Test Driven Development by Example authored by Kent Beck covers the following:
- Writing Unit test backed code, takes teeny-tiny steps towards adding new code.
- Creating a test framework for running the tests- again by using TDD.
- Patterns related to Test Driven development.
Some of the per-requisites for this book which I thought will help in easy reading of the book:
- Familiarity with JUnit testing framework- Not in-depth knowledge, just a basic understanding would do.
- Familiarity with Python in case someone is really interested in developing a framework for running the tests.
- Have experienced the pain of not writing correct tests, defects slipping through to the production code.
- Have spent some time working in the industry as it helps to understand Kent’s experiences which he has shared. Otherwise as well you would enjoy reading the book.
Salient features of the book:
- teeny-tiny chapters which helps you to read through the chapters swiftly.
- First section totally deals with how TDD can be applied by using an example.
- Third section explains useful patterns which can be used in TDD.
- Easy to understand english, with humor sprinkled through out the book.
- Authored by Kent Beck of JUnit, Extreme Programming fame.
I couldn’t manage to digest the contents of the 2nd section which deals with the creating of a testing framework called xUnit. But one can skim through those chapters and then get back to do a detailed study as and when required.So if you are planning to read the book, section-1 and section-3 should be good enough.
If you want to get started on Test Driven Development (TDD), this is the best book to buy. And I highly recommend this book. Good news for Indian readers is that Low Price Edition is available.
And I read this book after I tried out my hand at TDD which I have blogged here. In short I read the book in a span of 2 days.