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MockClock — mock clock with virtual sleep

Purpose

Like FrozenClock but additionally implements SleepableClockInterface: sleep() instantly advances virtual time without blocking the process.

What for and how to use

Test retry/backoff, polling and timeouts in milliseconds: the code “sleeps”, the clock advances, the test never waits.

Example

$clock = MockClock::from('2026-01-01 00:00:00', 'UTC');
$retry = new RetryPolicy($clock);  // the code under test calls sleep()
$retry->run();                      // instant: the sleep is virtual
$clock->sleepUntil(new DateTimeImmutable('2026-01-01 00:05:00'));

Anti-patterns

Do not mix with real delays (usleep) in one scenario — the timelines diverge.

Lifecycle

sequenceDiagram
    participant T as Test
    participant C as MockClock
    participant S as Service
    T->>C: from('2026-01-01')
    T->>S: run()
    S->>C: sleep(30)
    C-->>S: instantly (+30s virtual)
    S->>C: now()
    C-->>S: 00:00:30

Feature comparison with competitors

Aspect	🏆 CloudCastle	symfony	carbon	lcobucci	beste	ergebnis
Virtual `sleep()` without blocking	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
`sleepUntil()` until a moment	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Backward shifts (`rewind`)	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
Isolation without global state	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
Total	🏆 4	2	0	1	1	1

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