diff --git a/Doc/library/unittest.mock-examples.rst b/Doc/library/unittest.mock-examples.rst index 00cc9bfc0a5f2b..e2b0322dae0407 100644 --- a/Doc/library/unittest.mock-examples.rst +++ b/Doc/library/unittest.mock-examples.rst @@ -743,16 +743,15 @@ exception is raised in the setUp then tearDown is not called. Mocking Unbound Methods ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Whilst writing tests today I needed to patch an *unbound method* (patching the -method on the class rather than on the instance). I needed self to be passed -in as the first argument because I want to make asserts about which objects -were calling this particular method. The issue is that you can't patch with a -mock for this, because if you replace an unbound method with a mock it doesn't -become a bound method when fetched from the instance, and so it doesn't get -self passed in. The workaround is to patch the unbound method with a real -function instead. The :func:`patch` decorator makes it so simple to -patch out methods with a mock that having to create a real function becomes a -nuisance. +Sometimes a test needs to patch an *unbound method*, which means patching the +method on the class rather than on the instance. In order to make assertions +about which objects were calling this particular method, you need to pass +``self`` as the first argument. The issue is that you can't patch with a mock for +this, because if you replace an unbound method with a mock it doesn't become +a bound method when fetched from the instance, and so it doesn't get ``self`` +passed in. The workaround is to patch the unbound method with a real function +instead. The :func:`patch` decorator makes it so simple to patch out methods +with a mock that having to create a real function becomes a nuisance. If you pass ``autospec=True`` to patch then it does the patching with a *real* function object. This function object has the same signature as the one @@ -760,8 +759,8 @@ it is replacing, but delegates to a mock under the hood. You still get your mock auto-created in exactly the same way as before. What it means though, is that if you use it to patch out an unbound method on a class the mocked function will be turned into a bound method if it is fetched from an instance. -It will have ``self`` passed in as the first argument, which is exactly what I -wanted: +It will have ``self`` passed in as the first argument, which is exactly what +was needed: >>> class Foo: ... def foo(self):