Fixture
In plain terms
A fixed baseline state or data set for tests.
Going deeper
A test fixture sets up known data or conditions so tests run consistently and repeatably. It provides a controlled starting point.
Under the hood
Setup/teardown manage fixtures; shared fixtures speed tests but can introduce coupling.
Examples
Seed data, test setup, pytest fixtures, sample files, database snapshots.
Think of it like...
Like arranging a stage exactly the same way before every rehearsal.