Category Archives: TDD

Why mock objects aren’t popular this week

The field of software engineering doesn’t change particularly quickly. Tastes in software engineering change all the time: keeping up with them can quickly result in seasickness or even whiplash. For example, at the moment it’s popular to want to do … Continue reading

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More on UIAutomation tests

Update The information below is mostly redundant. After filing a bug report with Apple, their engineers determined that the Xcode-detected set of macro actions (find a text field, double click, enter text) weren’t working because the double click action wasn’t … Continue reading

Posted in AAPL, Mac, TDD, tool-support | Leave a comment

given-when-then in XCTest

I started writing a new Mac app, and I started doing it by driving the implementation through Xcode UI Automation tests. But then it turned out I was driving the test infrastructure as much as the tests, and it’s that … Continue reading

Posted in Swift, TDD, UI | 3 Comments

To become a beginner, first become an expert

We have a whole load of practices in programming that only really work well if you’re already good at whatever the process is supposed to help with. Scrum is a process improvement framework, but only if you already know how … Continue reading

Posted in advancement of the self, software-engineering, TDD, tool-support | 2 Comments

Working Effectively with Legacy Code

I gave a talk to my team at ARM today on Working Effectively with Legacy Code by Michael Feathers. Here are some notes I made in preparation, which are somewhat related to the talk I gave. This may be the … Continue reading

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Yes, you may delete tests

A frequently-presented objection to the concept of writing automated tests is that it ossifies the implementation of the system under test. “If I’ve got all the tests you’re proposing,” I hear, “then I won’t be able to make any changes … Continue reading

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Contractually-obligated testing

About a billion years ago, Bertrand Meyer (he of Open-Closed Principle fame) introduced a programming language called Eiffel. It had a feature called Design by Contract, that let you define constraints that your program had to adhere to in execution. … Continue reading

Posted in architecture of sorts, code-level, OOP, TDD | 1 Comment

Reflections on “Is TDD Dead”

The first thing I noticed that I needed to change as a result of watching the Is TDD Dead? series is that I started out with a defensive mindset. If I believe in the dogma of a rule, then presumably … Continue reading

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Is TDD Dead? My questions

These are my questions for parts 5 and 6 of Is TDD Dead?. I’d like to start by thanking the panellists for publishing their discussions. TDD the Principle Kent and Martin, why is it that you practise test-driven development? What … Continue reading

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I use mocks and I’m happy with that

Both Kent Beck and Martin Fowler have said that they don’t use mock objects in their test-driven development. I do. I use them mostly for the sense described first in my BNR blog post on Mock Objects, namely to stand … Continue reading

Posted in code-level, OOP, TDD, TDiOSD | 1 Comment