Ram wrote: > <Yikes!> > > ok that was some intense stuff. I dint understand a lot of stuff going > around because, as established before, I dont have experience writing > tests. > But the following are the things Im taking out of this discussion. > > - jump in the dirt. Do TDD for your existing app by starting all over > again if you have to. Thats the only way to go (?) / thats the best > way to go to become a better programmer (?)
Starting over, as Phlip suggested, is pretty drastic, but it *will* make sure that everything is tested. > > - i dont *absolutely* need any external tools besides test::unit. Right, although you should try RSpec as a replacement for Test::Unit and see which you prefer. > I > probably would use the right tools if i ever felt the need for them in > the first place Huh? > > - use fixtures when I have to test something that uses complex > associations between models. especially when the alternative is to > spend a lot of time and brain on mocking/stubbing them instead. (I > have to mention I dont know the difference/similarities/functions of > mocking and stubbing completely) Check out Martin Fowler's article "Mocks aren't Stubs", as well as the RSpec docs. There's also a hell of a lot of info in the wiki at c2.com, though some of it may not apply to what you're doing... > > - i dont have any client documentation to show for these tests. theyre > only for the sake of testing my code itself. So ill skip over RSpec > and Cucumber (until i feel a need for them) Cucumber is definitely for client-documentation-type tests. RSpec, however, is useful as a replacement for Test::Unit if (like me) you find that it's easier to use it for unit tests. (Phlip's characterization of RSpec is IMHO inaccurate.) > > - test code keeps evolving. I need to optimize test code as much (or > more ?) as i optimize dev code. Maybe. But differently. Optimize test code for readability and accuracy -- unlike production code, you're not going to be running thousands of tests every second. :) > and tests breaking out of nowhere will > be a way of life (?) Perhaps. At least you'll know right away when something needs work. > > i am going to be adding features to the app in between too. anything I > have to keep in mind while doing that? Try to get everything working before adding the next feature. > when do I start on integration and functional tests? Good question. And many Rails developers are less gung-ho about these than about unit tests. (I'm one such developer at the moment, so I don't really have a good answer for you yet.) > Also, any good articles that could help me gain some perspective on > the task i have ahead of me? > Other than the c2 wiki...hmmm. There's an interesting forum thread on SimpleTest (PHP) that was very helpful to me...I'll see if I can dig up the URL. Phlip, do I remember correctly that you've got some stuff around the Web on the subject? > my 2 cents worth.. i personally like the feel autotest gives. > especially for TDD. but hey.. no experience. only tryouts and > screencasts. Autotest is just about essential for TDD. On Mac OS, I find it helpful to integrate it with Growl (there are a number of ways to do that -- a search should turn them up). > > Please DO let me know if I have taken away the right things from here > *to get started* with writing tests for my existing app. I think so. > I hope this discussion goes further and provides insights for many > more in my place. > > Thanks Fernando, Marnen, Phlip, Brandon and Hans :) You're welcome! Good luck. Best, -- Marnen Laibow-Koser http://www.marnen.org [email protected] -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby on Rails: Talk" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rubyonrails-talk?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
