Test-driven development: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:50, 22 July 2004

Revision as of 05:51, 22 July 2004

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'''Test-driven development''' (TDD) is a programming technique heavily emphasized in [[Extreme Programming]]. Essentially the technique involves writing your tests first then implementing the code to make them pass. The goal of TDD is to achieve rapid feedback and implements the "illustrate the main line" approach to constructing a program.

In order for TDD to work in practice, the system must be flexible enough to allow for automated [[unit-automated testing]] of code. These tests must also be simple enough to return a simple true or false evaluation of correctness. These properties allow for rapid feedback.

TDD offers more than just simple validation of correctness, but can also drive the design of a program. By focusing on the testcases first, one must imagine how the functionality will be used by clients (in this case, the testcases). Therefore, the programmer is only concerned with the interface and not the implementation.