faker vs mock-fs vs @ngneat/falso
Data Generation and Mocking Libraries Comparison
1 Year
fakermock-fs@ngneat/falsoSimilar Packages:
What's Data Generation and Mocking Libraries?

Data generation and mocking libraries are essential tools in web development, particularly for testing and prototyping. They help developers create realistic data sets and simulate file systems, which can be invaluable for testing applications without relying on real data or external services. These libraries streamline the development process by providing pre-built functions for generating various types of data, allowing developers to focus on building features rather than creating test data from scratch.

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faker2,309,268-10.1 MB--MIT
mock-fs814,429918107 kB703 months agoMIT
@ngneat/falso470,5993,2891.16 MB164 months agoMIT
Feature Comparison: faker vs mock-fs vs @ngneat/falso

Data Generation Flexibility

  • faker:

    faker offers a comprehensive set of data generation functions covering a wide array of data types, including personal information, addresses, and even company details. It allows for extensive customization, enabling users to generate data that closely resembles real-world scenarios.

  • mock-fs:

    mock-fs focuses on simulating file system operations, allowing developers to create a virtual file structure. This enables testing of file reading, writing, and manipulation without affecting the actual file system, providing a safe environment for file-related tests.

  • @ngneat/falso:

    @ngneat/falso provides a highly flexible API that allows developers to generate various types of data, such as names, addresses, and custom data structures, with ease. It supports TypeScript, ensuring type safety and better integration in TypeScript projects.

Ease of Use

  • faker:

    faker has a slightly steeper learning curve due to its extensive features, but its documentation is thorough, making it accessible for developers. Once familiar, users can leverage its powerful capabilities to generate complex datasets efficiently.

  • mock-fs:

    mock-fs is easy to use for developers familiar with Node.js file operations. Its API mimics the native file system API, allowing for a smooth transition when writing tests for file interactions.

  • @ngneat/falso:

    @ngneat/falso is designed to be user-friendly, with a straightforward API that allows developers to quickly generate data without extensive setup. Its modern syntax and TypeScript support make it easy to integrate into existing projects.

Community and Support

  • faker:

    faker has a large and active community, providing extensive resources, tutorials, and support. Its long-standing presence in the industry means that many developers are familiar with it, making it easier to find help and examples.

  • mock-fs:

    mock-fs, while not as widely known as faker, has a dedicated user base and is well-documented. It is often recommended for testing file system interactions, and its simplicity makes it a reliable choice for developers.

  • @ngneat/falso:

    @ngneat/falso is relatively new compared to others but is gaining traction in the developer community. Its TypeScript-first approach is appealing to modern JavaScript developers, and it has a growing number of contributors and users.

Performance

  • faker:

    faker can generate large datasets, but performance may vary based on the complexity of the data being generated. It is generally efficient, but developers should be mindful of performance when generating extremely large datasets.

  • mock-fs:

    mock-fs performs well for simulating file system operations, but the performance can depend on the complexity of the file structure being mocked. It is designed to handle typical use cases efficiently.

  • @ngneat/falso:

    @ngneat/falso is optimized for performance, allowing for quick data generation even in large volumes. Its lightweight nature ensures minimal impact on application performance during testing.

TypeScript Support

  • faker:

    faker has TypeScript support, but it may not be as comprehensive as @ngneat/falso. Developers using TypeScript may need to rely on community definitions or additional type declarations for certain features.

  • mock-fs:

    mock-fs also supports TypeScript, allowing developers to write type-safe tests when simulating file system operations. Its API is designed to be intuitive for TypeScript users.

  • @ngneat/falso:

    @ngneat/falso is built with TypeScript in mind, providing excellent type definitions that enhance developer experience and reduce runtime errors in TypeScript projects.

How to Choose: faker vs mock-fs vs @ngneat/falso
  • faker:

    Choose faker if you are looking for a well-established library with a rich set of features for generating a variety of fake data types. It is widely used in the industry and has a large community, making it a reliable choice for generating comprehensive datasets for testing and development purposes.

