3 You can find recipes for using Google Mock here. If you haven't yet,
4 please read the [ForDummies](ForDummies.md) document first to make sure you understand
7 **Note:** Google Mock lives in the `testing` name space. For
8 readability, it is recommended to write `using ::testing::Foo;` once in
9 your file before using the name `Foo` defined by Google Mock. We omit
10 such `using` statements in this page for brevity, but you should do it
13 # Creating Mock Classes #
15 ## Mocking Private or Protected Methods ##
17 You must always put a mock method definition (`MOCK_METHOD*`) in a
18 `public:` section of the mock class, regardless of the method being
19 mocked being `public`, `protected`, or `private` in the base class.
20 This allows `ON_CALL` and `EXPECT_CALL` to reference the mock function
21 from outside of the mock class. (Yes, C++ allows a subclass to change
22 the access level of a virtual function in the base class.) Example:
28 virtual bool Transform(Gadget* g) = 0;
31 virtual void Resume();
34 virtual int GetTimeOut();
37 class MockFoo : public Foo {
40 MOCK_METHOD1(Transform, bool(Gadget* g));
42 // The following must be in the public section, even though the
43 // methods are protected or private in the base class.
44 MOCK_METHOD0(Resume, void());
45 MOCK_METHOD0(GetTimeOut, int());
49 ## Mocking Overloaded Methods ##
51 You can mock overloaded functions as usual. No special attention is required:
57 // Must be virtual as we'll inherit from Foo.
60 // Overloaded on the types and/or numbers of arguments.
61 virtual int Add(Element x);
62 virtual int Add(int times, Element x);
64 // Overloaded on the const-ness of this object.
65 virtual Bar& GetBar();
66 virtual const Bar& GetBar() const;
69 class MockFoo : public Foo {
71 MOCK_METHOD1(Add, int(Element x));
72 MOCK_METHOD2(Add, int(int times, Element x);
74 MOCK_METHOD0(GetBar, Bar&());
75 MOCK_CONST_METHOD0(GetBar, const Bar&());
79 **Note:** if you don't mock all versions of the overloaded method, the
80 compiler will give you a warning about some methods in the base class
81 being hidden. To fix that, use `using` to bring them in scope:
84 class MockFoo : public Foo {
87 MOCK_METHOD1(Add, int(Element x));
88 // We don't want to mock int Add(int times, Element x);
93 ## Mocking Class Templates ##
95 To mock a class template, append `_T` to the `MOCK_*` macros:
98 template <typename Elem>
99 class StackInterface {
101 // Must be virtual as we'll inherit from StackInterface.
102 virtual ~StackInterface();
104 virtual int GetSize() const = 0;
105 virtual void Push(const Elem& x) = 0;
108 template <typename Elem>
109 class MockStack : public StackInterface<Elem> {
111 MOCK_CONST_METHOD0_T(GetSize, int());
112 MOCK_METHOD1_T(Push, void(const Elem& x));
116 ## Mocking Nonvirtual Methods ##
118 Google Mock can mock non-virtual functions to be used in what we call _hi-perf
119 dependency injection_.
121 In this case, instead of sharing a common base class with the real
122 class, your mock class will be _unrelated_ to the real class, but
123 contain methods with the same signatures. The syntax for mocking
124 non-virtual methods is the _same_ as mocking virtual methods:
127 // A simple packet stream class. None of its members is virtual.
128 class ConcretePacketStream {
130 void AppendPacket(Packet* new_packet);
131 const Packet* GetPacket(size_t packet_number) const;
132 size_t NumberOfPackets() const;
136 // A mock packet stream class. It inherits from no other, but defines
137 // GetPacket() and NumberOfPackets().
138 class MockPacketStream {
140 MOCK_CONST_METHOD1(GetPacket, const Packet*(size_t packet_number));
141 MOCK_CONST_METHOD0(NumberOfPackets, size_t());
146 Note that the mock class doesn't define `AppendPacket()`, unlike the
147 real class. That's fine as long as the test doesn't need to call it.
149 Next, you need a way to say that you want to use
150 `ConcretePacketStream` in production code, and use `MockPacketStream`
151 in tests. Since the functions are not virtual and the two classes are
152 unrelated, you must specify your choice at _compile time_ (as opposed
155 One way to do it is to templatize your code that needs to use a packet
156 stream. More specifically, you will give your code a template type
157 argument for the type of the packet stream. In production, you will
158 instantiate your template with `ConcretePacketStream` as the type
159 argument. In tests, you will instantiate the same template with
160 `MockPacketStream`. For example, you may write:
163 template <class PacketStream>
164 void CreateConnection(PacketStream* stream) { ... }
166 template <class PacketStream>
169 void ReadPackets(PacketStream* stream, size_t packet_num);
173 Then you can use `CreateConnection<ConcretePacketStream>()` and
174 `PacketReader<ConcretePacketStream>` in production code, and use
175 `CreateConnection<MockPacketStream>()` and
176 `PacketReader<MockPacketStream>` in tests.
179 MockPacketStream mock_stream;
180 EXPECT_CALL(mock_stream, ...)...;
181 .. set more expectations on mock_stream ...
182 PacketReader<MockPacketStream> reader(&mock_stream);
183 ... exercise reader ...
186 ## Mocking Free Functions ##
188 It's possible to use Google Mock to mock a free function (i.e. a
189 C-style function or a static method). You just need to rewrite your
190 code to use an interface (abstract class).
192 Instead of calling a free function (say, `OpenFile`) directly,
193 introduce an interface for it and have a concrete subclass that calls
197 class FileInterface {
200 virtual bool Open(const char* path, const char* mode) = 0;
203 class File : public FileInterface {
206 virtual bool Open(const char* path, const char* mode) {
207 return OpenFile(path, mode);
212 Your code should talk to `FileInterface` to open a file. Now it's
213 easy to mock out the function.
215 This may seem much hassle, but in practice you often have multiple
216 related functions that you can put in the same interface, so the
217 per-function syntactic overhead will be much lower.
219 If you are concerned about the performance overhead incurred by
220 virtual functions, and profiling confirms your concern, you can
221 combine this with the recipe for [mocking non-virtual methods](#Mocking_Nonvirtual_Methods.md).
223 ## The Nice, the Strict, and the Naggy ##
225 If a mock method has no `EXPECT_CALL` spec but is called, Google Mock
226 will print a warning about the "uninteresting call". The rationale is:
228 * New methods may be added to an interface after a test is written. We shouldn't fail a test just because a method it doesn't know about is called.
229 * However, this may also mean there's a bug in the test, so Google Mock shouldn't be silent either. If the user believes these calls are harmless, he can add an `EXPECT_CALL()` to suppress the warning.
231 However, sometimes you may want to suppress all "uninteresting call"
232 warnings, while sometimes you may want the opposite, i.e. to treat all
233 of them as errors. Google Mock lets you make the decision on a
234 per-mock-object basis.
236 Suppose your test uses a mock class `MockFoo`:
241 EXPECT_CALL(mock_foo, DoThis());
242 ... code that uses mock_foo ...
246 If a method of `mock_foo` other than `DoThis()` is called, it will be
247 reported by Google Mock as a warning. However, if you rewrite your
248 test to use `NiceMock<MockFoo>` instead, the warning will be gone,
249 resulting in a cleaner test output:
252 using ::testing::NiceMock;
255 NiceMock<MockFoo> mock_foo;
256 EXPECT_CALL(mock_foo, DoThis());
257 ... code that uses mock_foo ...
261 `NiceMock<MockFoo>` is a subclass of `MockFoo`, so it can be used
262 wherever `MockFoo` is accepted.
264 It also works if `MockFoo`'s constructor takes some arguments, as
265 `NiceMock<MockFoo>` "inherits" `MockFoo`'s constructors:
268 using ::testing::NiceMock;
271 NiceMock<MockFoo> mock_foo(5, "hi"); // Calls MockFoo(5, "hi").
272 EXPECT_CALL(mock_foo, DoThis());
273 ... code that uses mock_foo ...
277 The usage of `StrictMock` is similar, except that it makes all
278 uninteresting calls failures:
281 using ::testing::StrictMock;
284 StrictMock<MockFoo> mock_foo;
285 EXPECT_CALL(mock_foo, DoThis());
286 ... code that uses mock_foo ...
288 // The test will fail if a method of mock_foo other than DoThis()
293 There are some caveats though (I don't like them just as much as the
294 next guy, but sadly they are side effects of C++'s limitations):
296 1. `NiceMock<MockFoo>` and `StrictMock<MockFoo>` only work for mock methods defined using the `MOCK_METHOD*` family of macros **directly** in the `MockFoo` class. If a mock method is defined in a **base class** of `MockFoo`, the "nice" or "strict" modifier may not affect it, depending on the compiler. In particular, nesting `NiceMock` and `StrictMock` (e.g. `NiceMock<StrictMock<MockFoo> >`) is **not** supported.
297 1. The constructors of the base mock (`MockFoo`) cannot have arguments passed by non-const reference, which happens to be banned by the [Google C++ style guide](http://google-styleguide.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/cppguide.xml).
298 1. During the constructor or destructor of `MockFoo`, the mock object is _not_ nice or strict. This may cause surprises if the constructor or destructor calls a mock method on `this` object. (This behavior, however, is consistent with C++'s general rule: if a constructor or destructor calls a virtual method of `this` object, that method is treated as non-virtual. In other words, to the base class's constructor or destructor, `this` object behaves like an instance of the base class, not the derived class. This rule is required for safety. Otherwise a base constructor may use members of a derived class before they are initialized, or a base destructor may use members of a derived class after they have been destroyed.)
300 Finally, you should be **very cautious** about when to use naggy or strict mocks, as they tend to make tests more brittle and harder to maintain. When you refactor your code without changing its externally visible behavior, ideally you should't need to update any tests. If your code interacts with a naggy mock, however, you may start to get spammed with warnings as the result of your change. Worse, if your code interacts with a strict mock, your tests may start to fail and you'll be forced to fix them. Our general recommendation is to use nice mocks (not yet the default) most of the time, use naggy mocks (the current default) when developing or debugging tests, and use strict mocks only as the last resort.
302 ## Simplifying the Interface without Breaking Existing Code ##
304 Sometimes a method has a long list of arguments that is mostly
305 uninteresting. For example,
311 virtual void send(LogSeverity severity, const char* full_filename,
312 const char* base_filename, int line,
313 const struct tm* tm_time,
314 const char* message, size_t message_len) = 0;
318 This method's argument list is lengthy and hard to work with (let's
319 say that the `message` argument is not even 0-terminated). If we mock
320 it as is, using the mock will be awkward. If, however, we try to
321 simplify this interface, we'll need to fix all clients depending on
322 it, which is often infeasible.
324 The trick is to re-dispatch the method in the mock class:
327 class ScopedMockLog : public LogSink {
330 virtual void send(LogSeverity severity, const char* full_filename,
331 const char* base_filename, int line, const tm* tm_time,
332 const char* message, size_t message_len) {
333 // We are only interested in the log severity, full file name, and
335 Log(severity, full_filename, std::string(message, message_len));
338 // Implements the mock method:
340 // void Log(LogSeverity severity,
341 // const string& file_path,
342 // const string& message);
343 MOCK_METHOD3(Log, void(LogSeverity severity, const string& file_path,
344 const string& message));
348 By defining a new mock method with a trimmed argument list, we make
349 the mock class much more user-friendly.
351 ## Alternative to Mocking Concrete Classes ##
353 Often you may find yourself using classes that don't implement
354 interfaces. In order to test your code that uses such a class (let's
355 call it `Concrete`), you may be tempted to make the methods of
356 `Concrete` virtual and then mock it.
360 Making a non-virtual function virtual is a big decision. It creates an
361 extension point where subclasses can tweak your class' behavior. This
362 weakens your control on the class because now it's harder to maintain
363 the class' invariants. You should make a function virtual only when
364 there is a valid reason for a subclass to override it.
366 Mocking concrete classes directly is problematic as it creates a tight
367 coupling between the class and the tests - any small change in the
368 class may invalidate your tests and make test maintenance a pain.
370 To avoid such problems, many programmers have been practicing "coding
371 to interfaces": instead of talking to the `Concrete` class, your code
372 would define an interface and talk to it. Then you implement that
373 interface as an adaptor on top of `Concrete`. In tests, you can easily
374 mock that interface to observe how your code is doing.
376 This technique incurs some overhead:
378 * You pay the cost of virtual function calls (usually not a problem).
379 * There is more abstraction for the programmers to learn.
381 However, it can also bring significant benefits in addition to better
384 * `Concrete`'s API may not fit your problem domain very well, as you may not be the only client it tries to serve. By designing your own interface, you have a chance to tailor it to your need - you may add higher-level functionalities, rename stuff, etc instead of just trimming the class. This allows you to write your code (user of the interface) in a more natural way, which means it will be more readable, more maintainable, and you'll be more productive.
385 * If `Concrete`'s implementation ever has to change, you don't have to rewrite everywhere it is used. Instead, you can absorb the change in your implementation of the interface, and your other code and tests will be insulated from this change.
387 Some people worry that if everyone is practicing this technique, they
388 will end up writing lots of redundant code. This concern is totally
389 understandable. However, there are two reasons why it may not be the
392 * Different projects may need to use `Concrete` in different ways, so the best interfaces for them will be different. Therefore, each of them will have its own domain-specific interface on top of `Concrete`, and they will not be the same code.
393 * If enough projects want to use the same interface, they can always share it, just like they have been sharing `Concrete`. You can check in the interface and the adaptor somewhere near `Concrete` (perhaps in a `contrib` sub-directory) and let many projects use it.
395 You need to weigh the pros and cons carefully for your particular
396 problem, but I'd like to assure you that the Java community has been
397 practicing this for a long time and it's a proven effective technique
398 applicable in a wide variety of situations. :-)
400 ## Delegating Calls to a Fake ##
402 Some times you have a non-trivial fake implementation of an
403 interface. For example:
409 virtual char DoThis(int n) = 0;
410 virtual void DoThat(const char* s, int* p) = 0;
413 class FakeFoo : public Foo {
415 virtual char DoThis(int n) {
416 return (n > 0) ? '+' :
420 virtual void DoThat(const char* s, int* p) {
426 Now you want to mock this interface such that you can set expectations
427 on it. However, you also want to use `FakeFoo` for the default
428 behavior, as duplicating it in the mock object is, well, a lot of
431 When you define the mock class using Google Mock, you can have it
432 delegate its default action to a fake class you already have, using
437 using ::testing::Invoke;
439 class MockFoo : public Foo {
441 // Normal mock method definitions using Google Mock.
442 MOCK_METHOD1(DoThis, char(int n));
443 MOCK_METHOD2(DoThat, void(const char* s, int* p));
445 // Delegates the default actions of the methods to a FakeFoo object.
446 // This must be called *before* the custom ON_CALL() statements.
447 void DelegateToFake() {
448 ON_CALL(*this, DoThis(_))
449 .WillByDefault(Invoke(&fake_, &FakeFoo::DoThis));
450 ON_CALL(*this, DoThat(_, _))
451 .WillByDefault(Invoke(&fake_, &FakeFoo::DoThat));
454 FakeFoo fake_; // Keeps an instance of the fake in the mock.
458 With that, you can use `MockFoo` in your tests as usual. Just remember
459 that if you don't explicitly set an action in an `ON_CALL()` or
460 `EXPECT_CALL()`, the fake will be called upon to do it:
467 foo.DelegateToFake(); // Enables the fake for delegation.
469 // Put your ON_CALL(foo, ...)s here, if any.
471 // No action specified, meaning to use the default action.
472 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(5));
473 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat(_, _));
476 EXPECT_EQ('+', foo.DoThis(5)); // FakeFoo::DoThis() is invoked.
477 foo.DoThat("Hi", &n); // FakeFoo::DoThat() is invoked.
