Tag Archives: unit-test

6 Small Unit Testing Tips

Posted on December 28, 2020 | 4 comments

Choosing test values when writing unit tests is mostly guided by the need to cover all cases of the program logic. However, some values are better than others. Here are a few tips on how to pick values that make mistakes easy to spot and the tests easy to read. Plus a bonus tip on a quick way to double check your tests.

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4 Comments

Posted in Testing

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A Bug, a Trace, a Test, a Twist

Posted on January 27, 2014 | 5 comments

Here is the story of a bug that I caused, found, and fixed recently. It is not particularly hard or tricky, and it didn’t take long to find and fix. Nevertheless, it did teach me some good lessons. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Debugging, Testing

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TDD, Unit Tests and the Passage of Time

Posted on December 8, 2013 | 7 comments

Many programmers have a hard time writing good unit-tests for code that involves time. For example, how do you test time-outs, or periodic clean-up jobs? I have seen many tests that create elaborate set-ups with lots of dependencies, or introduce real time gaps, just to be able to test those parts. However, if you structure the code the right way, much of the complexity disappears. Here is an example of a technique that lets you test time-related code with ease. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in Programming, Testing

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