A method stub
is a short and simple placeholder for a
method
Method (, methodos, from μετά/meta "in pursuit or quest of" + ὁδός/hodos "a method, system; a way or manner" of doing, saying, etc.), literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In re ...
that is not yet written for production needs. Generally, a method stub contains just enough code to allow it to be used a declaration with any parameters, and if applicable, a return value.
A method stub may be used to implement an
interface that is defined but for which the implementation is not available.
Example
In the following example
pseudocode
In computer science, pseudocode is a description of the steps in an algorithm using a mix of conventions of programming languages (like assignment operator, conditional operator, loop) with informal, usually self-explanatory, notation of actio ...
, the function returns a particular value even though ultimately it is supposed to read a value from a
hardware source. It returns a valid value, allowing consuming code to be runnable. The function ignores the input
parameter
A parameter (), generally, is any characteristic that can help in defining or classifying a particular system (meaning an event, project, object, situation, etc.). That is, a parameter is an element of a system that is useful, or critical, when ...
which is common for a stub.
function ReadThermometer(Source source)
return 28
end function
Related
Distributed computing
In
distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems, defined as computer systems whose inter-communicating components are located on different networked computers.
The components of a distributed system commu ...
, ''stub'' is like a
mock object
In computer science, a mock object is an object that imitates a production object in limited ways.
A programmer might use a mock object as a test double for software testing. A mock object can also be used in generic programming.
Analogy
A mo ...
simulates existing code, such as a
procedure on a remote machine. Such stubs can be useful in
porting
In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desig ...
.
In
RMI nomenclature, a stub on the client-side communicates with a
skeleton
A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ...
on the server-side.
Windows/DOS
In
Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
DOS, ''stub'' is like a
shim small interface code left in
conventional memory
In DOS memory management, conventional memory, also called base memory, is the first 640 kilobytes of the memory on IBM PC or compatible systems. It is the read-write memory directly addressable by the processor for use by the operating system ...
by
self-relocating resident drivers which move most of themselves into
upper memory, the
high memory area
In DOS memory management, the high memory area (HMA) is the RAM area consisting of the first 65520 bytes above the one megabyte in an IBM AT or compatible computer.
In real mode, the segmentation architecture of the Intel 8086 and subseque ...
,
expanded or
extended memory as well as similar stubs to allow the relocated code to communicate with
real-mode
Real mode, also called real address mode, is an operating mode of all x86-compatible CPUs. The mode gets its name from the fact that addresses in real mode always correspond to real locations in memory. Real mode is characterized by a 20- bit ...
DOS in conjunction with
DOS extender
A DOS extender is a computer software program running under DOS that enables software to run in a protected mode environment even though the host operating system is only capable of operating in real mode.
DOS extenders were initially developed ...
s (like
DPMI,
DPMS,
CLOAKING or
NIOS).
See also
*
Abstract method
A method in object-oriented programming (OOP) is a procedure associated with an object, and generally also a message. An object consists of ''state data'' and ''behavior''; these compose an ''interface'', which specifies how the object may be u ...
*
Mock object
In computer science, a mock object is an object that imitates a production object in limited ways.
A programmer might use a mock object as a test double for software testing. A mock object can also be used in generic programming.
Analogy
A mo ...
*
Dummy code
*
Test stub
*
Glue code
In computer programming, glue code is code that allows components to interoperate that otherwise are incompatible. The adapter pattern describes glue code as a software design pattern.
Glue code describes language bindings or foreign function ...
*
Shim (computing)
In computer programming, a shim is a library that transparently intercepts API calls and changes the arguments passed, handles the operation itself or redirects the operation elsewhere. Shims can be used to support an old API in a newer e ...
*
DOS stub
References
{{reflist
External links
A Stub Generation System For C++(PDF)
Review and comparison of stub & mock frameworks for Java
Unit testing
Computer programming folklore
Software development