484 * If you want, you can still override the default action by providing your own `ON_CALL()` or using `.WillOnce()` / `.WillRepeatedly()` in `EXPECT_CALL()`.
485 * In `DelegateToFake()`, you only need to delegate the methods whose fake implementation you intend to use.
486 * The general technique discussed here works for overloaded methods, but you'll need to tell the compiler which version you mean. To disambiguate a mock function (the one you specify inside the parentheses of `ON_CALL()`), see the "Selecting Between Overloaded Functions" section on this page; to disambiguate a fake function (the one you place inside `Invoke()`), use a `static_cast` to specify the function's type. For instance, if class `Foo` has methods `char DoThis(int n)` and `bool DoThis(double x) const`, and you want to invoke the latter, you need to write `Invoke(&fake_, static_cast<bool (FakeFoo::*)(double) const>(&FakeFoo::DoThis))` instead of `Invoke(&fake_, &FakeFoo::DoThis)` (The strange-looking thing inside the angled brackets of `static_cast` is the type of a function pointer to the second `DoThis()` method.).
487 * Having to mix a mock and a fake is often a sign of something gone wrong. Perhaps you haven't got used to the interaction-based way of testing yet. Or perhaps your interface is taking on too many roles and should be split up. Therefore, **don't abuse this**. We would only recommend to do it as an intermediate step when you are refactoring your code.
489 Regarding the tip on mixing a mock and a fake, here's an example on
490 why it may be a bad sign: Suppose you have a class `System` for
491 low-level system operations. In particular, it does file and I/O
492 operations. And suppose you want to test how your code uses `System`
493 to do I/O, and you just want the file operations to work normally. If
494 you mock out the entire `System` class, you'll have to provide a fake
495 implementation for the file operation part, which suggests that
496 `System` is taking on too many roles.
498 Instead, you can define a `FileOps` interface and an `IOOps` interface
499 and split `System`'s functionalities into the two. Then you can mock
500 `IOOps` without mocking `FileOps`.
502 ## Delegating Calls to a Real Object ##
504 When using testing doubles (mocks, fakes, stubs, and etc), sometimes
505 their behaviors will differ from those of the real objects. This
506 difference could be either intentional (as in simulating an error such
507 that you can test the error handling code) or unintentional. If your
508 mocks have different behaviors than the real objects by mistake, you
509 could end up with code that passes the tests but fails in production.
511 You can use the _delegating-to-real_ technique to ensure that your
512 mock has the same behavior as the real object while retaining the
513 ability to validate calls. This technique is very similar to the
514 delegating-to-fake technique, the difference being that we use a real
515 object instead of a fake. Here's an example:
519 using ::testing::AtLeast;
520 using ::testing::Invoke;
522 class MockFoo : public Foo {
525 // By default, all calls are delegated to the real object.
526 ON_CALL(*this, DoThis())
527 .WillByDefault(Invoke(&real_, &Foo::DoThis));
528 ON_CALL(*this, DoThat(_))
529 .WillByDefault(Invoke(&real_, &Foo::DoThat));
532 MOCK_METHOD0(DoThis, ...);
533 MOCK_METHOD1(DoThat, ...);
542 EXPECT_CALL(mock, DoThis())
544 EXPECT_CALL(mock, DoThat("Hi"))
546 ... use mock in test ...
549 With this, Google Mock will verify that your code made the right calls
550 (with the right arguments, in the right order, called the right number
551 of times, etc), and a real object will answer the calls (so the
552 behavior will be the same as in production). This gives you the best
555 ## Delegating Calls to a Parent Class ##
557 Ideally, you should code to interfaces, whose methods are all pure
558 virtual. In reality, sometimes you do need to mock a virtual method
559 that is not pure (i.e, it already has an implementation). For example:
566 virtual void Pure(int n) = 0;
567 virtual int Concrete(const char* str) { ... }
570 class MockFoo : public Foo {
572 // Mocking a pure method.
573 MOCK_METHOD1(Pure, void(int n));
574 // Mocking a concrete method. Foo::Concrete() is shadowed.
575 MOCK_METHOD1(Concrete, int(const char* str));
579 Sometimes you may want to call `Foo::Concrete()` instead of
580 `MockFoo::Concrete()`. Perhaps you want to do it as part of a stub
581 action, or perhaps your test doesn't need to mock `Concrete()` at all
582 (but it would be oh-so painful to have to define a new mock class
583 whenever you don't need to mock one of its methods).
585 The trick is to leave a back door in your mock class for accessing the
586 real methods in the base class:
589 class MockFoo : public Foo {
591 // Mocking a pure method.
592 MOCK_METHOD1(Pure, void(int n));
593 // Mocking a concrete method. Foo::Concrete() is shadowed.
594 MOCK_METHOD1(Concrete, int(const char* str));
596 // Use this to call Concrete() defined in Foo.
597 int FooConcrete(const char* str) { return Foo::Concrete(str); }
601 Now, you can call `Foo::Concrete()` inside an action by:
605 using ::testing::Invoke;
607 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Concrete(_))
608 .WillOnce(Invoke(&foo, &MockFoo::FooConcrete));
611 or tell the mock object that you don't want to mock `Concrete()`:
614 using ::testing::Invoke;
616 ON_CALL(foo, Concrete(_))
617 .WillByDefault(Invoke(&foo, &MockFoo::FooConcrete));
620 (Why don't we just write `Invoke(&foo, &Foo::Concrete)`? If you do
621 that, `MockFoo::Concrete()` will be called (and cause an infinite
622 recursion) since `Foo::Concrete()` is virtual. That's just how C++
627 ## Matching Argument Values Exactly ##
629 You can specify exactly which arguments a mock method is expecting:
632 using ::testing::Return;
634 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(5))
635 .WillOnce(Return('a'));
636 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat("Hello", bar));
639 ## Using Simple Matchers ##
641 You can use matchers to match arguments that have a certain property:
645 using ::testing::NotNull;
646 using ::testing::Return;
648 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(Ge(5))) // The argument must be >= 5.
649 .WillOnce(Return('a'));
650 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat("Hello", NotNull()));
651 // The second argument must not be NULL.
654 A frequently used matcher is `_`, which matches anything:
658 using ::testing::NotNull;
660 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat(_, NotNull()));
663 ## Combining Matchers ##
665 You can build complex matchers from existing ones using `AllOf()`,
666 `AnyOf()`, and `Not()`:
669 using ::testing::AllOf;
671 using ::testing::HasSubstr;
673 using ::testing::Not;
675 // The argument must be > 5 and != 10.
676 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(AllOf(Gt(5),
679 // The first argument must not contain sub-string "blah".
680 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat(Not(HasSubstr("blah")),
684 ## Casting Matchers ##
686 Google Mock matchers are statically typed, meaning that the compiler
687 can catch your mistake if you use a matcher of the wrong type (for
688 example, if you use `Eq(5)` to match a `string` argument). Good for
691 Sometimes, however, you know what you're doing and want the compiler
692 to give you some slack. One example is that you have a matcher for
693 `long` and the argument you want to match is `int`. While the two
694 types aren't exactly the same, there is nothing really wrong with
695 using a `Matcher<long>` to match an `int` - after all, we can first
696 convert the `int` argument to a `long` before giving it to the
699 To support this need, Google Mock gives you the
700 `SafeMatcherCast<T>(m)` function. It casts a matcher `m` to type
701 `Matcher<T>`. To ensure safety, Google Mock checks that (let `U` be the
704 1. Type `T` can be implicitly cast to type `U`;
705 1. When both `T` and `U` are built-in arithmetic types (`bool`, integers, and floating-point numbers), the conversion from `T` to `U` is not lossy (in other words, any value representable by `T` can also be represented by `U`); and
706 1. When `U` is a reference, `T` must also be a reference (as the underlying matcher may be interested in the address of the `U` value).
708 The code won't compile if any of these conditions isn't met.
713 using ::testing::SafeMatcherCast;
715 // A base class and a child class.
717 class Derived : public Base { ... };
719 class MockFoo : public Foo {
721 MOCK_METHOD1(DoThis, void(Derived* derived));
726 // m is a Matcher<Base*> we got from somewhere.
727 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(SafeMatcherCast<Derived*>(m)));
730 If you find `SafeMatcherCast<T>(m)` too limiting, you can use a similar
731 function `MatcherCast<T>(m)`. The difference is that `MatcherCast` works
732 as long as you can `static_cast` type `T` to type `U`.
734 `MatcherCast` essentially lets you bypass C++'s type system
735 (`static_cast` isn't always safe as it could throw away information,
736 for example), so be careful not to misuse/abuse it.
738 ## Selecting Between Overloaded Functions ##
740 If you expect an overloaded function to be called, the compiler may
741 need some help on which overloaded version it is.
743 To disambiguate functions overloaded on the const-ness of this object,
744 use the `Const()` argument wrapper.
747 using ::testing::ReturnRef;
749 class MockFoo : public Foo {
751 MOCK_METHOD0(GetBar, Bar&());
752 MOCK_CONST_METHOD0(GetBar, const Bar&());
758 EXPECT_CALL(foo, GetBar()) // The non-const GetBar().
759 .WillOnce(ReturnRef(bar1));
760 EXPECT_CALL(Const(foo), GetBar()) // The const GetBar().
761 .WillOnce(ReturnRef(bar2));
764 (`Const()` is defined by Google Mock and returns a `const` reference
767 To disambiguate overloaded functions with the same number of arguments
768 but different argument types, you may need to specify the exact type
769 of a matcher, either by wrapping your matcher in `Matcher<type>()`, or
770 using a matcher whose type is fixed (`TypedEq<type>`, `An<type>()`,
776 using ::testing::Matcher;
777 using ::testing::TypedEq;
779 class MockPrinter : public Printer {
781 MOCK_METHOD1(Print, void(int n));
782 MOCK_METHOD1(Print, void(char c));
785 TEST(PrinterTest, Print) {
788 EXPECT_CALL(printer, Print(An<int>())); // void Print(int);
789 EXPECT_CALL(printer, Print(Matcher<int>(Lt(5)))); // void Print(int);
790 EXPECT_CALL(printer, Print(TypedEq<char>('a'))); // void Print(char);
798 ## Performing Different Actions Based on the Arguments ##
800 When a mock method is called, the _last_ matching expectation that's
801 still active will be selected (think "newer overrides older"). So, you
802 can make a method do different things depending on its argument values
808 using ::testing::Return;
811 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(_))
812 .WillRepeatedly(Return('b'));
814 // The more specific case.
815 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(Lt(5)))
816 .WillRepeatedly(Return('a'));
819 Now, if `foo.DoThis()` is called with a value less than 5, `'a'` will
820 be returned; otherwise `'b'` will be returned.
822 ## Matching Multiple Arguments as a Whole ##
824 Sometimes it's not enough to match the arguments individually. For
825 example, we may want to say that the first argument must be less than
826 the second argument. The `With()` clause allows us to match
827 all arguments of a mock function as a whole. For example,
834 EXPECT_CALL(foo, InRange(Ne(0), _))
838 says that the first argument of `InRange()` must not be 0, and must be
839 less than the second argument.
841 The expression inside `With()` must be a matcher of type
842 `Matcher< ::testing::tuple<A1, ..., An> >`, where `A1`, ..., `An` are the
843 types of the function arguments.
845 You can also write `AllArgs(m)` instead of `m` inside `.With()`. The
846 two forms are equivalent, but `.With(AllArgs(Lt()))` is more readable
849 You can use `Args<k1, ..., kn>(m)` to match the `n` selected arguments
850 (as a tuple) against `m`. For example,
854 using ::testing::AllOf;
855 using ::testing::Args;
858 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Blah(_, _, _))
859 .With(AllOf(Args<0, 1>(Lt()), Args<1, 2>(Lt())));
862 says that `Blah()` will be called with arguments `x`, `y`, and `z` where
865 As a convenience and example, Google Mock provides some matchers for
866 2-tuples, including the `Lt()` matcher above. See the [CheatSheet](CheatSheet.md) for
869 Note that if you want to pass the arguments to a predicate of your own
870 (e.g. `.With(Args<0, 1>(Truly(&MyPredicate)))`), that predicate MUST be
871 written to take a `::testing::tuple` as its argument; Google Mock will pass the `n` selected arguments as _one_ single tuple to the predicate.
873 ## Using Matchers as Predicates ##
875 Have you noticed that a matcher is just a fancy predicate that also
876 knows how to describe itself? Many existing algorithms take predicates
877 as arguments (e.g. those defined in STL's `<algorithm>` header), and
878 it would be a shame if Google Mock matchers are not allowed to
881 Luckily, you can use a matcher where a unary predicate functor is
882 expected by wrapping it inside the `Matches()` function. For example,
890 // How many elements in v are >= 10?
891 const int count = count_if(v.begin(), v.end(), Matches(Ge(10)));
894 Since you can build complex matchers from simpler ones easily using
895 Google Mock, this gives you a way to conveniently construct composite
896 predicates (doing the same using STL's `<functional>` header is just
897 painful). For example, here's a predicate that's satisfied by any
898 number that is >= 0, <= 100, and != 50:
901 Matches(AllOf(Ge(0), Le(100), Ne(50)))
904 ## Using Matchers in Google Test Assertions ##
906 Since matchers are basically predicates that also know how to describe
907 themselves, there is a way to take advantage of them in
908 [Google Test](../../googletest/) assertions. It's
909 called `ASSERT_THAT` and `EXPECT_THAT`:
912 ASSERT_THAT(value, matcher); // Asserts that value matches matcher.
913 EXPECT_THAT(value, matcher); // The non-fatal version.
916 For example, in a Google Test test you can write:
919 #include "gmock/gmock.h"
921 using ::testing::AllOf;
924 using ::testing::MatchesRegex;
925 using ::testing::StartsWith;
928 EXPECT_THAT(Foo(), StartsWith("Hello"));
929 EXPECT_THAT(Bar(), MatchesRegex("Line \\d+"));
930 ASSERT_THAT(Baz(), AllOf(Ge(5), Le(10)));
933 which (as you can probably guess) executes `Foo()`, `Bar()`, and
934 `Baz()`, and verifies that:
936 * `Foo()` returns a string that starts with `"Hello"`.
937 * `Bar()` returns a string that matches regular expression `"Line \\d+"`.
938 * `Baz()` returns a number in the range [5, 10].
940 The nice thing about these macros is that _they read like
941 English_. They generate informative messages too. For example, if the
942 first `EXPECT_THAT()` above fails, the message will be something like:
947 Expected: starts with "Hello"
950 **Credit:** The idea of `(ASSERT|EXPECT)_THAT` was stolen from the
951 [Hamcrest](https://github.com/hamcrest/) project, which adds
952 `assertThat()` to JUnit.
954 ## Using Predicates as Matchers ##
956 Google Mock provides a built-in set of matchers. In case you find them
957 lacking, you can use an arbitray unary predicate function or functor
958 as a matcher - as long as the predicate accepts a value of the type
959 you want. You do this by wrapping the predicate inside the `Truly()`
960 function, for example:
963 using ::testing::Truly;
965 int IsEven(int n) { return (n % 2) == 0 ? 1 : 0; }
968 // Bar() must be called with an even number.
969 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(Truly(IsEven)));
972 Note that the predicate function / functor doesn't have to return
973 `bool`. It works as long as the return value can be used as the
974 condition in statement `if (condition) ...`.
976 ## Matching Arguments that Are Not Copyable ##
978 When you do an `EXPECT_CALL(mock_obj, Foo(bar))`, Google Mock saves
979 away a copy of `bar`. When `Foo()` is called later, Google Mock
980 compares the argument to `Foo()` with the saved copy of `bar`. This
981 way, you don't need to worry about `bar` being modified or destroyed
982 after the `EXPECT_CALL()` is executed. The same is true when you use
983 matchers like `Eq(bar)`, `Le(bar)`, and so on.
