A trend I've noticed in the software development community is that there are a large number of developers who resist the new wave. Many of those who spent their formative development years doing procedural development went kicking and screaming into the OO age; some suggested that it was an inappropriate tool for many problems. Many C++ developers looked at Java as a toy, not useful for any real work. And I've met enough Java developers who thought that Java was the last word in programming languages.

Certainly we should question newfangled tools and techniques, and insist on putting them through their paces. OO is not the best tool for every problem, Java did suck big time when it first came out, and yet there are now some significant advantages to continue doing business with it. Challenges ultimately help the tools & techniques improve.

Experimentation and innovation is at the heart of the software industry, not active resistance. But it's far easier to sit in a corner and make as many possible excuses for not doing something. I know, because I've done so myself. There are plenty of jobs out there using old technologies, and places where people are happy with the status quo.

So, TDD. Some of us strongly believe in it, only because we've seen benefits firsthand--not just from toy Stack examples, but from working on systems that range from tens of thousands, to hundreds of thousands, and millions of lines of code. Ahh, but the stack example is all the people sitting in the corner see, because that's all they want to believe is behind TDD.

I agree with the vocal dissenters that TDD should not always be used, but not for the lame list of excuses they often come up with. Primarily, the reason is that the typical American software team just isn't that good. TDD is a reasonably tough discipline to get a handle on, and most developers are still struggling with OO, language, and tool basics.

What's interesting is that TDD would ultimately help these people the most--some of its best potential is its use as a learning tool. The vocal dissenters, on the other hand, are usually reasonably sharp developers who already have a good notion of design. Thus they can't quite understand why a technique that promotes more decoupled and cohesive designs is important--"duh, we already get it." Particularly, for example, if they don't happen to work with lots of typically underachieving coders.

Is TDD overhyped? Not a chance. There are still mountains worth of learning that TDD will promote in the minds of the majority of the developers out there. For those who don't want to do TDD, don't do it.

Can TDD be dangerous, and lead to disasters? Yes. This is true for any tool in the wrong hands. That also includes insisting on emphasizing test-after--I've seen that lead to plenty of failures and wasted time. TDD, like OO or any other tool/technique, is not for everyone or every project. But in the right hands, I've seen TDD work wonders on software projects.

posted by Jeff L.  # 3/04/2008 08:43:00 PM Database TDD Blogs