Tagged Questions
67
votes
11answers
6k views
Is there a reason that tests aren't written inline with the code that they test?
I've been reading a bit about Literate Programming recently, and it got me thinking... Well-written tests, especially BDD-style specs can do a better job at explaining what code does than prose does, ...
62
votes
16answers
5k views
When is unit testing inappropriate or unnecessary? [duplicate]
It seems to be generally assumed (on Stack Overflow at least) that there should always be unit tests, and they should be kept up to date. But I suspect the programmers making these assertions ...
51
votes
11answers
5k views
Is it a bad practice to modify code strictly for testing purposes
I have a debate with a programmer colleague about whether it is a good or bad practice to modify a working piece of code only to make it testable (via unit tests for example).
My opinion is that it ...
46
votes
6answers
4k views
65.000.000.000 tests to run
I was asked about how to run a suite of 65.000.000.000 tests and I wonder if it is normal to have a project with such a huge amount of tests.
Have you worked in projects with this characteristic?
41
votes
10answers
3k views
How should I test randomness?
Consider a method to randomly shuffle elements in an array. How would you write a simple yet robust unit test to make sure that this is working?
I've come up with two ideas, both of which have ...
37
votes
10answers
3k views
(Why) is it important that a unit test not test dependencies?
I understand the value of automated testing and use it wherever the problem is well-specified enough that I can come up with good test cases. I've noticed, though, that some people here and on ...
37
votes
11answers
6k views
What are the disadvantages of automated testing?
There are a number of questions on this site that give plenty of information about the benefits that can be gained from automated testing. But I didn't see anything that represented the other side of ...
21
votes
5answers
1k views
Do unit tests sometimes break encapsulation?
I very often hear the following: "If you want to test private methods, you'd better put that in another class and expose it."
While sometimes that's the case and we have a hiding concept inside our ...
20
votes
7answers
3k views
Automated unit testing, integration testing or acceptance testing
TDD and unit testing seems to be the big rave at the moment. But it is really that useful compared to other forms of automated testing?
Intuitively I would guess that automated integration testing is ...
18
votes
4answers
914 views
Unit testing best practices for a unit testing newbie
In recent years, I have only written small components for people in larger projects or small tools. I have never written a unit test and it always seems like learning how to write them and actually ...
18
votes
3answers
1k views
Are asserts or unit tests more important?
Both asserts and unit tests serve as documentation for a codebase, and a means of discovering bugs. The main differences are that asserts function as sanity checks and see real inputs, whereas unit ...
18
votes
6answers
959 views
How to explain the value of unit testing
I want to introduce the concept of unit tests (and testing in general) to my co-workers; right now there are no tests at all and things are tested by actually performing the tasks via the UI to see ...
17
votes
11answers
990 views
At what point would you drop some of your principles of software development for the sake of more money?
I'd like to throw this question out there to interestingly see where the medium is.
I'm going to admit that in my last 12 months, I picked up TDD and a lot of the Agile values in software ...
17
votes
8answers
985 views
What are the disadvantages of writing code before writing unit tests?
I have always seen the recommendation that we should first write unit tests and then start writing code. But I feel that going the other way is much more comfortable (for me) - write code and then the ...
14
votes
6answers
1k views
Should we test all our methods?
So today I had a talk with my teammate about unit testing. The whole thing started when he asked me "hey, where are the tests for that class, I see only one?". The whole class was a manager (or a ...
