Updates
Latest Tweet
What's New?
Check out for latest innovation, a computer based training video collection
Like this Page
Test Driven Development: By Example Review by B. G. Palin
An excellent introduction to TDD
Before this book, I was doing unit testing - test-after - and had not done any TDD. As a result of reading this book, I am now writing new code in a test-driven fashion - writing my tests first, as a sort of spec, then writing code to pass the tests. It's a great feeling, writing code and knowing that it is correct.
Test-Driven Development by Example is an introduction to the practice of test-driven design. The book explains the what, when, where, how, and why of TDD. Through some running examples, Kent Beck steps through the thought process of adding code and changing functionality after writing tests. The steps are explained clearly along the way.
Now for some minor nitpicking. Kent regularly shifts into mentioning things that aren't related to the subject matter; this gets a little annoying, since you're reading about TDD, not personal antics. Also, this book is very slim, and reads quickly. This is in some ways a good thing, but from another viewpoint it ends too soon. I was left wishing for more chapters. That makes this book an introduction to TDD, not an in-depth exploration of the subject.
The nitpicks aside, the book is a great read, an easy one, and it is a success in my view. I recommend it for anyone looking to start with TDD.