985 But what if `bar` cannot be copied (i.e. has no copy constructor)? You
986 could define your own matcher function and use it with `Truly()`, as
987 the previous couple of recipes have shown. Or, you may be able to get
988 away from it if you can guarantee that `bar` won't be changed after
989 the `EXPECT_CALL()` is executed. Just tell Google Mock that it should
990 save a reference to `bar`, instead of a copy of it. Here's how:
994 using ::testing::ByRef;
997 // Expects that Foo()'s argument == bar.
998 EXPECT_CALL(mock_obj, Foo(Eq(ByRef(bar))));
1000 // Expects that Foo()'s argument < bar.
1001 EXPECT_CALL(mock_obj, Foo(Lt(ByRef(bar))));
1004 Remember: if you do this, don't change `bar` after the
1005 `EXPECT_CALL()`, or the result is undefined.
1007 ## Validating a Member of an Object ##
1009 Often a mock function takes a reference to object as an argument. When
1010 matching the argument, you may not want to compare the entire object
1011 against a fixed object, as that may be over-specification. Instead,
1012 you may need to validate a certain member variable or the result of a
1013 certain getter method of the object. You can do this with `Field()`
1014 and `Property()`. More specifically,
1020 is a matcher that matches a `Foo` object whose `bar` member variable
1021 satisfies matcher `m`.
1024 Property(&Foo::baz, m)
1027 is a matcher that matches a `Foo` object whose `baz()` method returns
1028 a value that satisfies matcher `m`.
1032 > | `Field(&Foo::number, Ge(3))` | Matches `x` where `x.number >= 3`. |
1033 |:-----------------------------|:-----------------------------------|
1034 > | `Property(&Foo::name, StartsWith("John "))` | Matches `x` where `x.name()` starts with `"John "`. |
1036 Note that in `Property(&Foo::baz, ...)`, method `baz()` must take no
1037 argument and be declared as `const`.
1039 BTW, `Field()` and `Property()` can also match plain pointers to
1040 objects. For instance,
1043 Field(&Foo::number, Ge(3))
1046 matches a plain pointer `p` where `p->number >= 3`. If `p` is `NULL`,
1047 the match will always fail regardless of the inner matcher.
1049 What if you want to validate more than one members at the same time?
1050 Remember that there is `AllOf()`.
1052 ## Validating the Value Pointed to by a Pointer Argument ##
1054 C++ functions often take pointers as arguments. You can use matchers
1055 like `IsNull()`, `NotNull()`, and other comparison matchers to match a
1056 pointer, but what if you want to make sure the value _pointed to_ by
1057 the pointer, instead of the pointer itself, has a certain property?
1058 Well, you can use the `Pointee(m)` matcher.
1060 `Pointee(m)` matches a pointer iff `m` matches the value the pointer
1061 points to. For example:
1064 using ::testing::Ge;
1065 using ::testing::Pointee;
1067 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(Pointee(Ge(3))));
1070 expects `foo.Bar()` to be called with a pointer that points to a value
1071 greater than or equal to 3.
1073 One nice thing about `Pointee()` is that it treats a `NULL` pointer as
1074 a match failure, so you can write `Pointee(m)` instead of
1077 AllOf(NotNull(), Pointee(m))
1080 without worrying that a `NULL` pointer will crash your test.
1082 Also, did we tell you that `Pointee()` works with both raw pointers
1083 **and** smart pointers (`linked_ptr`, `shared_ptr`, `scoped_ptr`, and
1086 What if you have a pointer to pointer? You guessed it - you can use
1087 nested `Pointee()` to probe deeper inside the value. For example,
1088 `Pointee(Pointee(Lt(3)))` matches a pointer that points to a pointer
1089 that points to a number less than 3 (what a mouthful...).
1091 ## Testing a Certain Property of an Object ##
1093 Sometimes you want to specify that an object argument has a certain
1094 property, but there is no existing matcher that does this. If you want
1095 good error messages, you should define a matcher. If you want to do it
1096 quick and dirty, you could get away with writing an ordinary function.
1098 Let's say you have a mock function that takes an object of type `Foo`,
1099 which has an `int bar()` method and an `int baz()` method, and you
1100 want to constrain that the argument's `bar()` value plus its `baz()`
1101 value is a given number. Here's how you can define a matcher to do it:
1104 using ::testing::MatcherInterface;
1105 using ::testing::MatchResultListener;
1107 class BarPlusBazEqMatcher : public MatcherInterface<const Foo&> {
1109 explicit BarPlusBazEqMatcher(int expected_sum)
1110 : expected_sum_(expected_sum) {}
1112 virtual bool MatchAndExplain(const Foo& foo,
1113 MatchResultListener* listener) const {
1114 return (foo.bar() + foo.baz()) == expected_sum_;
1117 virtual void DescribeTo(::std::ostream* os) const {
1118 *os << "bar() + baz() equals " << expected_sum_;
1121 virtual void DescribeNegationTo(::std::ostream* os) const {
1122 *os << "bar() + baz() does not equal " << expected_sum_;
1125 const int expected_sum_;
1128 inline Matcher<const Foo&> BarPlusBazEq(int expected_sum) {
1129 return MakeMatcher(new BarPlusBazEqMatcher(expected_sum));
1134 EXPECT_CALL(..., DoThis(BarPlusBazEq(5)))...;
1137 ## Matching Containers ##
1139 Sometimes an STL container (e.g. list, vector, map, ...) is passed to
1140 a mock function and you may want to validate it. Since most STL
1141 containers support the `==` operator, you can write
1142 `Eq(expected_container)` or simply `expected_container` to match a
1145 Sometimes, though, you may want to be more flexible (for example, the
1146 first element must be an exact match, but the second element can be
1147 any positive number, and so on). Also, containers used in tests often
1148 have a small number of elements, and having to define the expected
1149 container out-of-line is a bit of a hassle.
1151 You can use the `ElementsAre()` or `UnorderedElementsAre()` matcher in
1156 using ::testing::ElementsAre;
1157 using ::testing::Gt;
1160 MOCK_METHOD1(Foo, void(const vector<int>& numbers));
1163 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(ElementsAre(1, Gt(0), _, 5)));
1166 The above matcher says that the container must have 4 elements, which
1167 must be 1, greater than 0, anything, and 5 respectively.
1169 If you instead write:
1173 using ::testing::Gt;
1174 using ::testing::UnorderedElementsAre;
1177 MOCK_METHOD1(Foo, void(const vector<int>& numbers));
1180 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(UnorderedElementsAre(1, Gt(0), _, 5)));
1183 It means that the container must have 4 elements, which under some
1184 permutation must be 1, greater than 0, anything, and 5 respectively.
1186 `ElementsAre()` and `UnorderedElementsAre()` are overloaded to take 0
1187 to 10 arguments. If more are needed, you can place them in a C-style
1188 array and use `ElementsAreArray()` or `UnorderedElementsAreArray()`
1192 using ::testing::ElementsAreArray;
1195 // ElementsAreArray accepts an array of element values.
1196 const int expected_vector1[] = { 1, 5, 2, 4, ... };
1197 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(ElementsAreArray(expected_vector1)));
1199 // Or, an array of element matchers.
1200 Matcher<int> expected_vector2 = { 1, Gt(2), _, 3, ... };
1201 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(ElementsAreArray(expected_vector2)));
1204 In case the array needs to be dynamically created (and therefore the
1205 array size cannot be inferred by the compiler), you can give
1206 `ElementsAreArray()` an additional argument to specify the array size:
1209 using ::testing::ElementsAreArray;
1211 int* const expected_vector3 = new int[count];
1212 ... fill expected_vector3 with values ...
1213 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(ElementsAreArray(expected_vector3, count)));
1218 * `ElementsAre*()` can be used to match _any_ container that implements the STL iterator pattern (i.e. it has a `const_iterator` type and supports `begin()/end()`), not just the ones defined in STL. It will even work with container types yet to be written - as long as they follows the above pattern.
1219 * You can use nested `ElementsAre*()` to match nested (multi-dimensional) containers.
1220 * If the container is passed by pointer instead of by reference, just write `Pointee(ElementsAre*(...))`.
1221 * The order of elements _matters_ for `ElementsAre*()`. Therefore don't use it with containers whose element order is undefined (e.g. `hash_map`).
1223 ## Sharing Matchers ##
1225 Under the hood, a Google Mock matcher object consists of a pointer to
1226 a ref-counted implementation object. Copying matchers is allowed and
1227 very efficient, as only the pointer is copied. When the last matcher
1228 that references the implementation object dies, the implementation
1229 object will be deleted.
1231 Therefore, if you have some complex matcher that you want to use again
1232 and again, there is no need to build it everytime. Just assign it to a
1233 matcher variable and use that variable repeatedly! For example,
1236 Matcher<int> in_range = AllOf(Gt(5), Le(10));
1237 ... use in_range as a matcher in multiple EXPECT_CALLs ...
1240 # Setting Expectations #
1242 ## Knowing When to Expect ##
1244 `ON_CALL` is likely the single most under-utilized construct in Google Mock.
1246 There are basically two constructs for defining the behavior of a mock object: `ON_CALL` and `EXPECT_CALL`. The difference? `ON_CALL` defines what happens when a mock method is called, but _doesn't imply any expectation on the method being called._ `EXPECT_CALL` not only defines the behavior, but also sets an expectation that _the method will be called with the given arguments, for the given number of times_ (and _in the given order_ when you specify the order too).
1248 Since `EXPECT_CALL` does more, isn't it better than `ON_CALL`? Not really. Every `EXPECT_CALL` adds a constraint on the behavior of the code under test. Having more constraints than necessary is _baaad_ - even worse than not having enough constraints.
1250 This may be counter-intuitive. How could tests that verify more be worse than tests that verify less? Isn't verification the whole point of tests?
1252 The answer, lies in _what_ a test should verify. **A good test verifies the contract of the code.** If a test over-specifies, it doesn't leave enough freedom to the implementation. As a result, changing the implementation without breaking the contract (e.g. refactoring and optimization), which should be perfectly fine to do, can break such tests. Then you have to spend time fixing them, only to see them broken again the next time the implementation is changed.
1254 Keep in mind that one doesn't have to verify more than one property in one test. In fact, **it's a good style to verify only one thing in one test.** If you do that, a bug will likely break only one or two tests instead of dozens (which case would you rather debug?). If you are also in the habit of giving tests descriptive names that tell what they verify, you can often easily guess what's wrong just from the test log itself.
1256 So use `ON_CALL` by default, and only use `EXPECT_CALL` when you actually intend to verify that the call is made. For example, you may have a bunch of `ON_CALL`s in your test fixture to set the common mock behavior shared by all tests in the same group, and write (scarcely) different `EXPECT_CALL`s in different `TEST_F`s to verify different aspects of the code's behavior. Compared with the style where each `TEST` has many `EXPECT_CALL`s, this leads to tests that are more resilient to implementational changes (and thus less likely to require maintenance) and makes the intent of the tests more obvious (so they are easier to maintain when you do need to maintain them).
1258 If you are bothered by the "Uninteresting mock function call" message printed when a mock method without an `EXPECT_CALL` is called, you may use a `NiceMock` instead to suppress all such messages for the mock object, or suppress the message for specific methods by adding `EXPECT_CALL(...).Times(AnyNumber())`. DO NOT suppress it by blindly adding an `EXPECT_CALL(...)`, or you'll have a test that's a pain to maintain.
1260 ## Ignoring Uninteresting Calls ##
1262 If you are not interested in how a mock method is called, just don't
1263 say anything about it. In this case, if the method is ever called,
1264 Google Mock will perform its default action to allow the test program
1265 to continue. If you are not happy with the default action taken by
1266 Google Mock, you can override it using `DefaultValue<T>::Set()`
1267 (described later in this document) or `ON_CALL()`.
1269 Please note that once you expressed interest in a particular mock
1270 method (via `EXPECT_CALL()`), all invocations to it must match some
1271 expectation. If this function is called but the arguments don't match
1272 any `EXPECT_CALL()` statement, it will be an error.
1274 ## Disallowing Unexpected Calls ##
1276 If a mock method shouldn't be called at all, explicitly say so:
1281 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(_))
1285 If some calls to the method are allowed, but the rest are not, just
1286 list all the expected calls:
1289 using ::testing::AnyNumber;
1290 using ::testing::Gt;
1292 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(5));
1293 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(Gt(10)))
1294 .Times(AnyNumber());
1297 A call to `foo.Bar()` that doesn't match any of the `EXPECT_CALL()`
1298 statements will be an error.
1300 ## Understanding Uninteresting vs Unexpected Calls ##
1302 _Uninteresting_ calls and _unexpected_ calls are different concepts in Google Mock. _Very_ different.
1304 A call `x.Y(...)` is **uninteresting** if there's _not even a single_ `EXPECT_CALL(x, Y(...))` set. In other words, the test isn't interested in the `x.Y()` method at all, as evident in that the test doesn't care to say anything about it.
1306 A call `x.Y(...)` is **unexpected** if there are some `EXPECT_CALL(x, Y(...))s` set, but none of them matches the call. Put another way, the test is interested in the `x.Y()` method (therefore it _explicitly_ sets some `EXPECT_CALL` to verify how it's called); however, the verification fails as the test doesn't expect this particular call to happen.
1308 **An unexpected call is always an error,** as the code under test doesn't behave the way the test expects it to behave.
1310 **By default, an uninteresting call is not an error,** as it violates no constraint specified by the test. (Google Mock's philosophy is that saying nothing means there is no constraint.) However, it leads to a warning, as it _might_ indicate a problem (e.g. the test author might have forgotten to specify a constraint).
1312 In Google Mock, `NiceMock` and `StrictMock` can be used to make a mock class "nice" or "strict". How does this affect uninteresting calls and unexpected calls?
1314 A **nice mock** suppresses uninteresting call warnings. It is less chatty than the default mock, but otherwise is the same. If a test fails with a default mock, it will also fail using a nice mock instead. And vice versa. Don't expect making a mock nice to change the test's result.
1316 A **strict mock** turns uninteresting call warnings into errors. So making a mock strict may change the test's result.
1318 Let's look at an example:
1322 NiceMock<MockDomainRegistry> mock_registry;
1323 EXPECT_CALL(mock_registry, GetDomainOwner("google.com"))
1324 .WillRepeatedly(Return("Larry Page"));
1326 // Use mock_registry in code under test.
1327 ... &mock_registry ...
1331 The sole `EXPECT_CALL` here says that all calls to `GetDomainOwner()` must have `"google.com"` as the argument. If `GetDomainOwner("yahoo.com")` is called, it will be an unexpected call, and thus an error. Having a nice mock doesn't change the severity of an unexpected call.
1333 So how do we tell Google Mock that `GetDomainOwner()` can be called with some other arguments as well? The standard technique is to add a "catch all" `EXPECT_CALL`:
1336 EXPECT_CALL(mock_registry, GetDomainOwner(_))
1337 .Times(AnyNumber()); // catches all other calls to this method.
1338 EXPECT_CALL(mock_registry, GetDomainOwner("google.com"))
1339 .WillRepeatedly(Return("Larry Page"));
1342 Remember that `_` is the wildcard matcher that matches anything. With this, if `GetDomainOwner("google.com")` is called, it will do what the second `EXPECT_CALL` says; if it is called with a different argument, it will do what the first `EXPECT_CALL` says.
1344 Note that the order of the two `EXPECT_CALLs` is important, as a newer `EXPECT_CALL` takes precedence over an older one.
1346 For more on uninteresting calls, nice mocks, and strict mocks, read ["The Nice, the Strict, and the Naggy"](#the-nice-the-strict-and-the-naggy).
1348 ## Expecting Ordered Calls ##
1350 Although an `EXPECT_CALL()` statement defined earlier takes precedence
1351 when Google Mock tries to match a function call with an expectation,
1352 by default calls don't have to happen in the order `EXPECT_CALL()`
1353 statements are written. For example, if the arguments match the
1354 matchers in the third `EXPECT_CALL()`, but not those in the first two,
1355 then the third expectation will be used.
