowing me to mock out SharePoint object model code. Correct me if I'm wrong on that one.

Another great plus with TypeMock is the support from the company. Their developers are always active on the company's forums, so if you do have an issue then they can quickly help you out. This help can come in either answering a forum question you may have posted, or actually contacting you via email if your problem is more involved then a forum answer could provide.

The one sticking point with TypeMock is cost, it's not a cheap product. However, the amount of time it's saved me in testing (and the flexibility I have in writing my tests) has made it a worthwhile purchase.

Cheers. Jas.