> If you can't monkey-patch the getDate function with a mock in a testing context because your language won't allow it, that's a language smell, not a pattern s

> If you can't monkey-patch the getDate function with a mock in a testing context because your language won't allow it, that's a language smell, not a pattern smell. Of course you can do it in Java. But it is widely considered poor practice, for good reason, and is generally avoided.