1357 If you would rather have all calls occur in the order of the
1358 expectations, put the `EXPECT_CALL()` statements in a block where you
1359 define a variable of type `InSequence`:
1363 using ::testing::InSequence;
1368 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(5));
1369 EXPECT_CALL(bar, DoThat(_))
1371 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(6));
1375 In this example, we expect a call to `foo.DoThis(5)`, followed by two
1376 calls to `bar.DoThat()` where the argument can be anything, which are
1377 in turn followed by a call to `foo.DoThis(6)`. If a call occurred
1378 out-of-order, Google Mock will report an error.
1380 ## Expecting Partially Ordered Calls ##
1382 Sometimes requiring everything to occur in a predetermined order can
1383 lead to brittle tests. For example, we may care about `A` occurring
1384 before both `B` and `C`, but aren't interested in the relative order
1385 of `B` and `C`. In this case, the test should reflect our real intent,
1386 instead of being overly constraining.
1388 Google Mock allows you to impose an arbitrary DAG (directed acyclic
1389 graph) on the calls. One way to express the DAG is to use the
1390 [After](CheatSheet.md#the-after-clause) clause of `EXPECT_CALL`.
1392 Another way is via the `InSequence()` clause (not the same as the
1393 `InSequence` class), which we borrowed from jMock 2. It's less
1394 flexible than `After()`, but more convenient when you have long chains
1395 of sequential calls, as it doesn't require you to come up with
1396 different names for the expectations in the chains. Here's how it
1399 If we view `EXPECT_CALL()` statements as nodes in a graph, and add an
1400 edge from node A to node B wherever A must occur before B, we can get
1401 a DAG. We use the term "sequence" to mean a directed path in this
1402 DAG. Now, if we decompose the DAG into sequences, we just need to know
1403 which sequences each `EXPECT_CALL()` belongs to in order to be able to
1404 reconstruct the orginal DAG.
1406 So, to specify the partial order on the expectations we need to do two
1407 things: first to define some `Sequence` objects, and then for each
1408 `EXPECT_CALL()` say which `Sequence` objects it is part
1409 of. Expectations in the same sequence must occur in the order they are
1410 written. For example,
1413 using ::testing::Sequence;
1417 EXPECT_CALL(foo, A())
1418 .InSequence(s1, s2);
1419 EXPECT_CALL(bar, B())
1421 EXPECT_CALL(bar, C())
1423 EXPECT_CALL(foo, D())
1427 specifies the following DAG (where `s1` is `A -> B`, and `s2` is `A ->
1438 This means that A must occur before B and C, and C must occur before
1439 D. There's no restriction about the order other than these.
1441 ## Controlling When an Expectation Retires ##
1443 When a mock method is called, Google Mock only consider expectations
1444 that are still active. An expectation is active when created, and
1445 becomes inactive (aka _retires_) when a call that has to occur later
1446 has occurred. For example, in
1450 using ::testing::Sequence;
1454 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, "File too large.")) // #1
1456 .InSequence(s1, s2);
1457 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, "Data set is empty.")) // #2
1459 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, "User not found.")) // #3
1463 as soon as either #2 or #3 is matched, #1 will retire. If a warning
1464 `"File too large."` is logged after this, it will be an error.
1466 Note that an expectation doesn't retire automatically when it's
1467 saturated. For example,
1472 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, _)); // #1
1473 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, "File too large.")); // #2
1476 says that there will be exactly one warning with the message `"File
1477 too large."`. If the second warning contains this message too, #2 will
1478 match again and result in an upper-bound-violated error.
1480 If this is not what you want, you can ask an expectation to retire as
1481 soon as it becomes saturated:
1486 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, _)); // #1
1487 EXPECT_CALL(log, Log(WARNING, _, "File too large.")) // #2
1488 .RetiresOnSaturation();
1491 Here #2 can be used only once, so if you have two warnings with the
1492 message `"File too large."`, the first will match #2 and the second
1493 will match #1 - there will be no error.
1497 ## Returning References from Mock Methods ##
1499 If a mock function's return type is a reference, you need to use
1500 `ReturnRef()` instead of `Return()` to return a result:
1503 using ::testing::ReturnRef;
1505 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1507 MOCK_METHOD0(GetBar, Bar&());
1513 EXPECT_CALL(foo, GetBar())
1514 .WillOnce(ReturnRef(bar));
1517 ## Returning Live Values from Mock Methods ##
1519 The `Return(x)` action saves a copy of `x` when the action is
1520 _created_, and always returns the same value whenever it's
1521 executed. Sometimes you may want to instead return the _live_ value of
1522 `x` (i.e. its value at the time when the action is _executed_.).
1524 If the mock function's return type is a reference, you can do it using
1525 `ReturnRef(x)`, as shown in the previous recipe ("Returning References
1526 from Mock Methods"). However, Google Mock doesn't let you use
1527 `ReturnRef()` in a mock function whose return type is not a reference,
1528 as doing that usually indicates a user error. So, what shall you do?
1530 You may be tempted to try `ByRef()`:
1533 using testing::ByRef;
1534 using testing::Return;
1536 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1538 MOCK_METHOD0(GetValue, int());
1543 EXPECT_CALL(foo, GetValue())
1544 .WillRepeatedly(Return(ByRef(x)));
1546 EXPECT_EQ(42, foo.GetValue());
1549 Unfortunately, it doesn't work here. The above code will fail with error:
1552 Value of: foo.GetValue()
1557 The reason is that `Return(value)` converts `value` to the actual
1558 return type of the mock function at the time when the action is
1559 _created_, not when it is _executed_. (This behavior was chosen for
1560 the action to be safe when `value` is a proxy object that references
1561 some temporary objects.) As a result, `ByRef(x)` is converted to an
1562 `int` value (instead of a `const int&`) when the expectation is set,
1563 and `Return(ByRef(x))` will always return 0.
1565 `ReturnPointee(pointer)` was provided to solve this problem
1566 specifically. It returns the value pointed to by `pointer` at the time
1567 the action is _executed_:
1570 using testing::ReturnPointee;
1574 EXPECT_CALL(foo, GetValue())
1575 .WillRepeatedly(ReturnPointee(&x)); // Note the & here.
1577 EXPECT_EQ(42, foo.GetValue()); // This will succeed now.
1580 ## Combining Actions ##
1582 Want to do more than one thing when a function is called? That's
1583 fine. `DoAll()` allow you to do sequence of actions every time. Only
1584 the return value of the last action in the sequence will be used.
1587 using ::testing::DoAll;
1589 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1591 MOCK_METHOD1(Bar, bool(int n));
1595 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(_))
1596 .WillOnce(DoAll(action_1,
1602 ## Mocking Side Effects ##
1604 Sometimes a method exhibits its effect not via returning a value but
1605 via side effects. For example, it may change some global state or
1606 modify an output argument. To mock side effects, in general you can
1607 define your own action by implementing `::testing::ActionInterface`.
1609 If all you need to do is to change an output argument, the built-in
1610 `SetArgPointee()` action is convenient:
1613 using ::testing::SetArgPointee;
1615 class MockMutator : public Mutator {
1617 MOCK_METHOD2(Mutate, void(bool mutate, int* value));
1622 MockMutator mutator;
1623 EXPECT_CALL(mutator, Mutate(true, _))
1624 .WillOnce(SetArgPointee<1>(5));
1627 In this example, when `mutator.Mutate()` is called, we will assign 5
1628 to the `int` variable pointed to by argument #1
1631 `SetArgPointee()` conveniently makes an internal copy of the
1632 value you pass to it, removing the need to keep the value in scope and
1633 alive. The implication however is that the value must have a copy
1634 constructor and assignment operator.
1636 If the mock method also needs to return a value as well, you can chain
1637 `SetArgPointee()` with `Return()` using `DoAll()`:
1641 using ::testing::Return;
1642 using ::testing::SetArgPointee;
1644 class MockMutator : public Mutator {
1647 MOCK_METHOD1(MutateInt, bool(int* value));
1651 MockMutator mutator;
1652 EXPECT_CALL(mutator, MutateInt(_))
1653 .WillOnce(DoAll(SetArgPointee<0>(5),
1657 If the output argument is an array, use the
1658 `SetArrayArgument<N>(first, last)` action instead. It copies the
1659 elements in source range `[first, last)` to the array pointed to by
1660 the `N`-th (0-based) argument:
1663 using ::testing::NotNull;
1664 using ::testing::SetArrayArgument;
1666 class MockArrayMutator : public ArrayMutator {
1668 MOCK_METHOD2(Mutate, void(int* values, int num_values));
1673 MockArrayMutator mutator;
1674 int values[5] = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
1675 EXPECT_CALL(mutator, Mutate(NotNull(), 5))
1676 .WillOnce(SetArrayArgument<0>(values, values + 5));
1679 This also works when the argument is an output iterator:
1683 using ::testing::SeArrayArgument;
1685 class MockRolodex : public Rolodex {
1687 MOCK_METHOD1(GetNames, void(std::back_insert_iterator<vector<string> >));
1692 MockRolodex rolodex;
1693 vector<string> names;
1694 names.push_back("George");
1695 names.push_back("John");
1696 names.push_back("Thomas");
1697 EXPECT_CALL(rolodex, GetNames(_))
1698 .WillOnce(SetArrayArgument<0>(names.begin(), names.end()));
1701 ## Changing a Mock Object's Behavior Based on the State ##
1703 If you expect a call to change the behavior of a mock object, you can use `::testing::InSequence` to specify different behaviors before and after the call:
1706 using ::testing::InSequence;
1707 using ::testing::Return;
1712 EXPECT_CALL(my_mock, IsDirty())
1713 .WillRepeatedly(Return(true));
1714 EXPECT_CALL(my_mock, Flush());
1715 EXPECT_CALL(my_mock, IsDirty())
1716 .WillRepeatedly(Return(false));
1718 my_mock.FlushIfDirty();
1721 This makes `my_mock.IsDirty()` return `true` before `my_mock.Flush()` is called and return `false` afterwards.
1723 If the behavior change is more complex, you can store the effects in a variable and make a mock method get its return value from that variable:
1727 using ::testing::SaveArg;
1728 using ::testing::Return;
1730 ACTION_P(ReturnPointee, p) { return *p; }
1732 int previous_value = 0;
1733 EXPECT_CALL(my_mock, GetPrevValue())
1734 .WillRepeatedly(ReturnPointee(&previous_value));
1735 EXPECT_CALL(my_mock, UpdateValue(_))
1736 .WillRepeatedly(SaveArg<0>(&previous_value));
1737 my_mock.DoSomethingToUpdateValue();
1740 Here `my_mock.GetPrevValue()` will always return the argument of the last `UpdateValue()` call.
1742 ## Setting the Default Value for a Return Type ##
1744 If a mock method's return type is a built-in C++ type or pointer, by
1745 default it will return 0 when invoked. Also, in C++ 11 and above, a mock
1746 method whose return type has a default constructor will return a default-constructed
1747 value by default. You only need to specify an
1748 action if this default value doesn't work for you.
1750 Sometimes, you may want to change this default value, or you may want
1751 to specify a default value for types Google Mock doesn't know
1752 about. You can do this using the `::testing::DefaultValue` class
1756 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1758 MOCK_METHOD0(CalculateBar, Bar());
1763 // Sets the default return value for type Bar.
1764 DefaultValue<Bar>::Set(default_bar);
1768 // We don't need to specify an action here, as the default
1769 // return value works for us.
1770 EXPECT_CALL(foo, CalculateBar());
1772 foo.CalculateBar(); // This should return default_bar.
1774 // Unsets the default return value.
1775 DefaultValue<Bar>::Clear();
1778 Please note that changing the default value for a type can make you
1779 tests hard to understand. We recommend you to use this feature
1780 judiciously. For example, you may want to make sure the `Set()` and
1781 `Clear()` calls are right next to the code that uses your mock.
1783 ## Setting the Default Actions for a Mock Method ##
1785 You've learned how to change the default value of a given
1786 type. However, this may be too coarse for your purpose: perhaps you
1787 have two mock methods with the same return type and you want them to
1788 have different behaviors. The `ON_CALL()` macro allows you to
1789 customize your mock's behavior at the method level:
1793 using ::testing::AnyNumber;
1794 using ::testing::Gt;
1795 using ::testing::Return;
1797 ON_CALL(foo, Sign(_))
1798 .WillByDefault(Return(-1));
1799 ON_CALL(foo, Sign(0))
1800 .WillByDefault(Return(0));
1801 ON_CALL(foo, Sign(Gt(0)))
1802 .WillByDefault(Return(1));
1804 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Sign(_))
1805 .Times(AnyNumber());
1807 foo.Sign(5); // This should return 1.
1808 foo.Sign(-9); // This should return -1.
1809 foo.Sign(0); // This should return 0.
1812 As you may have guessed, when there are more than one `ON_CALL()`
1813 statements, the news order take precedence over the older ones. In
1814 other words, the **last** one that matches the function arguments will
1815 be used. This matching order allows you to set up the common behavior
1816 in a mock object's constructor or the test fixture's set-up phase and
1817 specialize the mock's behavior later.
1819 ## Using Functions/Methods/Functors as Actions ##
1821 If the built-in actions don't suit you, you can easily use an existing
1822 function, method, or functor as an action:
1826 using ::testing::Invoke;
1828 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1830 MOCK_METHOD2(Sum, int(int x, int y));
1831 MOCK_METHOD1(ComplexJob, bool(int x));
1834 int CalculateSum(int x, int y) { return x + y; }
1838 bool ComplexJob(int x);
1844 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Sum(_, _))
1845 .WillOnce(Invoke(CalculateSum));
1846 EXPECT_CALL(foo, ComplexJob(_))
1847 .WillOnce(Invoke(&helper, &Helper::ComplexJob));
1849 foo.Sum(5, 6); // Invokes CalculateSum(5, 6).
1850 foo.ComplexJob(10); // Invokes helper.ComplexJob(10);
1853 The only requirement is that the type of the function, etc must be
1854 _compatible_ with the signature of the mock function, meaning that the
1855 latter's arguments can be implicitly converted to the corresponding
1856 arguments of the former, and the former's return type can be
1857 implicitly converted to that of the latter. So, you can invoke
1858 something whose type is _not_ exactly the same as the mock function,
1859 as long as it's safe to do so - nice, huh?
1861 ## Invoking a Function/Method/Functor Without Arguments ##
1863 `Invoke()` is very useful for doing actions that are more complex. It
1864 passes the mock function's arguments to the function or functor being
1865 invoked such that the callee has the full context of the call to work
1866 with. If the invoked function is not interested in some or all of the
1867 arguments, it can simply ignore them.
1869 Yet, a common pattern is that a test author wants to invoke a function
1870 without the arguments of the mock function. `Invoke()` allows her to
1871 do that using a wrapper function that throws away the arguments before
1872 invoking an underlining nullary function. Needless to say, this can be
1873 tedious and obscures the intent of the test.
1875 `InvokeWithoutArgs()` solves this problem. It's like `Invoke()` except
1876 that it doesn't pass the mock function's arguments to the
1877 callee. Here's an example:
1881 using ::testing::InvokeWithoutArgs;
1883 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1885 MOCK_METHOD1(ComplexJob, bool(int n));
1892 EXPECT_CALL(foo, ComplexJob(_))
1893 .WillOnce(InvokeWithoutArgs(Job1));
1895 foo.ComplexJob(10); // Invokes Job1().
1898 ## Invoking an Argument of the Mock Function ##
1900 Sometimes a mock function will receive a function pointer or a functor
1901 (in other words, a "callable") as an argument, e.g.
