On Jun 30, 9:13 pm, Ian Collins <ian-n...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> James Kanze wrote:
> > On Jun 30, 1:21 pm, Ian Collins <ian-n...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >> James Kanze wrote:
> >>> On Jun 30, 9:35 am, Ian Collins <ian-n...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >>>> James Kanze wrote:

> > [...]
> >>> Where we
> >>> disagree is that you seem to consider the unit tests a form of
> >>> being "written down", whereas I consider them code, just like
> >>> the rest---I don't know how to write a unit test until I have
> >>> some idea what is to be tested, i.e. what the unit shoud do.
> >>> And IMHO, I don't know that until it is written down.

> >> Not really, the written down will be some form of
> >> requirement, be that a clause in a traditional requirements
> >> specification, or an XP style user story. Given a
> >> requirement, my view of TDD is that it's another form of
> >> functional decomposition. You know what your end gaol is,
> >> you know the steps to take you there and you follow them.
> >> The smaller those steps, the better.

> > (I presume you mean "your end goal", but it's an interesting
> > Freudian slip:-).

> It was wasn't it

> > Except that you're probably American, and
> > would have written jail, and not gaol.)

> Hey, no need for insults! I'd have thought my spelling and
> timezone would be enough of a hint.

I didn't mean it as an insult; I'm American myself (originally,
at any rate). Living where I do, however, I see enough of both
spellings that I don't actually notice which is being used (and
a lot of British programmers write "program", rather than
"programme" for a computer program). The above comment was
meant more as a hint, since I'm not sure how many Americans
would recognize gaol otherwise.

> I'll address the rest of the post later today when I've dug up
> some unencumbered examples.

I know the problem. You write code to get the job done, not to
bring evidence for a certain point. Which means that most of
the real examples are buried in a lot of stuff that has nothing
to do with the immediate point.

I find it just as difficult to present simple examples which
show my own style.

--
James Kanze (GABI Software) email:james.kanze@gmail.com
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