1.1 Test Driven Development

     

Unit test frameworks are a key element of Test Driven Development (TDD), also known as "test-first programming." TDD is one of the most significant and widely used practices in Extreme Programming (XP) and other Agile Development methodologies. Test frameworks achieve their maximum utility when used to enable TDD, although they still are useful when TDD is not followed. This book concentrates on unit test frameworks as a family of tools, rather than specifically on TDD, but the two topics are closely related .

The key rule of TDD can be summarized as "test twice, code once," by analogy to the carpenter 's rule of "measure twice, cut once." "Test twice, code once" refers to the three-step procedure involved in any code change:

  1. Write a test of the new code and see it fail.

  2. Write the new code, doing "the simplest thing that could possibly work."

  3. See the test succeed, and refactor the code.

These three basic steps are the TDD cycle .

Step 1 is to write a test, run it, and verify the resulting failure. The failure is important because it validates that the test fails as expected. It is often tempting to skip running the test and seeing the failure. Don't.

In Step 2, code is written to make the test succeed. A wise guideline is doing "the simplest thing that could possibly work." This may be a completely trivial implementation, such as having the new code return a constant value or copying and pasting code from one place to another. It doesn't have to be pretty; it just has to pass the test. The temptation in this step is to do a little extra work and make some additional code change not directly related to passing the test. Again, don't do this.

In Step 3, the test succeeds, verifying both the new code and its test. At this point, the new code may be refactored. Refactoring is a software engineering concept defined as "behavior- preserving transformation." More formally , refactoring is the process of transforming code to improve its internal design without changing its external functionality. Within the TDD cycle, refactoring starts with the inelegant code that was written to pass the unit test and improves it by removing duplication or other ugliness. Since the unit test is in place, the details of how the code is implemented can be altered with confidence.

New code should only be written when a test fails. Code changes are only expected to occur when you are refactoring, adding new functionality, or debugging. Continuously repeating the TDD cycle is the most atomic level of the software development process. Software changes generally fall under two categories: adding new functionality or fixing bugs .

When adding new functionality, the first step is always to write a unit test that anticipates and uses the new code. After the unit test runs and fails, add the new code and re-test to verify success. The unit test has value aside from simply demonstrating that the new functionality works. Writing the test forces you to think in advance about the ideal design of the new code. Thus, in a sneaky and subtle way, TDD makes all new development part of a methodical, low-level software design process. Once the new unit test and functionality are in place, the unit test serves as the definitive, working example of how the new code is supposed to be used. For these reasons, time spent writing unit tests is not solely testing effort. Investments in testing are equal investments in design.

When debugging, you should first write a unit test that fails because of the bug. This is a useful effort in itself, because it determines exactly how the bug occurs. Once the unit test is in place and failing, fix the bug and re-run the test to verify that the bug is closed. Aside from fixing the bug, this process has the additional benefit of creating a test that will catch it. If the bug is ever re-introduced, the test will fail and highlight the problem.

By following the TDD cycle, you can come as close as humanly possible to writing flawless code on the first tryin other words, "code once." The process gives you a clear indication that a piece of work is done. When a new unit test is written and then fails, the task is halfway completed. You cannot move on to something else until the test succeeds.



Unit Test Frameworks
Unit Test Frameworks
ISBN: 0596006896
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 146
Authors: Paul Hamill

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