Mocking Pythons requests Module for Simulated API Interactions

In our quest to comprehensively test Python code that interacts with APIs, effectively mocking the requests module is crucial. Here's a step-by-step approach to mocking requests.get() calls with custom responses:

Step 1: Mocking the Requests Module

Utilizing Python's mock package, we define our custom function (mocked_requests_get) to override requests.get(). This function returns mock responses based on the URL provided. In our example, different URLs will receive specific responses:

def mocked_requests_get(*args, **kwargs):
    if args[0] == 'aurl':
        return 'a response'
    elif args[0] == 'burl':
        return 'b response'
    elif args[0] == 'curl':
        return 'c response'

Step 2: Mocking in the Test Class

In our test class, we apply the mock to the requests module using unittest.mock.patch():

@mock.patch('requests.get', side_effect=mocked_requests_get)

This decorator wraps our test method, ensuring that requests.get is mocked with our custom function.

Step 3: Calling the View and Verifying Responses

We invoke the view function as usual and verify the expected responses. Our mock function guarantees that the responses match the custom responses we defined earlier:

res1 = requests.get('aurl')
assert res1 == 'a response'
res2 = request.get('burl')
assert res2 == 'b response'
res3 = request.get('curl')
assert res3 == 'c response'

By following these steps, you can effectively mock the requests module in your Python tests, allowing you to simulate various API responses and thoroughly test your code's behavior in different scenarios.