Method stub and skeleton

stub:桩；存根  skeleton:框架；骨架

A method stub or simply stub in software development is a piece of code used to stand in for some other programming functionality. A stub may simulate the behavior of existing code (such as a procedure on a remote machine) or be a temporary substitute for yet-to-be-developed code. Stubs are therefore most useful in distributed computing in addition to general software development and testing.

A stub is this:

public String someMethod(int i) {
  // yet to be implemented
  return "a String";
} 

Just a method that's declared, but not implemented. Skeleton IIRC is a class consisting of stubs.

> >Skeleton IIRC is a class consisting of stubs.
>
> IIRC ?

If I Remember Correctly.

No, the method's not implemented. It's just declared, and not in an interface, but not in a class. It has no usable body and always returns the same value. Would you think that

public Date getDateFromDatabaseTable(int key) {
  // TODO needs to be implemented
  return new Date();
} 

counts as a valid implementation? Nope. But you might need the method in your design, to test your other classes or to implement an interface that requires it, even though the database isn't set up yet. It's simply a very minimal method declaration just so the compiler won't complain.
> It's just declared,
> and not in an interface, but in a class.