What is mocking/stubbing in the context of integration testing?

Short answer: Mocking/stubbing replaces external dependencies like web services or message queues with controlled test doubles to isolate the parts under test and control external behavior without invoking real services.

Real-world example (ShopNest)

When testing ShopNest’s order service, mock IPaymentGateway so tests do not call Razorpay.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.