1904 class MockFoo : public Foo {
1906 MOCK_METHOD2(DoThis, bool(int n, bool (*fp)(int)));
1910 and you may want to invoke this callable argument:
1916 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(_, _))
1918 // Will execute (*fp)(5), where fp is the
1919 // second argument DoThis() receives.
1922 Arghh, you need to refer to a mock function argument but C++ has no
1923 lambda (yet), so you have to define your own action. :-( Or do you
1926 Well, Google Mock has an action to solve _exactly_ this problem:
1929 InvokeArgument<N>(arg_1, arg_2, ..., arg_m)
1932 will invoke the `N`-th (0-based) argument the mock function receives,
1933 with `arg_1`, `arg_2`, ..., and `arg_m`. No matter if the argument is
1934 a function pointer or a functor, Google Mock handles them both.
1936 With that, you could write:
1940 using ::testing::InvokeArgument;
1942 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(_, _))
1943 .WillOnce(InvokeArgument<1>(5));
1944 // Will execute (*fp)(5), where fp is the
1945 // second argument DoThis() receives.
1948 What if the callable takes an argument by reference? No problem - just
1949 wrap it inside `ByRef()`:
1953 MOCK_METHOD1(Bar, bool(bool (*fp)(int, const Helper&)));
1956 using ::testing::ByRef;
1957 using ::testing::InvokeArgument;
1963 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(_))
1964 .WillOnce(InvokeArgument<0>(5, ByRef(helper)));
1965 // ByRef(helper) guarantees that a reference to helper, not a copy of it,
1966 // will be passed to the callable.
1969 What if the callable takes an argument by reference and we do **not**
1970 wrap the argument in `ByRef()`? Then `InvokeArgument()` will _make a
1971 copy_ of the argument, and pass a _reference to the copy_, instead of
1972 a reference to the original value, to the callable. This is especially
1973 handy when the argument is a temporary value:
1977 MOCK_METHOD1(DoThat, bool(bool (*f)(const double& x, const string& s)));
1980 using ::testing::InvokeArgument;
1985 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat(_))
1986 .WillOnce(InvokeArgument<0>(5.0, string("Hi")));
1987 // Will execute (*f)(5.0, string("Hi")), where f is the function pointer
1988 // DoThat() receives. Note that the values 5.0 and string("Hi") are
1989 // temporary and dead once the EXPECT_CALL() statement finishes. Yet
1990 // it's fine to perform this action later, since a copy of the values
1991 // are kept inside the InvokeArgument action.
1994 ## Ignoring an Action's Result ##
1996 Sometimes you have an action that returns _something_, but you need an
1997 action that returns `void` (perhaps you want to use it in a mock
1998 function that returns `void`, or perhaps it needs to be used in
1999 `DoAll()` and it's not the last in the list). `IgnoreResult()` lets
2000 you do that. For example:
2004 using ::testing::Invoke;
2005 using ::testing::Return;
2007 int Process(const MyData& data);
2008 string DoSomething();
2010 class MockFoo : public Foo {
2012 MOCK_METHOD1(Abc, void(const MyData& data));
2013 MOCK_METHOD0(Xyz, bool());
2018 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Abc(_))
2019 // .WillOnce(Invoke(Process));
2020 // The above line won't compile as Process() returns int but Abc() needs
2022 .WillOnce(IgnoreResult(Invoke(Process)));
2024 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Xyz())
2025 .WillOnce(DoAll(IgnoreResult(Invoke(DoSomething)),
2026 // Ignores the string DoSomething() returns.
2030 Note that you **cannot** use `IgnoreResult()` on an action that already
2031 returns `void`. Doing so will lead to ugly compiler errors.
2033 ## Selecting an Action's Arguments ##
2035 Say you have a mock function `Foo()` that takes seven arguments, and
2036 you have a custom action that you want to invoke when `Foo()` is
2037 called. Trouble is, the custom action only wants three arguments:
2041 using ::testing::Invoke;
2043 MOCK_METHOD7(Foo, bool(bool visible, const string& name, int x, int y,
2044 const map<pair<int, int>, double>& weight,
2045 double min_weight, double max_wight));
2048 bool IsVisibleInQuadrant1(bool visible, int x, int y) {
2049 return visible && x >= 0 && y >= 0;
2053 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(_, _, _, _, _, _, _))
2054 .WillOnce(Invoke(IsVisibleInQuadrant1)); // Uh, won't compile. :-(
2057 To please the compiler God, you can to define an "adaptor" that has
2058 the same signature as `Foo()` and calls the custom action with the
2063 using ::testing::Invoke;
2065 bool MyIsVisibleInQuadrant1(bool visible, const string& name, int x, int y,
2066 const map<pair<int, int>, double>& weight,
2067 double min_weight, double max_wight) {
2068 return IsVisibleInQuadrant1(visible, x, y);
2072 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(_, _, _, _, _, _, _))
2073 .WillOnce(Invoke(MyIsVisibleInQuadrant1)); // Now it works.
2076 But isn't this awkward?
2078 Google Mock provides a generic _action adaptor_, so you can spend your
2079 time minding more important business than writing your own
2080 adaptors. Here's the syntax:
2083 WithArgs<N1, N2, ..., Nk>(action)
2086 creates an action that passes the arguments of the mock function at
2087 the given indices (0-based) to the inner `action` and performs
2088 it. Using `WithArgs`, our original example can be written as:
2092 using ::testing::Invoke;
2093 using ::testing::WithArgs;
2095 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(_, _, _, _, _, _, _))
2096 .WillOnce(WithArgs<0, 2, 3>(Invoke(IsVisibleInQuadrant1)));
2097 // No need to define your own adaptor.
2100 For better readability, Google Mock also gives you:
2102 * `WithoutArgs(action)` when the inner `action` takes _no_ argument, and
2103 * `WithArg<N>(action)` (no `s` after `Arg`) when the inner `action` takes _one_ argument.
2105 As you may have realized, `InvokeWithoutArgs(...)` is just syntactic
2106 sugar for `WithoutArgs(Invoke(...))`.
2110 * The inner action used in `WithArgs` and friends does not have to be `Invoke()` -- it can be anything.
2111 * You can repeat an argument in the argument list if necessary, e.g. `WithArgs<2, 3, 3, 5>(...)`.
2112 * You can change the order of the arguments, e.g. `WithArgs<3, 2, 1>(...)`.
2113 * The types of the selected arguments do _not_ have to match the signature of the inner action exactly. It works as long as they can be implicitly converted to the corresponding arguments of the inner action. For example, if the 4-th argument of the mock function is an `int` and `my_action` takes a `double`, `WithArg<4>(my_action)` will work.
2115 ## Ignoring Arguments in Action Functions ##
2117 The selecting-an-action's-arguments recipe showed us one way to make a
2118 mock function and an action with incompatible argument lists fit
2119 together. The downside is that wrapping the action in
2120 `WithArgs<...>()` can get tedious for people writing the tests.
2122 If you are defining a function, method, or functor to be used with
2123 `Invoke*()`, and you are not interested in some of its arguments, an
2124 alternative to `WithArgs` is to declare the uninteresting arguments as
2125 `Unused`. This makes the definition less cluttered and less fragile in
2126 case the types of the uninteresting arguments change. It could also
2127 increase the chance the action function can be reused. For example,
2131 MOCK_METHOD3(Foo, double(const string& label, double x, double y));
2132 MOCK_METHOD3(Bar, double(int index, double x, double y));
2139 using ::testing::Invoke;
2141 double DistanceToOriginWithLabel(const string& label, double x, double y) {
2142 return sqrt(x*x + y*y);
2145 double DistanceToOriginWithIndex(int index, double x, double y) {
2146 return sqrt(x*x + y*y);
2150 EXEPCT_CALL(mock, Foo("abc", _, _))
2151 .WillOnce(Invoke(DistanceToOriginWithLabel));
2152 EXEPCT_CALL(mock, Bar(5, _, _))
2153 .WillOnce(Invoke(DistanceToOriginWithIndex));
2160 using ::testing::Invoke;
2161 using ::testing::Unused;
2163 double DistanceToOrigin(Unused, double x, double y) {
2164 return sqrt(x*x + y*y);
2168 EXEPCT_CALL(mock, Foo("abc", _, _))
2169 .WillOnce(Invoke(DistanceToOrigin));
2170 EXEPCT_CALL(mock, Bar(5, _, _))
2171 .WillOnce(Invoke(DistanceToOrigin));
2174 ## Sharing Actions ##
2176 Just like matchers, a Google Mock action object consists of a pointer
2177 to a ref-counted implementation object. Therefore copying actions is
2178 also allowed and very efficient. When the last action that references
2179 the implementation object dies, the implementation object will be
2182 If you have some complex action that you want to use again and again,
2183 you may not have to build it from scratch everytime. If the action
2184 doesn't have an internal state (i.e. if it always does the same thing
2185 no matter how many times it has been called), you can assign it to an
2186 action variable and use that variable repeatedly. For example:
2189 Action<bool(int*)> set_flag = DoAll(SetArgPointee<0>(5),
2191 ... use set_flag in .WillOnce() and .WillRepeatedly() ...
2194 However, if the action has its own state, you may be surprised if you
2195 share the action object. Suppose you have an action factory
2196 `IncrementCounter(init)` which creates an action that increments and
2197 returns a counter whose initial value is `init`, using two actions
2198 created from the same expression and using a shared action will
2199 exihibit different behaviors. Example:
2202 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis())
2203 .WillRepeatedly(IncrementCounter(0));
2204 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat())
2205 .WillRepeatedly(IncrementCounter(0));
2206 foo.DoThis(); // Returns 1.
2207 foo.DoThis(); // Returns 2.
2208 foo.DoThat(); // Returns 1 - Blah() uses a different
2209 // counter than Bar()'s.
2215 Action<int()> increment = IncrementCounter(0);
2217 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis())
2218 .WillRepeatedly(increment);
2219 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat())
2220 .WillRepeatedly(increment);
2221 foo.DoThis(); // Returns 1.
2222 foo.DoThis(); // Returns 2.
2223 foo.DoThat(); // Returns 3 - the counter is shared.
2226 # Misc Recipes on Using Google Mock #
2228 ## Mocking Methods That Use Move-Only Types ##
2230 C++11 introduced <em>move-only types</em>. A move-only-typed value can be moved from one object to another, but cannot be copied. `std::unique_ptr<T>` is probably the most commonly used move-only type.
2232 Mocking a method that takes and/or returns move-only types presents some challenges, but nothing insurmountable. This recipe shows you how you can do it.
2234 Let’s say we are working on a fictional project that lets one post and share snippets called “buzzes”. Your code uses these types:
2237 enum class AccessLevel { kInternal, kPublic };
2241 explicit Buzz(AccessLevel access) { … }
2247 virtual ~Buzzer() {}
2248 virtual std::unique_ptr<Buzz> MakeBuzz(const std::string& text) = 0;
2249 virtual bool ShareBuzz(std::unique_ptr<Buzz> buzz, Time timestamp) = 0;
2254 A `Buzz` object represents a snippet being posted. A class that implements the `Buzzer` interface is capable of creating and sharing `Buzz`. Methods in `Buzzer` may return a `unique_ptr<Buzz>` or take a `unique_ptr<Buzz>`. Now we need to mock `Buzzer` in our tests.
2256 To mock a method that returns a move-only type, you just use the familiar `MOCK_METHOD` syntax as usual:
2259 class MockBuzzer : public Buzzer {
2261 MOCK_METHOD1(MakeBuzz, std::unique_ptr<Buzz>(const std::string& text));
2266 However, if you attempt to use the same `MOCK_METHOD` pattern to mock a method that takes a move-only parameter, you’ll get a compiler error currently:
2269 // Does NOT compile!
2270 MOCK_METHOD2(ShareBuzz, bool(std::unique_ptr<Buzz> buzz, Time timestamp));
2273 While it’s highly desirable to make this syntax just work, it’s not trivial and the work hasn’t been done yet. Fortunately, there is a trick you can apply today to get something that works nearly as well as this.
2275 The trick, is to delegate the `ShareBuzz()` method to a mock method (let’s call it `DoShareBuzz()`) that does not take move-only parameters:
2278 class MockBuzzer : public Buzzer {
2280 MOCK_METHOD1(MakeBuzz, std::unique_ptr<Buzz>(const std::string& text));
2281 MOCK_METHOD2(DoShareBuzz, bool(Buzz* buzz, Time timestamp));
2282 bool ShareBuzz(std::unique_ptr<Buzz> buzz, Time timestamp) {
2283 return DoShareBuzz(buzz.get(), timestamp);
2288 Note that there's no need to define or declare `DoShareBuzz()` in a base class. You only need to define it as a `MOCK_METHOD` in the mock class.
2290 Now that we have the mock class defined, we can use it in tests. In the following code examples, we assume that we have defined a `MockBuzzer` object named `mock_buzzer_`:
2293 MockBuzzer mock_buzzer_;
2296 First let’s see how we can set expectations on the `MakeBuzz()` method, which returns a `unique_ptr<Buzz>`.
2298 As usual, if you set an expectation without an action (i.e. the `.WillOnce()` or `.WillRepeated()` clause), when that expectation fires, the default action for that method will be taken. Since `unique_ptr<>` has a default constructor that returns a null `unique_ptr`, that’s what you’ll get if you don’t specify an action:
2301 // Use the default action.
2302 EXPECT_CALL(mock_buzzer_, MakeBuzz("hello"));
2304 // Triggers the previous EXPECT_CALL.
2305 EXPECT_EQ(nullptr, mock_buzzer_.MakeBuzz("hello"));
2308 If you are not happy with the default action, you can tweak it. Depending on what you need, you may either tweak the default action for a specific (mock object, mock method) combination using `ON_CALL()`, or you may tweak the default action for all mock methods that return a specific type. The usage of `ON_CALL()` is similar to `EXPECT_CALL()`, so we’ll skip it and just explain how to do the latter (tweaking the default action for a specific return type). You do this via the `DefaultValue<>::SetFactory()` and `DefaultValue<>::Clear()` API:
2311 // Sets the default action for return type std::unique_ptr<Buzz> to
2312 // creating a new Buzz every time.
2313 DefaultValue<std::unique_ptr<Buzz>>::SetFactory(
2314 [] { return MakeUnique<Buzz>(AccessLevel::kInternal); });
2316 // When this fires, the default action of MakeBuzz() will run, which
2317 // will return a new Buzz object.
2318 EXPECT_CALL(mock_buzzer_, MakeBuzz("hello")).Times(AnyNumber());
2320 auto buzz1 = mock_buzzer_.MakeBuzz("hello");
2321 auto buzz2 = mock_buzzer_.MakeBuzz("hello");
2322 EXPECT_NE(nullptr, buzz1);
2323 EXPECT_NE(nullptr, buzz2);
2324 EXPECT_NE(buzz1, buzz2);
2326 // Resets the default action for return type std::unique_ptr<Buzz>,
2327 // to avoid interfere with other tests.
2328 DefaultValue<std::unique_ptr<Buzz>>::Clear();
2331 What if you want the method to do something other than the default action? If you just need to return a pre-defined move-only value, you can use the `Return(ByMove(...))` action:
2334 // When this fires, the unique_ptr<> specified by ByMove(...) will
2336 EXPECT_CALL(mock_buzzer_, MakeBuzz("world"))
2337 .WillOnce(Return(ByMove(MakeUnique<Buzz>(AccessLevel::kInternal))));
2339 EXPECT_NE(nullptr, mock_buzzer_.MakeBuzz("world"));
2342 Note that `ByMove()` is essential here - if you drop it, the code won’t compile.
2344 Quiz time! What do you think will happen if a `Return(ByMove(...))` action is performed more than once (e.g. you write `….WillRepeatedly(Return(ByMove(...)));`)? Come think of it, after the first time the action runs, the source value will be consumed (since it’s a move-only value), so the next time around, there’s no value to move from -- you’ll get a run-time error that `Return(ByMove(...))` can only be run once.
