The Devver Blog

A Boulder startup improving the way developers work.

Tips for Testing: Tip #2

Tip 2: Most code is not written to be tested
Another surprising thing you’ll find when you start testing is that your production code is not very testable. This isn’t surprising – if there were no tests previously, there was no reason to design for testability. This will make your first tests way harder to write and less valuable (i.e. they are less likely to catch real bugs)

There are a few tricks to get around this. First, try testing only new code or just test a smaller side project to start to get the hang of it. When you’re ready to start testing your legacy application, try the following.

1. Write a few very high-level tests. These tests will likely exercise almost the whole system and will interact with the application at the highest-level interface.
2. Refactor out one component of the application so it is more decoupled and testable
3. Continually run your high-level tests to make sure you haven’t broken anything major
4. Write more focused tests for the component you pulled out in step #2
5. Go back to step #2

If you need more help with this, pick up a copy of Working Effectively w/ Legacy Code. There is also some additional information here.

Again, stick with it. As you write more tests, your application will be more testable (bonus: it’s likely be easier to understand, more loosely coupled, easier to refactor, and more DRY as well!). As it becomes more testable, it’ll be easier to write additional tests. This creates a positive loop where things get better and easier as you go.


Written by Ben

June 24, 2008 at 7:29 am

Posted in Testing

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