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Re:Tips for beginning systems and software engineers by mbrock on Thursday May 19, 2016 @06:48AM (#11729233)
TDD is a kind of semi-formal specific process with a whole legacy of consultant workshops and all of that stuff.

So I think it's great to mostly ignore that, since it's contentious, and focus on that core question: how do I know that the system works correctly?

This also makes it obvious why type systems are a glorious ally, in addition to test suites and proofs.

And it's a core question because if I don't have grounded confidence in the system's correctness, then that's likely to be anxiety-inducing, irresponsible, and sometimes dangerous.

Re:Tips for beginning systems and software engineers by cm3 on Thursday May 19, 2016 @07:07AM (#11729300)
Right, and I didn't learn TDD formally. Sorry for using it freely. I write tests in tandem with the implementation and do not write tests and only then the implementation.
Re:Tips for beginning systems and software engineers by ahstilde on Thursday May 19, 2016 @08:36AM (#11729629)
When I knew exactly my code's requirements, I wrote the tests first. I was writing an interpreter. Tests-first was a smart move.
Re:Tips for beginning systems and software engineers by couchand on Thursday May 19, 2016 @09:37AM (#11730058)
I find writing tests first really helps me sort out the requirements if I'm unclear about them.