2346 If you need your mock method to do more than just moving a pre-defined value, remember that you can always use `Invoke()` to call a lambda or a callable object, which can do pretty much anything you want:
2349 EXPECT_CALL(mock_buzzer_, MakeBuzz("x"))
2350 .WillRepeatedly(Invoke([](const std::string& text) {
2351 return std::make_unique<Buzz>(AccessLevel::kInternal);
2354 EXPECT_NE(nullptr, mock_buzzer_.MakeBuzz("x"));
2355 EXPECT_NE(nullptr, mock_buzzer_.MakeBuzz("x"));
2358 Every time this `EXPECT_CALL` fires, a new `unique_ptr<Buzz>` will be created and returned. You cannot do this with `Return(ByMove(...))`.
2360 Now there’s one topic we haven’t covered: how do you set expectations on `ShareBuzz()`, which takes a move-only-typed parameter? The answer is you don’t. Instead, you set expectations on the `DoShareBuzz()` mock method (remember that we defined a `MOCK_METHOD` for `DoShareBuzz()`, not `ShareBuzz()`):
2363 EXPECT_CALL(mock_buzzer_, DoShareBuzz(NotNull(), _));
2365 // When one calls ShareBuzz() on the MockBuzzer like this, the call is
2366 // forwarded to DoShareBuzz(), which is mocked. Therefore this statement
2367 // will trigger the above EXPECT_CALL.
2368 mock_buzzer_.ShareBuzz(MakeUnique<Buzz>(AccessLevel::kInternal),
2372 Some of you may have spotted one problem with this approach: the `DoShareBuzz()` mock method differs from the real `ShareBuzz()` method in that it cannot take ownership of the buzz parameter - `ShareBuzz()` will always delete buzz after `DoShareBuzz()` returns. What if you need to save the buzz object somewhere for later use when `ShareBuzz()` is called? Indeed, you'd be stuck.
2374 Another problem with the `DoShareBuzz()` we had is that it can surprise people reading or maintaining the test, as one would expect that `DoShareBuzz()` has (logically) the same contract as `ShareBuzz()`.
2376 Fortunately, these problems can be fixed with a bit more code. Let's try to get it right this time:
2379 class MockBuzzer : public Buzzer {
2382 // Since DoShareBuzz(buzz, time) is supposed to take ownership of
2383 // buzz, define a default behavior for DoShareBuzz(buzz, time) to
2385 ON_CALL(*this, DoShareBuzz(_, _))
2386 .WillByDefault(Invoke([](Buzz* buzz, Time timestamp) {
2392 MOCK_METHOD1(MakeBuzz, std::unique_ptr<Buzz>(const std::string& text));
2394 // Takes ownership of buzz.
2395 MOCK_METHOD2(DoShareBuzz, bool(Buzz* buzz, Time timestamp));
2396 bool ShareBuzz(std::unique_ptr<Buzz> buzz, Time timestamp) {
2397 return DoShareBuzz(buzz.release(), timestamp);
2402 Now, the mock `DoShareBuzz()` method is free to save the buzz argument for later use if this is what you want:
2405 std::unique_ptr<Buzz> intercepted_buzz;
2406 EXPECT_CALL(mock_buzzer_, DoShareBuzz(NotNull(), _))
2407 .WillOnce(Invoke([&intercepted_buzz](Buzz* buzz, Time timestamp) {
2408 // Save buzz in intercepted_buzz for analysis later.
2409 intercepted_buzz.reset(buzz);
2413 mock_buzzer_.ShareBuzz(std::make_unique<Buzz>(AccessLevel::kInternal),
2415 EXPECT_NE(nullptr, intercepted_buzz);
2418 Using the tricks covered in this recipe, you are now able to mock methods that take and/or return move-only types. Put your newly-acquired power to good use - when you design a new API, you can now feel comfortable using `unique_ptrs` as appropriate, without fearing that doing so will compromise your tests.
2420 ## Making the Compilation Faster ##
2422 Believe it or not, the _vast majority_ of the time spent on compiling
2423 a mock class is in generating its constructor and destructor, as they
2424 perform non-trivial tasks (e.g. verification of the
2425 expectations). What's more, mock methods with different signatures
2426 have different types and thus their constructors/destructors need to
2427 be generated by the compiler separately. As a result, if you mock many
2428 different types of methods, compiling your mock class can get really
2431 If you are experiencing slow compilation, you can move the definition
2432 of your mock class' constructor and destructor out of the class body
2433 and into a `.cpp` file. This way, even if you `#include` your mock
2434 class in N files, the compiler only needs to generate its constructor
2435 and destructor once, resulting in a much faster compilation.
2437 Let's illustrate the idea using an example. Here's the definition of a
2438 mock class before applying this recipe:
2443 class MockFoo : public Foo {
2445 // Since we don't declare the constructor or the destructor,
2446 // the compiler will generate them in every translation unit
2447 // where this mock class is used.
2449 MOCK_METHOD0(DoThis, int());
2450 MOCK_METHOD1(DoThat, bool(const char* str));
2451 ... more mock methods ...
2455 After the change, it would look like:
2460 class MockFoo : public Foo {
2462 // The constructor and destructor are declared, but not defined, here.
2466 MOCK_METHOD0(DoThis, int());
2467 MOCK_METHOD1(DoThat, bool(const char* str));
2468 ... more mock methods ...
2473 // File mock_foo.cpp.
2474 #include "path/to/mock_foo.h"
2476 // The definitions may appear trivial, but the functions actually do a
2477 // lot of things through the constructors/destructors of the member
2478 // variables used to implement the mock methods.
2479 MockFoo::MockFoo() {}
2480 MockFoo::~MockFoo() {}
2483 ## Forcing a Verification ##
2485 When it's being destoyed, your friendly mock object will automatically
2486 verify that all expectations on it have been satisfied, and will
2487 generate [Google Test](../../googletest/) failures
2488 if not. This is convenient as it leaves you with one less thing to
2489 worry about. That is, unless you are not sure if your mock object will
2492 How could it be that your mock object won't eventually be destroyed?
2493 Well, it might be created on the heap and owned by the code you are
2494 testing. Suppose there's a bug in that code and it doesn't delete the
2495 mock object properly - you could end up with a passing test when
2496 there's actually a bug.
2498 Using a heap checker is a good idea and can alleviate the concern, but
2499 its implementation may not be 100% reliable. So, sometimes you do want
2500 to _force_ Google Mock to verify a mock object before it is
2501 (hopefully) destructed. You can do this with
2502 `Mock::VerifyAndClearExpectations(&mock_object)`:
2505 TEST(MyServerTest, ProcessesRequest) {
2506 using ::testing::Mock;
2508 MockFoo* const foo = new MockFoo;
2509 EXPECT_CALL(*foo, ...)...;
2510 // ... other expectations ...
2512 // server now owns foo.
2513 MyServer server(foo);
2514 server.ProcessRequest(...);
2516 // In case that server's destructor will forget to delete foo,
2517 // this will verify the expectations anyway.
2518 Mock::VerifyAndClearExpectations(foo);
2519 } // server is destroyed when it goes out of scope here.
2522 **Tip:** The `Mock::VerifyAndClearExpectations()` function returns a
2523 `bool` to indicate whether the verification was successful (`true` for
2524 yes), so you can wrap that function call inside a `ASSERT_TRUE()` if
2525 there is no point going further when the verification has failed.
2527 ## Using Check Points ##
2529 Sometimes you may want to "reset" a mock object at various check
2530 points in your test: at each check point, you verify that all existing
2531 expectations on the mock object have been satisfied, and then you set
2532 some new expectations on it as if it's newly created. This allows you
2533 to work with a mock object in "phases" whose sizes are each
2536 One such scenario is that in your test's `SetUp()` function, you may
2537 want to put the object you are testing into a certain state, with the
2538 help from a mock object. Once in the desired state, you want to clear
2539 all expectations on the mock, such that in the `TEST_F` body you can
2540 set fresh expectations on it.
2542 As you may have figured out, the `Mock::VerifyAndClearExpectations()`
2543 function we saw in the previous recipe can help you here. Or, if you
2544 are using `ON_CALL()` to set default actions on the mock object and
2545 want to clear the default actions as well, use
2546 `Mock::VerifyAndClear(&mock_object)` instead. This function does what
2547 `Mock::VerifyAndClearExpectations(&mock_object)` does and returns the
2548 same `bool`, **plus** it clears the `ON_CALL()` statements on
2551 Another trick you can use to achieve the same effect is to put the
2552 expectations in sequences and insert calls to a dummy "check-point"
2553 function at specific places. Then you can verify that the mock
2554 function calls do happen at the right time. For example, if you are
2563 and want to verify that `Foo(1)` and `Foo(3)` both invoke
2564 `mock.Bar("a")`, but `Foo(2)` doesn't invoke anything. You can write:
2567 using ::testing::MockFunction;
2569 TEST(FooTest, InvokesBarCorrectly) {
2571 // Class MockFunction<F> has exactly one mock method. It is named
2572 // Call() and has type F.
2573 MockFunction<void(string check_point_name)> check;
2577 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Bar("a"));
2578 EXPECT_CALL(check, Call("1"));
2579 EXPECT_CALL(check, Call("2"));
2580 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Bar("a"));
2590 The expectation spec says that the first `Bar("a")` must happen before
2591 check point "1", the second `Bar("a")` must happen after check point "2",
2592 and nothing should happen between the two check points. The explicit
2593 check points make it easy to tell which `Bar("a")` is called by which
2596 ## Mocking Destructors ##
2598 Sometimes you want to make sure a mock object is destructed at the
2599 right time, e.g. after `bar->A()` is called but before `bar->B()` is
2600 called. We already know that you can specify constraints on the order
2601 of mock function calls, so all we need to do is to mock the destructor
2602 of the mock function.
2604 This sounds simple, except for one problem: a destructor is a special
2605 function with special syntax and special semantics, and the
2606 `MOCK_METHOD0` macro doesn't work for it:
2609 MOCK_METHOD0(~MockFoo, void()); // Won't compile!
2612 The good news is that you can use a simple pattern to achieve the same
2613 effect. First, add a mock function `Die()` to your mock class and call
2614 it in the destructor, like this:
2617 class MockFoo : public Foo {
2619 // Add the following two lines to the mock class.
2620 MOCK_METHOD0(Die, void());
2621 virtual ~MockFoo() { Die(); }
2625 (If the name `Die()` clashes with an existing symbol, choose another
2626 name.) Now, we have translated the problem of testing when a `MockFoo`
2627 object dies to testing when its `Die()` method is called:
2630 MockFoo* foo = new MockFoo;
2631 MockBar* bar = new MockBar;
2636 // Expects *foo to die after bar->A() and before bar->B().
2637 EXPECT_CALL(*bar, A());
2638 EXPECT_CALL(*foo, Die());
2639 EXPECT_CALL(*bar, B());
2645 ## Using Google Mock and Threads ##
2647 **IMPORTANT NOTE:** What we describe in this recipe is **ONLY** true on
2648 platforms where Google Mock is thread-safe. Currently these are only
2649 platforms that support the pthreads library (this includes Linux and Mac).
2650 To make it thread-safe on other platforms we only need to implement
2651 some synchronization operations in `"gtest/internal/gtest-port.h"`.
2653 In a **unit** test, it's best if you could isolate and test a piece of
2654 code in a single-threaded context. That avoids race conditions and
2655 dead locks, and makes debugging your test much easier.
2657 Yet many programs are multi-threaded, and sometimes to test something
2658 we need to pound on it from more than one thread. Google Mock works
2659 for this purpose too.
2661 Remember the steps for using a mock:
2663 1. Create a mock object `foo`.
2664 1. Set its default actions and expectations using `ON_CALL()` and `EXPECT_CALL()`.
2665 1. The code under test calls methods of `foo`.
2666 1. Optionally, verify and reset the mock.
2667 1. Destroy the mock yourself, or let the code under test destroy it. The destructor will automatically verify it.
2669 If you follow the following simple rules, your mocks and threads can
2670 live happily together:
2672 * Execute your _test code_ (as opposed to the code being tested) in _one_ thread. This makes your test easy to follow.
2673 * Obviously, you can do step #1 without locking.
2674 * When doing step #2 and #5, make sure no other thread is accessing `foo`. Obvious too, huh?
2675 * #3 and #4 can be done either in one thread or in multiple threads - anyway you want. Google Mock takes care of the locking, so you don't have to do any - unless required by your test logic.
2677 If you violate the rules (for example, if you set expectations on a
2678 mock while another thread is calling its methods), you get undefined
2679 behavior. That's not fun, so don't do it.
2681 Google Mock guarantees that the action for a mock function is done in
2682 the same thread that called the mock function. For example, in
2685 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(1))
2687 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(2))
2691 if `Foo(1)` is called in thread 1 and `Foo(2)` is called in thread 2,
2692 Google Mock will execute `action1` in thread 1 and `action2` in thread
2695 Google Mock does _not_ impose a sequence on actions performed in
2696 different threads (doing so may create deadlocks as the actions may
2697 need to cooperate). This means that the execution of `action1` and
2698 `action2` in the above example _may_ interleave. If this is a problem,
2699 you should add proper synchronization logic to `action1` and `action2`
2700 to make the test thread-safe.
2703 Also, remember that `DefaultValue<T>` is a global resource that
2704 potentially affects _all_ living mock objects in your
2705 program. Naturally, you won't want to mess with it from multiple
2706 threads or when there still are mocks in action.
2708 ## Controlling How Much Information Google Mock Prints ##
2710 When Google Mock sees something that has the potential of being an
2711 error (e.g. a mock function with no expectation is called, a.k.a. an
2712 uninteresting call, which is allowed but perhaps you forgot to
2713 explicitly ban the call), it prints some warning messages, including
2714 the arguments of the function and the return value. Hopefully this
2715 will remind you to take a look and see if there is indeed a problem.
2717 Sometimes you are confident that your tests are correct and may not
2718 appreciate such friendly messages. Some other times, you are debugging
2719 your tests or learning about the behavior of the code you are testing,
2720 and wish you could observe every mock call that happens (including
2721 argument values and the return value). Clearly, one size doesn't fit
2724 You can control how much Google Mock tells you using the
2725 `--gmock_verbose=LEVEL` command-line flag, where `LEVEL` is a string
2726 with three possible values:
2728 * `info`: Google Mock will print all informational messages, warnings, and errors (most verbose). At this setting, Google Mock will also log any calls to the `ON_CALL/EXPECT_CALL` macros.
2729 * `warning`: Google Mock will print both warnings and errors (less verbose). This is the default.
2730 * `error`: Google Mock will print errors only (least verbose).
2732 Alternatively, you can adjust the value of that flag from within your
2736 ::testing::FLAGS_gmock_verbose = "error";
2739 Now, judiciously use the right flag to enable Google Mock serve you better!
2741 ## Gaining Super Vision into Mock Calls ##
2743 You have a test using Google Mock. It fails: Google Mock tells you
2744 that some expectations aren't satisfied. However, you aren't sure why:
2745 Is there a typo somewhere in the matchers? Did you mess up the order
2746 of the `EXPECT_CALL`s? Or is the code under test doing something
2747 wrong? How can you find out the cause?
2749 Won't it be nice if you have X-ray vision and can actually see the
2750 trace of all `EXPECT_CALL`s and mock method calls as they are made?
2751 For each call, would you like to see its actual argument values and
2752 which `EXPECT_CALL` Google Mock thinks it matches?
