Unit Testing

One of the most disturbing questions I often get refers to the percentage of the code that should be covered by unit tests. This is a perfectly fine question coming from a fairly inexperienced developer, but it troubles me greatly in virtually any other case. However, what urged me to write this post is that I gradually become aware of more and more organizations that actually impose rules on this metric. ...

Over the years, I have identified a number of issues with the way most companies treat their tests. I have come to believe that the most important one is that test code is treated as a second class citizen. Developers usually opt for the cheap, quick-and-dirty solutions when it comes to writing (or maintaining) tests, not realizing their importance. However, test code has to be designed, reviewed and refactored, exactly like production code. ...

As part of the onboarding process of every new developer in Tripsta, I am required to deliver a training on unit testing basics. I would like to share the most valuable techniques, methodologies and best practices that I have collected over the years. I believe that they constitute the pillars of a solid foundation that every developer should have. It may be a bit unconventional (the way I love it), but before we even start, let me clarify the two most important things that tests are not. ...