Re:Kent Beck: “I get paid for code that works, not for tests...
by hinkley on Thursday December 08, 2016 @04:44PM
(#13134574)
When I start thinking of some of my code as safety equipment, and some like shop tools, a lot of my decision processes become more straightforward.
My tests and practices are, occasionally, like a five point harness in a race car. Without it anchoring the driver in front of the wheel, they could never ever drive that fast with any safety at all. This one comes out as a counter to the 'straightjacket' argument some people like when the tools won't let them just write shit code that the rest of us have to babysit while they run off somewhere else to write more shit code. Which we are supposed to be grateful for... I digress.
But most of the time my tests are more like smoke detectors. The ones that go off for no reason get replaced or removed. The ones that go off after I can see fire and smell smoke? Why am I paying for upkeep on those exactly? What's the value?
My tests and practices are, occasionally, like a five point harness in a race car. Without it anchoring the driver in front of the wheel, they could never ever drive that fast with any safety at all. This one comes out as a counter to the 'straightjacket' argument some people like when the tools won't let them just write shit code that the rest of us have to babysit while they run off somewhere else to write more shit code. Which we are supposed to be grateful for... I digress.
But most of the time my tests are more like smoke detectors. The ones that go off for no reason get replaced or removed. The ones that go off after I can see fire and smell smoke? Why am I paying for upkeep on those exactly? What's the value?