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Tests: Costs and Benefits

·1 min

I like unit testing a lot. I’ve recently been thinking about whether it really is everything that advocates like myself make it out to be. I’m still thinking, but I reckon that language has something to do with it, and that I wouldn’t like TDD so much if I were writing in Haskell. Maybe.

Anyway, here are the benefits of unit testing, without justification or explanation:

  • Easier to maintain code
  • Avoiding regressions
  • Make API clearer, both by describing it and by encouraging contracts.
  • Confidence in changes to code

For new contributors, there are other benefits:

  • Confidence in changes to code
  • Confidence in the validity of your own patch
  • Mechanism for exploring internal system behaviour

Some of the costs are:

  • Maintaining tests
  • Caring about the performance of tests
  • Running the tests
  • Debugging tests

For new contributors, there are other costs:

  • Finding tests
  • Figuring out how to run tests
  • Figuring out how to write tests
  • Learn unit testing

Is this fair? Is this clear? And exactly where was that post by that guy about unit testing being overrated?

On a half-related and slightly exasperated note, many of the conversations I’ve been having recently have been about costs and benefits. What happened to doing something because it was the right thing?

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