  • mock-fs:

    Choose mock-fs if you need to simulate a file system for testing purposes. It allows you to create a virtual file system, enabling you to test file operations without affecting the actual file system. This is particularly useful for applications that heavily interact with the file system.

  • @ngneat/falso:

    Choose @ngneat/falso if you need a modern, TypeScript-friendly library that emphasizes simplicity and speed in generating fake data. It offers a wide range of customizable data generation options and is particularly useful for projects that require a quick setup and a focus on type safety.

README for faker

faker.js - generate massive amounts of fake data in the browser and node.js

Faker.js

Build Status Coverage Status

npm version

OpenCollective OpenCollective Gitter chat

Demo

https://rawgit.com/Marak/faker.js/master/examples/browser/index.html

Faker Cloud

Don't have a local development setup ready?

Try our hosted version of Faker at https://fakercloud.com/api

https://github.com/faker/faker-cloud

Usage

Browser

    <script src = "faker.js" type = "text/javascript"></script>
    <script>
      var randomName = faker.name.findName(); // Caitlyn Kerluke
      var randomEmail = faker.internet.email(); // Rusty@arne.info
      var randomCard = faker.helpers.createCard(); // random contact card containing many properties
    </script>

Node.js

    var faker = require('faker');

    var randomName = faker.name.findName(); // Rowan Nikolaus
    var randomEmail = faker.internet.email(); // Kassandra.Haley@erich.biz
    var randomCard = faker.helpers.createCard(); // random contact card containing many properties

API

JSDoc API Browser

http://marak.github.io/faker.js/

API Methods

  • address
    • zipCode
    • zipCodeByState
    • city
    • cityPrefix
    • citySuffix
    • cityName
    • streetName
    • streetAddress
    • streetSuffix
    • streetPrefix
    • secondaryAddress
    • county
    • country
    • countryCode
    • state
    • stateAbbr
    • latitude
    • longitude
    • direction
    • cardinalDirection
    • ordinalDirection
    • nearbyGPSCoordinate
    • timeZone
  • animal
    • dog
    • cat
    • snake
    • bear
    • lion
    • cetacean
    • horse
    • bird
    • cow
    • fish
    • crocodilia
    • insect
    • rabbit
    • type
  • commerce
    • color
    • department
    • productName
    • price
    • productAdjective
    • productMaterial
    • product
    • productDescription
  • company
    • suffixes
    • companyName
    • companySuffix
    • catchPhrase
    • bs
    • catchPhraseAdjective
    • catchPhraseDescriptor
    • catchPhraseNoun
    • bsAdjective
    • bsBuzz
    • bsNoun
  • database
    • column
    • type
    • collation
    • engine
  • datatype
    • number
    • float
    • datetime
    • string
    • uuid
    • boolean
    • hexaDecimal
    • json
    • array
  • date
    • past
    • future
    • between
    • betweens
    • recent
    • soon
    • month
    • weekday
  • fake
  • finance
    • account
    • accountName
    • routingNumber
    • mask
    • amount
    • transactionType
    • currencyCode
    • currencyName
    • currencySymbol
    • bitcoinAddress
    • litecoinAddress
    • creditCardNumber
    • creditCardCVV
    • ethereumAddress
    • iban
    • bic
    • transactionDescription
  • git
    • branch
    • commitEntry
    • commitMessage
    • commitSha
    • shortSha
  • hacker
    • abbreviation
    • adjective
    • noun
    • verb
    • ingverb
    • phrase
  • helpers
    • randomize
    • slugify
    • replaceSymbolWithNumber
    • replaceSymbols
    • replaceCreditCardSymbols
    • repeatString
    • regexpStyleStringParse
    • shuffle
    • mustache
    • createCard
    • contextualCard
    • userCard
    • createTransaction
  • image
    • image
    • avatar
    • imageUrl
    • abstract
    • animals
    • business
    • cats
    • city
    • food
    • nightlife
    • fashion
    • people
    • nature
    • sports
    • technics
    • transport
    • dataUri
    • lorempixel
    • unsplash
    • lorempicsum
  • internet
    • avatar
    • email
    • exampleEmail
    • userName
    • protocol
    • httpMethod
    • url
    • domainName
    • domainSuffix
    • domainWord
    • ip
    • ipv6
    • port
    • userAgent
    • color
    • mac
    • password
  • lorem
    • word
    • words
    • sentence
    • slug
    • sentences
    • paragraph
    • paragraphs
    • text
    • lines
  • mersenne
    • rand
    • seed
    • seed_array
  • music
    • genre
  • name
    • firstName
    • lastName
    • middleName
    • findName
    • jobTitle
    • gender
    • prefix
    • suffix
    • title
    • jobDescriptor
    • jobArea
    • jobType
  • phone
    • phoneNumber
    • phoneNumberFormat
    • phoneFormats
  • random
    • number
    • float
    • arrayElement
    • arrayElements
    • objectElement
    • uuid
    • boolean
    • word
    • words
    • image
    • locale
    • alpha
    • alphaNumeric
    • hexaDecimal
  • system
    • fileName
    • commonFileName
    • mimeType
    • commonFileType
    • commonFileExt
    • fileType
    • fileExt
    • directoryPath
    • filePath
    • semver
  • time
    • recent
  • unique
  • vehicle
    • vehicle
    • manufacturer
    • model
    • type
    • fuel
    • vin
    • color
    • vrm
    • bicycle