2754 You can unlock this power by running your test with the
2755 `--gmock_verbose=info` flag. For example, given the test program:
2759 using testing::HasSubstr;
2760 using testing::Return;
2764 MOCK_METHOD2(F, void(const string& x, const string& y));
2769 EXPECT_CALL(mock, F(_, _)).WillRepeatedly(Return());
2770 EXPECT_CALL(mock, F("a", "b"));
2771 EXPECT_CALL(mock, F("c", HasSubstr("d")));
2773 mock.F("a", "good");
2778 if you run it with `--gmock_verbose=info`, you will see this output:
2783 foo_test.cc:14: EXPECT_CALL(mock, F(_, _)) invoked
2784 foo_test.cc:15: EXPECT_CALL(mock, F("a", "b")) invoked
2785 foo_test.cc:16: EXPECT_CALL(mock, F("c", HasSubstr("d"))) invoked
2786 foo_test.cc:14: Mock function call matches EXPECT_CALL(mock, F(_, _))...
2787 Function call: F(@0x7fff7c8dad40"a", @0x7fff7c8dad10"good")
2788 foo_test.cc:15: Mock function call matches EXPECT_CALL(mock, F("a", "b"))...
2789 Function call: F(@0x7fff7c8dada0"a", @0x7fff7c8dad70"b")
2790 foo_test.cc:16: Failure
2791 Actual function call count doesn't match EXPECT_CALL(mock, F("c", HasSubstr("d")))...
2792 Expected: to be called once
2793 Actual: never called - unsatisfied and active
2797 Suppose the bug is that the `"c"` in the third `EXPECT_CALL` is a typo
2798 and should actually be `"a"`. With the above message, you should see
2799 that the actual `F("a", "good")` call is matched by the first
2800 `EXPECT_CALL`, not the third as you thought. From that it should be
2801 obvious that the third `EXPECT_CALL` is written wrong. Case solved.
2803 ## Running Tests in Emacs ##
2805 If you build and run your tests in Emacs, the source file locations of
2806 Google Mock and [Google Test](../../googletest/)
2807 errors will be highlighted. Just press `<Enter>` on one of them and
2808 you'll be taken to the offending line. Or, you can just type `C-x ``
2809 to jump to the next error.
2811 To make it even easier, you can add the following lines to your
2815 (global-set-key "\M-m" 'compile) ; m is for make
2816 (global-set-key [M-down] 'next-error)
2817 (global-set-key [M-up] '(lambda () (interactive) (next-error -1)))
2820 Then you can type `M-m` to start a build, or `M-up`/`M-down` to move
2821 back and forth between errors.
2823 ## Fusing Google Mock Source Files ##
2825 Google Mock's implementation consists of dozens of files (excluding
2826 its own tests). Sometimes you may want them to be packaged up in
2827 fewer files instead, such that you can easily copy them to a new
2828 machine and start hacking there. For this we provide an experimental
2829 Python script `fuse_gmock_files.py` in the `scripts/` directory
2830 (starting with release 1.2.0). Assuming you have Python 2.4 or above
2831 installed on your machine, just go to that directory and run
2833 python fuse_gmock_files.py OUTPUT_DIR
2836 and you should see an `OUTPUT_DIR` directory being created with files
2837 `gtest/gtest.h`, `gmock/gmock.h`, and `gmock-gtest-all.cc` in it.
2838 These three files contain everything you need to use Google Mock (and
2839 Google Test). Just copy them to anywhere you want and you are ready
2840 to write tests and use mocks. You can use the
2841 [scrpts/test/Makefile](../scripts/test/Makefile) file as an example on how to compile your tests
2844 # Extending Google Mock #
2846 ## Writing New Matchers Quickly ##
2848 The `MATCHER*` family of macros can be used to define custom matchers
2852 MATCHER(name, description_string_expression) { statements; }
2855 will define a matcher with the given name that executes the
2856 statements, which must return a `bool` to indicate if the match
2857 succeeds. Inside the statements, you can refer to the value being
2858 matched by `arg`, and refer to its type by `arg_type`.
2860 The description string is a `string`-typed expression that documents
2861 what the matcher does, and is used to generate the failure message
2862 when the match fails. It can (and should) reference the special
2863 `bool` variable `negation`, and should evaluate to the description of
2864 the matcher when `negation` is `false`, or that of the matcher's
2865 negation when `negation` is `true`.
2867 For convenience, we allow the description string to be empty (`""`),
2868 in which case Google Mock will use the sequence of words in the
2869 matcher name as the description.
2873 MATCHER(IsDivisibleBy7, "") { return (arg % 7) == 0; }
2877 // Expects mock_foo.Bar(n) to be called where n is divisible by 7.
2878 EXPECT_CALL(mock_foo, Bar(IsDivisibleBy7()));
2882 using ::testing::Not;
2884 EXPECT_THAT(some_expression, IsDivisibleBy7());
2885 EXPECT_THAT(some_other_expression, Not(IsDivisibleBy7()));
2887 If the above assertions fail, they will print something like:
2889 Value of: some_expression
2890 Expected: is divisible by 7
2893 Value of: some_other_expression
2894 Expected: not (is divisible by 7)
2897 where the descriptions `"is divisible by 7"` and `"not (is divisible
2898 by 7)"` are automatically calculated from the matcher name
2901 As you may have noticed, the auto-generated descriptions (especially
2902 those for the negation) may not be so great. You can always override
2903 them with a string expression of your own:
2905 MATCHER(IsDivisibleBy7, std::string(negation ? "isn't" : "is") +
2906 " divisible by 7") {
2907 return (arg % 7) == 0;
2911 Optionally, you can stream additional information to a hidden argument
2912 named `result_listener` to explain the match result. For example, a
2913 better definition of `IsDivisibleBy7` is:
2915 MATCHER(IsDivisibleBy7, "") {
2919 *result_listener << "the remainder is " << (arg % 7);
2924 With this definition, the above assertion will give a better message:
2926 Value of: some_expression
2927 Expected: is divisible by 7
2928 Actual: 27 (the remainder is 6)
2931 You should let `MatchAndExplain()` print _any additional information_
2932 that can help a user understand the match result. Note that it should
2933 explain why the match succeeds in case of a success (unless it's
2934 obvious) - this is useful when the matcher is used inside
2935 `Not()`. There is no need to print the argument value itself, as
2936 Google Mock already prints it for you.
2940 1. The type of the value being matched (`arg_type`) is determined by the context in which you use the matcher and is supplied to you by the compiler, so you don't need to worry about declaring it (nor can you). This allows the matcher to be polymorphic. For example, `IsDivisibleBy7()` can be used to match any type where the value of `(arg % 7) == 0` can be implicitly converted to a `bool`. In the `Bar(IsDivisibleBy7())` example above, if method `Bar()` takes an `int`, `arg_type` will be `int`; if it takes an `unsigned long`, `arg_type` will be `unsigned long`; and so on.
2941 1. Google Mock doesn't guarantee when or how many times a matcher will be invoked. Therefore the matcher logic must be _purely functional_ (i.e. it cannot have any side effect, and the result must not depend on anything other than the value being matched and the matcher parameters). This requirement must be satisfied no matter how you define the matcher (e.g. using one of the methods described in the following recipes). In particular, a matcher can never call a mock function, as that will affect the state of the mock object and Google Mock.
2943 ## Writing New Parameterized Matchers Quickly ##
2945 Sometimes you'll want to define a matcher that has parameters. For that you
2948 MATCHER_P(name, param_name, description_string) { statements; }
2950 where the description string can be either `""` or a string expression
2951 that references `negation` and `param_name`.
2955 MATCHER_P(HasAbsoluteValue, value, "") { return abs(arg) == value; }
2957 will allow you to write:
2959 EXPECT_THAT(Blah("a"), HasAbsoluteValue(n));
2961 which may lead to this message (assuming `n` is 10):
2964 Expected: has absolute value 10
2968 Note that both the matcher description and its parameter are
2969 printed, making the message human-friendly.
2971 In the matcher definition body, you can write `foo_type` to
2972 reference the type of a parameter named `foo`. For example, in the
2973 body of `MATCHER_P(HasAbsoluteValue, value)` above, you can write
2974 `value_type` to refer to the type of `value`.
2976 Google Mock also provides `MATCHER_P2`, `MATCHER_P3`, ..., up to
2977 `MATCHER_P10` to support multi-parameter matchers:
2979 MATCHER_Pk(name, param_1, ..., param_k, description_string) { statements; }
2982 Please note that the custom description string is for a particular
2983 **instance** of the matcher, where the parameters have been bound to
2984 actual values. Therefore usually you'll want the parameter values to
2985 be part of the description. Google Mock lets you do that by
2986 referencing the matcher parameters in the description string
2991 using ::testing::PrintToString;
2992 MATCHER_P2(InClosedRange, low, hi,
2993 std::string(negation ? "isn't" : "is") + " in range [" +
2994 PrintToString(low) + ", " + PrintToString(hi) + "]") {
2995 return low <= arg && arg <= hi;
2998 EXPECT_THAT(3, InClosedRange(4, 6));
3000 would generate a failure that contains the message:
3002 Expected: is in range [4, 6]
3005 If you specify `""` as the description, the failure message will
3006 contain the sequence of words in the matcher name followed by the
3007 parameter values printed as a tuple. For example,
3009 MATCHER_P2(InClosedRange, low, hi, "") { ... }
3011 EXPECT_THAT(3, InClosedRange(4, 6));
3013 would generate a failure that contains the text:
3015 Expected: in closed range (4, 6)
3018 For the purpose of typing, you can view
3020 MATCHER_Pk(Foo, p1, ..., pk, description_string) { ... }
3024 template <typename p1_type, ..., typename pk_type>
3025 FooMatcherPk<p1_type, ..., pk_type>
3026 Foo(p1_type p1, ..., pk_type pk) { ... }
3029 When you write `Foo(v1, ..., vk)`, the compiler infers the types of
3030 the parameters `v1`, ..., and `vk` for you. If you are not happy with
3031 the result of the type inference, you can specify the types by
3032 explicitly instantiating the template, as in `Foo<long, bool>(5, false)`.
3033 As said earlier, you don't get to (or need to) specify
3034 `arg_type` as that's determined by the context in which the matcher
3037 You can assign the result of expression `Foo(p1, ..., pk)` to a
3038 variable of type `FooMatcherPk<p1_type, ..., pk_type>`. This can be
3039 useful when composing matchers. Matchers that don't have a parameter
3040 or have only one parameter have special types: you can assign `Foo()`
3041 to a `FooMatcher`-typed variable, and assign `Foo(p)` to a
3042 `FooMatcherP<p_type>`-typed variable.
3044 While you can instantiate a matcher template with reference types,
3045 passing the parameters by pointer usually makes your code more
3046 readable. If, however, you still want to pass a parameter by
3047 reference, be aware that in the failure message generated by the
3048 matcher you will see the value of the referenced object but not its
3051 You can overload matchers with different numbers of parameters:
3053 MATCHER_P(Blah, a, description_string_1) { ... }
3054 MATCHER_P2(Blah, a, b, description_string_2) { ... }
3057 While it's tempting to always use the `MATCHER*` macros when defining
3058 a new matcher, you should also consider implementing
3059 `MatcherInterface` or using `MakePolymorphicMatcher()` instead (see
3060 the recipes that follow), especially if you need to use the matcher a
3061 lot. While these approaches require more work, they give you more
3062 control on the types of the value being matched and the matcher
3063 parameters, which in general leads to better compiler error messages
3064 that pay off in the long run. They also allow overloading matchers
3065 based on parameter types (as opposed to just based on the number of
3068 ## Writing New Monomorphic Matchers ##
3070 A matcher of argument type `T` implements
3071 `::testing::MatcherInterface<T>` and does two things: it tests whether a
3072 value of type `T` matches the matcher, and can describe what kind of
3073 values it matches. The latter ability is used for generating readable
3074 error messages when expectations are violated.
3076 The interface looks like this:
3079 class MatchResultListener {
3082 // Streams x to the underlying ostream; does nothing if the ostream
3084 template <typename T>
3085 MatchResultListener& operator<<(const T& x);
3087 // Returns the underlying ostream.
3088 ::std::ostream* stream();
3091 template <typename T>
3092 class MatcherInterface {
3094 virtual ~MatcherInterface();
3096 // Returns true iff the matcher matches x; also explains the match
3097 // result to 'listener'.
3098 virtual bool MatchAndExplain(T x, MatchResultListener* listener) const = 0;
3100 // Describes this matcher to an ostream.
3101 virtual void DescribeTo(::std::ostream* os) const = 0;
3103 // Describes the negation of this matcher to an ostream.
3104 virtual void DescribeNegationTo(::std::ostream* os) const;
3108 If you need a custom matcher but `Truly()` is not a good option (for
3109 example, you may not be happy with the way `Truly(predicate)`
3110 describes itself, or you may want your matcher to be polymorphic as
3111 `Eq(value)` is), you can define a matcher to do whatever you want in
3112 two steps: first implement the matcher interface, and then define a
3113 factory function to create a matcher instance. The second step is not
3114 strictly needed but it makes the syntax of using the matcher nicer.
3116 For example, you can define a matcher to test whether an `int` is
3117 divisible by 7 and then use it like this:
3119 using ::testing::MakeMatcher;
3120 using ::testing::Matcher;
3121 using ::testing::MatcherInterface;
3122 using ::testing::MatchResultListener;
3124 class DivisibleBy7Matcher : public MatcherInterface<int> {
3126 virtual bool MatchAndExplain(int n, MatchResultListener* listener) const {
3127 return (n % 7) == 0;
3130 virtual void DescribeTo(::std::ostream* os) const {
3131 *os << "is divisible by 7";
3134 virtual void DescribeNegationTo(::std::ostream* os) const {
3135 *os << "is not divisible by 7";
3139 inline Matcher<int> DivisibleBy7() {
3140 return MakeMatcher(new DivisibleBy7Matcher);
3144 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(DivisibleBy7()));
3147 You may improve the matcher message by streaming additional
3148 information to the `listener` argument in `MatchAndExplain()`:
3151 class DivisibleBy7Matcher : public MatcherInterface<int> {
3153 virtual bool MatchAndExplain(int n,
3154 MatchResultListener* listener) const {
3155 const int remainder = n % 7;
3156 if (remainder != 0) {
3157 *listener << "the remainder is " << remainder;
3159 return remainder == 0;
3165 Then, `EXPECT_THAT(x, DivisibleBy7());` may general a message like this:
3168 Expected: is divisible by 7
3169 Actual: 23 (the remainder is 2)
3172 ## Writing New Polymorphic Matchers ##
3174 You've learned how to write your own matchers in the previous
3175 recipe. Just one problem: a matcher created using `MakeMatcher()` only
3176 works for one particular type of arguments. If you want a
3177 _polymorphic_ matcher that works with arguments of several types (for
3178 instance, `Eq(x)` can be used to match a `value` as long as `value` ==
3179 `x` compiles -- `value` and `x` don't have to share the same type),
3180 you can learn the trick from `"gmock/gmock-matchers.h"` but it's a bit
3183 Fortunately, most of the time you can define a polymorphic matcher
3184 easily with the help of `MakePolymorphicMatcher()`. Here's how you can
3185 define `NotNull()` as an example:
3188 using ::testing::MakePolymorphicMatcher;
3189 using ::testing::MatchResultListener;
3190 using ::testing::NotNull;
3191 using ::testing::PolymorphicMatcher;
3193 class NotNullMatcher {
3195 // To implement a polymorphic matcher, first define a COPYABLE class
3196 // that has three members MatchAndExplain(), DescribeTo(), and
3197 // DescribeNegationTo(), like the following.
3199 // In this example, we want to use NotNull() with any pointer, so
3200 // MatchAndExplain() accepts a pointer of any type as its first argument.
3201 // In general, you can define MatchAndExplain() as an ordinary method or
3202 // a method template, or even overload it.
3203 template <typename T>
3204 bool MatchAndExplain(T* p,
3205 MatchResultListener* /* listener */) const {
3209 // Describes the property of a value matching this matcher.
3210 void DescribeTo(::std::ostream* os) const { *os << "is not NULL"; }
3212 // Describes the property of a value NOT matching this matcher.
