Technical 29 Feb 2004 12:31
Pragmatic Unit Testing
Pragmatic Unit Testing – In Java with JUnit
Andrew Hunt & David Thomas
A very quick read, this book is a practical introduction to unit testing, aimed at programmers without much experience in this area (like me). It focuses on Java, and specifically on the use of the JUnit framework, but the essencial ideas are aplicable to whatever language one happens to use.
Reading this book you will learn not only how to create effective unit tests, but also why you should do so, and what you will gain from them. It also gives you lots of arguments to try to win your colleagues and management over and try to introduce unit testing to your company’s culture. You will learn about what you should test, when the tests should run (always), why you should automate your build and testing cycles (which is probably a plug for their next book, “Pragmatic Automation”, due later in 2004), how to write tests so that you are more likely to use them, and so on.
You should probably read this book (and/or its companion, “Pragmatic Version Control”) right after reading “The Pragmatic Programmer”, like I did. You will still have the ideas of the previous book fresh on your mind, and you will be more inclined to apply what you learn. Even if you have a good amount of experience with unit tests, this book can still probably be useful, by helping you refresh what you know and, maybe, learn something new about the subject.
