The last few weeks of class have all been about Test Driven Development. Test Driven Development is when you use tests in order to guide you into developing software. According to a website called martinfowler, there are three main steps that we follow repeatedly. Those steps are:
- “Write a test for the next bit of functionality you want to add.
- Write the functional code until the test passes.
- Refactor both new and old code to make it well structured.”
Essentially what this means is you create a list of things that you want included in your test, then you create a test for just one of those items. Once you create the test, you implement the code in order to get the test to pass. Once it passes, then you move on to creating the next test and getting that test to pass. If it causes the previous test you fail, you refractor until all of the current tests pass, then you repeat until all of the items you need are done. I personally find writing the test first to be a lot easier than writing the code first. That way, while you’re creating the code, you have an example to look back at so you know exactly what you want it to do. On top of that, focusing on one part of the code at a time makes it a little easier to develop the code without making mistakes, as you aren’t focusing on the entire program at once, just one small part at a time. According to the article, this form of development has two main benefits. It says “Most obviously it’s a way to get SelfTestingCode, since we can only write some functional code in response to making a test pass. The second benefit is that thinking about the test first forces us to think about the interface to the code first. This focus on interface and how you use a class helps us separate interface from implementation, a key element of good design that many programmers struggle with.” I chose this article as my source because I thought it did it a really good job explaining what to do step by step so you don’t get confused. On top of that, it explains the benefits and consequences of this method and how to avoid/achieve them. This article helped me further understand Test Driven Development and why it is useful.
Source: https://martinfowler.com/bliki/TestDrivenDevelopment.html
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