3213 void DescribeNegationTo(::std::ostream* os) const { *os << "is NULL"; }
3216 // To construct a polymorphic matcher, pass an instance of the class
3217 // to MakePolymorphicMatcher(). Note the return type.
3218 inline PolymorphicMatcher<NotNullMatcher> NotNull() {
3219 return MakePolymorphicMatcher(NotNullMatcher());
3223 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(NotNull())); // The argument must be a non-NULL pointer.
3226 **Note:** Your polymorphic matcher class does **not** need to inherit from
3227 `MatcherInterface` or any other class, and its methods do **not** need
3230 Like in a monomorphic matcher, you may explain the match result by
3231 streaming additional information to the `listener` argument in
3232 `MatchAndExplain()`.
3234 ## Writing New Cardinalities ##
3236 A cardinality is used in `Times()` to tell Google Mock how many times
3237 you expect a call to occur. It doesn't have to be exact. For example,
3238 you can say `AtLeast(5)` or `Between(2, 4)`.
3240 If the built-in set of cardinalities doesn't suit you, you are free to
3241 define your own by implementing the following interface (in namespace
3245 class CardinalityInterface {
3247 virtual ~CardinalityInterface();
3249 // Returns true iff call_count calls will satisfy this cardinality.
3250 virtual bool IsSatisfiedByCallCount(int call_count) const = 0;
3252 // Returns true iff call_count calls will saturate this cardinality.
3253 virtual bool IsSaturatedByCallCount(int call_count) const = 0;
3255 // Describes self to an ostream.
3256 virtual void DescribeTo(::std::ostream* os) const = 0;
3260 For example, to specify that a call must occur even number of times,
3264 using ::testing::Cardinality;
3265 using ::testing::CardinalityInterface;
3266 using ::testing::MakeCardinality;
3268 class EvenNumberCardinality : public CardinalityInterface {
3270 virtual bool IsSatisfiedByCallCount(int call_count) const {
3271 return (call_count % 2) == 0;
3274 virtual bool IsSaturatedByCallCount(int call_count) const {
3278 virtual void DescribeTo(::std::ostream* os) const {
3279 *os << "called even number of times";
3283 Cardinality EvenNumber() {
3284 return MakeCardinality(new EvenNumberCardinality);
3288 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Bar(3))
3289 .Times(EvenNumber());
3292 ## Writing New Actions Quickly ##
3294 If the built-in actions don't work for you, and you find it
3295 inconvenient to use `Invoke()`, you can use a macro from the `ACTION*`
3296 family to quickly define a new action that can be used in your code as
3297 if it's a built-in action.
3301 ACTION(name) { statements; }
3303 in a namespace scope (i.e. not inside a class or function), you will
3304 define an action with the given name that executes the statements.
3305 The value returned by `statements` will be used as the return value of
3306 the action. Inside the statements, you can refer to the K-th
3307 (0-based) argument of the mock function as `argK`. For example:
3309 ACTION(IncrementArg1) { return ++(*arg1); }
3313 ... WillOnce(IncrementArg1());
3316 Note that you don't need to specify the types of the mock function
3317 arguments. Rest assured that your code is type-safe though:
3318 you'll get a compiler error if `*arg1` doesn't support the `++`
3319 operator, or if the type of `++(*arg1)` isn't compatible with the mock
3320 function's return type.
3331 defines an action `Foo()` that invokes argument #2 (a function pointer)
3332 with 5, calls function `Blah()`, sets the value pointed to by argument
3333 #1 to 0, and returns argument #0.
3335 For more convenience and flexibility, you can also use the following
3336 pre-defined symbols in the body of `ACTION`:
3338 | `argK_type` | The type of the K-th (0-based) argument of the mock function |
3339 |:------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------|
3340 | `args` | All arguments of the mock function as a tuple |
3341 | `args_type` | The type of all arguments of the mock function as a tuple |
3342 | `return_type` | The return type of the mock function |
3343 | `function_type` | The type of the mock function |
3345 For example, when using an `ACTION` as a stub action for mock function:
3347 int DoSomething(bool flag, int* ptr);
3350 | **Pre-defined Symbol** | **Is Bound To** |
3351 |:-----------------------|:----------------|
3352 | `arg0` | the value of `flag` |
3353 | `arg0_type` | the type `bool` |
3354 | `arg1` | the value of `ptr` |
3355 | `arg1_type` | the type `int*` |
3356 | `args` | the tuple `(flag, ptr)` |
3357 | `args_type` | the type `::testing::tuple<bool, int*>` |
3358 | `return_type` | the type `int` |
3359 | `function_type` | the type `int(bool, int*)` |
3361 ## Writing New Parameterized Actions Quickly ##
3363 Sometimes you'll want to parameterize an action you define. For that
3364 we have another macro
3366 ACTION_P(name, param) { statements; }
3371 ACTION_P(Add, n) { return arg0 + n; }
3373 will allow you to write
3375 // Returns argument #0 + 5.
3376 ... WillOnce(Add(5));
3379 For convenience, we use the term _arguments_ for the values used to
3380 invoke the mock function, and the term _parameters_ for the values
3381 used to instantiate an action.
3383 Note that you don't need to provide the type of the parameter either.
3384 Suppose the parameter is named `param`, you can also use the
3385 Google-Mock-defined symbol `param_type` to refer to the type of the
3386 parameter as inferred by the compiler. For example, in the body of
3387 `ACTION_P(Add, n)` above, you can write `n_type` for the type of `n`.
3389 Google Mock also provides `ACTION_P2`, `ACTION_P3`, and etc to support
3390 multi-parameter actions. For example,
3392 ACTION_P2(ReturnDistanceTo, x, y) {
3393 double dx = arg0 - x;
3394 double dy = arg1 - y;
3395 return sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy);
3400 ... WillOnce(ReturnDistanceTo(5.0, 26.5));
3403 You can view `ACTION` as a degenerated parameterized action where the
3404 number of parameters is 0.
3406 You can also easily define actions overloaded on the number of parameters:
3408 ACTION_P(Plus, a) { ... }
3409 ACTION_P2(Plus, a, b) { ... }
3412 ## Restricting the Type of an Argument or Parameter in an ACTION ##
3414 For maximum brevity and reusability, the `ACTION*` macros don't ask
3415 you to provide the types of the mock function arguments and the action
3416 parameters. Instead, we let the compiler infer the types for us.
3418 Sometimes, however, we may want to be more explicit about the types.
3419 There are several tricks to do that. For example:
3422 // Makes sure arg0 can be converted to int.
3424 ... use n instead of arg0 here ...
3427 ACTION_P(Bar, param) {
3428 // Makes sure the type of arg1 is const char*.
3429 ::testing::StaticAssertTypeEq<const char*, arg1_type>();
3431 // Makes sure param can be converted to bool.
3435 where `StaticAssertTypeEq` is a compile-time assertion in Google Test
3436 that verifies two types are the same.
3438 ## Writing New Action Templates Quickly ##
3440 Sometimes you want to give an action explicit template parameters that
3441 cannot be inferred from its value parameters. `ACTION_TEMPLATE()`
3442 supports that and can be viewed as an extension to `ACTION()` and
3447 ACTION_TEMPLATE(ActionName,
3448 HAS_m_TEMPLATE_PARAMS(kind1, name1, ..., kind_m, name_m),
3449 AND_n_VALUE_PARAMS(p1, ..., p_n)) { statements; }
3452 defines an action template that takes _m_ explicit template parameters
3453 and _n_ value parameters, where _m_ is between 1 and 10, and _n_ is
3454 between 0 and 10. `name_i` is the name of the i-th template
3455 parameter, and `kind_i` specifies whether it's a `typename`, an
3456 integral constant, or a template. `p_i` is the name of the i-th value
3461 // DuplicateArg<k, T>(output) converts the k-th argument of the mock
3462 // function to type T and copies it to *output.
3463 ACTION_TEMPLATE(DuplicateArg,
3464 // Note the comma between int and k:
3465 HAS_2_TEMPLATE_PARAMS(int, k, typename, T),
3466 AND_1_VALUE_PARAMS(output)) {
3467 *output = T(::testing::get<k>(args));
3471 To create an instance of an action template, write:
3473 ActionName<t1, ..., t_m>(v1, ..., v_n)
3475 where the `t`s are the template arguments and the
3476 `v`s are the value arguments. The value argument
3477 types are inferred by the compiler. For example:
3482 EXPECT_CALL(mock, Foo(_, _))
3483 .WillOnce(DuplicateArg<1, unsigned char>(&n));
3486 If you want to explicitly specify the value argument types, you can
3487 provide additional template arguments:
3489 ActionName<t1, ..., t_m, u1, ..., u_k>(v1, ..., v_n)
3491 where `u_i` is the desired type of `v_i`.
3493 `ACTION_TEMPLATE` and `ACTION`/`ACTION_P*` can be overloaded on the
3494 number of value parameters, but not on the number of template
3495 parameters. Without the restriction, the meaning of the following is
3499 OverloadedAction<int, bool>(x);
3502 Are we using a single-template-parameter action where `bool` refers to
3503 the type of `x`, or a two-template-parameter action where the compiler
3504 is asked to infer the type of `x`?
3506 ## Using the ACTION Object's Type ##
3508 If you are writing a function that returns an `ACTION` object, you'll
3509 need to know its type. The type depends on the macro used to define
3510 the action and the parameter types. The rule is relatively simple:
3511 | **Given Definition** | **Expression** | **Has Type** |
3512 |:---------------------|:---------------|:-------------|
3513 | `ACTION(Foo)` | `Foo()` | `FooAction` |
3514 | `ACTION_TEMPLATE(Foo, HAS_m_TEMPLATE_PARAMS(...), AND_0_VALUE_PARAMS())` | `Foo<t1, ..., t_m>()` | `FooAction<t1, ..., t_m>` |
3515 | `ACTION_P(Bar, param)` | `Bar(int_value)` | `BarActionP<int>` |
3516 | `ACTION_TEMPLATE(Bar, HAS_m_TEMPLATE_PARAMS(...), AND_1_VALUE_PARAMS(p1))` | `Bar<t1, ..., t_m>(int_value)` | `FooActionP<t1, ..., t_m, int>` |
3517 | `ACTION_P2(Baz, p1, p2)` | `Baz(bool_value, int_value)` | `BazActionP2<bool, int>` |
3518 | `ACTION_TEMPLATE(Baz, HAS_m_TEMPLATE_PARAMS(...), AND_2_VALUE_PARAMS(p1, p2))` | `Baz<t1, ..., t_m>(bool_value, int_value)` | `FooActionP2<t1, ..., t_m, bool, int>` |
3521 Note that we have to pick different suffixes (`Action`, `ActionP`,
3522 `ActionP2`, and etc) for actions with different numbers of value
3523 parameters, or the action definitions cannot be overloaded on the
3526 ## Writing New Monomorphic Actions ##
3528 While the `ACTION*` macros are very convenient, sometimes they are
3529 inappropriate. For example, despite the tricks shown in the previous
3530 recipes, they don't let you directly specify the types of the mock
3531 function arguments and the action parameters, which in general leads
3532 to unoptimized compiler error messages that can baffle unfamiliar
3533 users. They also don't allow overloading actions based on parameter
3534 types without jumping through some hoops.
3536 An alternative to the `ACTION*` macros is to implement
3537 `::testing::ActionInterface<F>`, where `F` is the type of the mock
3538 function in which the action will be used. For example:
3541 template <typename F>class ActionInterface {
3543 virtual ~ActionInterface();
3545 // Performs the action. Result is the return type of function type
3546 // F, and ArgumentTuple is the tuple of arguments of F.
3548 // For example, if F is int(bool, const string&), then Result would
3549 // be int, and ArgumentTuple would be ::testing::tuple<bool, const string&>.
3550 virtual Result Perform(const ArgumentTuple& args) = 0;
3554 using ::testing::Action;
3555 using ::testing::ActionInterface;
3556 using ::testing::MakeAction;
3558 typedef int IncrementMethod(int*);
3560 class IncrementArgumentAction : public ActionInterface<IncrementMethod> {
3562 virtual int Perform(const ::testing::tuple<int*>& args) {
3563 int* p = ::testing::get<0>(args); // Grabs the first argument.
3568 Action<IncrementMethod> IncrementArgument() {
3569 return MakeAction(new IncrementArgumentAction);
3573 EXPECT_CALL(foo, Baz(_))
3574 .WillOnce(IncrementArgument());
3577 foo.Baz(&n); // Should return 5 and change n to 6.
3580 ## Writing New Polymorphic Actions ##
3582 The previous recipe showed you how to define your own action. This is
3583 all good, except that you need to know the type of the function in
3584 which the action will be used. Sometimes that can be a problem. For
3585 example, if you want to use the action in functions with _different_
3586 types (e.g. like `Return()` and `SetArgPointee()`).
3588 If an action can be used in several types of mock functions, we say
3589 it's _polymorphic_. The `MakePolymorphicAction()` function template
3590 makes it easy to define such an action:
3595 template <typename Impl>
3596 PolymorphicAction<Impl> MakePolymorphicAction(const Impl& impl);
3598 } // namespace testing
3601 As an example, let's define an action that returns the second argument
3602 in the mock function's argument list. The first step is to define an
3603 implementation class:
3606 class ReturnSecondArgumentAction {
3608 template <typename Result, typename ArgumentTuple>
3609 Result Perform(const ArgumentTuple& args) const {
3610 // To get the i-th (0-based) argument, use ::testing::get<i>(args).
3611 return ::testing::get<1>(args);
3616 This implementation class does _not_ need to inherit from any
3617 particular class. What matters is that it must have a `Perform()`
3618 method template. This method template takes the mock function's
3619 arguments as a tuple in a **single** argument, and returns the result of
3620 the action. It can be either `const` or not, but must be invokable
3621 with exactly one template argument, which is the result type. In other
3622 words, you must be able to call `Perform<R>(args)` where `R` is the
3623 mock function's return type and `args` is its arguments in a tuple.
3625 Next, we use `MakePolymorphicAction()` to turn an instance of the
3626 implementation class into the polymorphic action we need. It will be
3627 convenient to have a wrapper for this:
3630 using ::testing::MakePolymorphicAction;
3631 using ::testing::PolymorphicAction;
3633 PolymorphicAction<ReturnSecondArgumentAction> ReturnSecondArgument() {
3634 return MakePolymorphicAction(ReturnSecondArgumentAction());
3638 Now, you can use this polymorphic action the same way you use the
3644 class MockFoo : public Foo {
3646 MOCK_METHOD2(DoThis, int(bool flag, int n));
3647 MOCK_METHOD3(DoThat, string(int x, const char* str1, const char* str2));
3652 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThis(_, _))
3653 .WillOnce(ReturnSecondArgument());
3654 EXPECT_CALL(foo, DoThat(_, _, _))
3655 .WillOnce(ReturnSecondArgument());
3657 foo.DoThis(true, 5); // Will return 5.
3658 foo.DoThat(1, "Hi", "Bye"); // Will return "Hi".
3661 ## Teaching Google Mock How to Print Your Values ##
3663 When an uninteresting or unexpected call occurs, Google Mock prints the
3664 argument values and the stack trace to help you debug. Assertion
3665 macros like `EXPECT_THAT` and `EXPECT_EQ` also print the values in
3666 question when the assertion fails. Google Mock and Google Test do this using
3667 Google Test's user-extensible value printer.
3669 This printer knows how to print built-in C++ types, native arrays, STL
3670 containers, and any type that supports the `<<` operator. For other
3671 types, it prints the raw bytes in the value and hopes that you the
3672 user can figure it out.
3673 [Google Test's advanced guide](../../googletest/docs/AdvancedGuide.md#teaching-google-test-how-to-print-your-values)
3674 explains how to extend the printer to do a better job at
3675 printing your particular type than to dump the bytes.