Faker.fake()

faker.js contains a super useful generator method Faker.fake for combining faker API methods using a mustache string format.

Example:

console.log(faker.fake("{{name.lastName}}, {{name.firstName}} {{name.suffix}}"));
// outputs: "Marks, Dean Sr."

This will interpolate the format string with the value of methods name.lastName(), name.firstName(), and name.suffix()

Localization

As of version v2.0.0 faker.js has support for multiple localities.

The default language locale is set to English.

Setting a new locale is simple:

// sets locale to de
faker.locale = "de";
  • az
  • ar
  • cz
  • de
  • de_AT
  • de_CH
  • en
  • en_AU
  • en_AU_ocker
  • en_BORK
  • en_CA
  • en_GB
  • en_IE
  • en_IND
  • en_US
  • en_ZA
  • es
  • es_MX
  • fa
  • fi
  • fr
  • fr_CA
  • fr_CH
  • ge
  • hy
  • hr
  • id_ID
  • it
  • ja
  • ko
  • nb_NO
  • ne
  • nl
  • nl_BE
  • pl
  • pt_BR
  • pt_PT
  • ro
  • ru
  • sk
  • sv
  • tr
  • uk
  • vi
  • zh_CN
  • zh_TW

Individual Localization Packages

faker.js supports incremental loading of locales.

By default, requiring faker will include all locale data.

In a production environment, you may only want to include the locale data for a specific set of locales.

// loads only de locale
var faker = require('faker/locale/de');

Setting a randomness seed

If you want consistent results, you can set your own seed:

faker.seed(123);

var firstRandom = faker.datatype.number();

// Setting the seed again resets the sequence.
faker.seed(123);

var secondRandom = faker.datatype.number();

console.log(firstRandom === secondRandom);

Tests

npm install .
make test

You can view a code coverage report generated in coverage/lcov-report/index.html.

Building faker.js

faker uses gulp to automate its build process. Each build operation is a separate task which can be run independently.

Browser Bundle

npm run browser

Building JSDocs

JSDOC v3 HTML API documentation

npm run jsdoc

Building ReadMe

The ReadMe.md file for faker.js is automatically generated and should not be modified directly. All updates to ReadMe.md should be performed in ./build/src/docs.md and then the build script should be run.

npm run readme

Version Release Schedule

faker.js is a popular project used by many organizations and individuals in production settings. Major and Minor version releases are generally on a monthly schedule. Bugs fixes are addressed by severity and fixed as soon as possible.

If you require the absolute latest version of faker.js the master branch @ http://github.com/marak/faker.js/ should always be up to date and working.

Maintainer

Marak Squires

faker.js - Copyright (c) 2020 Marak Squires www.marak.com http://github.com/marak/faker.js/

faker.js was inspired by and has used data definitions from:

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Backers

Support us with a monthly donation and help us continue our activities. [Become a backer]

Sponsors

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