Book Recommendation: Test Driven Development: By Example (by Kent Beck)

Shlomi Fish <shlomif-ik1l9ssToec+JF/[email protected]> Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:18:13 +0300
Newsgroups gmane.culture.hackers.israel
Organization IGLU
Message-ID <[email protected]>
--yWH4LehqGRxosSO48qiPPtRh6rx-HwgFTJBEIMI
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

This is a book review of the book =E2=80=9CTest Driven Development: By Exam=
ple=E2=80=9D by Kent
Beck. First of all the rudimentary links about the book:

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-Driven_Development_by_Example

* http://www.amazon.com/Test-Driven-Development-Kent-Beck/dp/0321146530

-------------

I was disappointed after I started reading an earlier book about "Test Driv=
en
Development" (TDD) that I have bought (here's my earlier review and
recommendation against:
http://mail.perl.org.il/pipermail/perl/2010-April/010909.html ) but I decid=
ed
to give the TDD sub-series of the Extreme Programming books another chance =
with
the more elementary book in question. This time, the book met my expectatio=
ns
and I can recommend it.

First of all, Beck's book is relatively short and small, as opposed to the
"xUnit Test Patterns" book. It is also interesting, entertaining and full o=
f
insights. It is divided into three sections:

1. In the first: a sample financial TDD project is developed in Java, with
instructions on how to proceed every way. The standard =E2=80=9Cadd-failing=
-test; get
it to pass; refactor;=E2=80=9D cycle is described there with a TODO list as=
 a tool.
This was the best section, IMO.

2. In the second section, Beck bootstraps an xUnit framework in Python
starting from nothing (and compares it to doing brain surgery on yourself.)=
.

3. In the third section, he briefly discusses various TDD patterns. I admit=
 I
did not pay enough attention there because I read the book before going to
sleep when I was tired, and want to go over it again.

So I can recommend this book for all people who want to learn how to do TDD
better. Mr. Beck kinda aims for the high ideal of TDD and I often deviates =
from
it, which I think is OK.

Regards,

	Shlomi Fish


--=20
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shlomi Fish       http://www.shlomifish.org/
Chuck Norris/etc. Facts - http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/bits/facts/

Learn Perl from =E2=80=9CLearning Perl in 24 Minutes Unleashed, in a Nutshe=
ll for=20
Dummies.=E2=80=9D
    =E2=80=94 based on Shlomi Fish and f00li5h on #perl

Please reply to list if it's a mailing list post - http://shlom.in/reply .

--yWH4LehqGRxosSO48qiPPtRh6rx-HwgFTJBEIMI
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable




<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/htm=
l4/strict.dtd">
<html>
<head>
</head>







<body style=3D"background-color: #fff;">
<span style=3D"display:none">&nbsp;</span>

<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStartT|**|-~-->
<div id=3D"ygrp-mlmsg" style=3D"position:relative;">
  <div id=3D"ygrp-msg" style=3D"z-index: 1;">
<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEndT|**|-~-->

    <div id=3D"ygrp-text" >
=20=20=20=20=20=20
=20=20=20=20=20=20
      <p>This is a book review of the book =E2=80=9CTest Driven Development=
: By Example=E2=80=9D by Kent<br>
Beck. First of all the rudimentary links about the book:<br>
<br>
* <a href=3D"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-Driven_Development_by_Exampl=
e">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test-Driven_Development_by_Example</a><br>
<br>
* <a href=3D"http://www.amazon.com/Test-Driven-Development-Kent-Beck/dp/032=
1146530">http://www.amazon.com/Test-Driven-Development-Kent-Beck/dp/0321146=
530</a><br>
<br>
-------------<br>
<br>
I was disappointed after I started reading an earlier book about &quot;Test=
 Driven<br>
Development&quot; (TDD) that I have bought (here's my earlier review and<br=
>
recommendation against:<br>
<a href=3D"http://mail.perl.org.il/pipermail/perl/2010-April/010909.html">h=
ttp://mail.perl.org.il/pipermail/perl/2010-April/010909.html</a> ) but I de=
cided<br>
to give the TDD sub-series of the Extreme Programming books another chance =
with<br>
the more elementary book in question. This time, the book met my expectatio=
ns<br>
and I can recommend it.<br>
<br>
First of all, Beck's book is relatively short and small, as opposed to the<=
br>
&quot;xUnit Test Patterns&quot; book. It is also interesting, entertaining =
and full of<br>
insights. It is divided into three sections:<br>
<br>
1. In the first: a sample financial TDD project is developed in Java, with<=
br>
instructions on how to proceed every way. The standard =E2=80=9Cadd-failing=
-test; get<br>
it to pass; refactor;=E2=80=9D cycle is described there with a TODO list as=
 a tool.<br>
This was the best section, IMO.<br>
<br>
2. In the second section, Beck bootstraps an xUnit framework in Python<br>
starting from nothing (and compares it to doing brain surgery on yourself.)=
.<br>
<br>
3. In the third section, he briefly discusses various TDD patterns. I admit=
 I<br>
did not pay enough attention there because I read the book before going to<=
br>
sleep when I was tired, and want to go over it again.<br>
<br>
So I can recommend this book for all people who want to learn how to do TDD=
<br>
better. Mr. Beck kinda aims for the high ideal of TDD and I often deviates =
from<br>
it, which I think is OK.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
<br>
	Shlomi Fish<br>
<br>
-- <br>
----------------------------------------------------------<br>
Shlomi Fish       <a href=3D"http://www.shlomifish.org/">http://www.shlomif=
ish.org/</a><br>
Chuck Norris/etc. Facts - <a href=3D"http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/bits/=
facts/">http://www.shlomifish.org/humour/bits/facts/</a><br>
<br>
Learn Perl from =E2=80=9CLearning Perl in 24 Minutes Unleashed, in a Nutshe=
ll for <br>
Dummies.=E2=80=9D<br>
    =E2=80=94 based on Shlomi Fish and f00li5h on #perl<br>
<br>
Please reply to list if it's a mailing list post - <a href=3D"http://shlom.=
in/reply">http://shlom.in/reply</a> .<br>
</p>

    </div>
=20=20=20=20=20

    <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~-->
    <div style=3D"color: #fff; height: 0;">__._,_.___</div>

=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20
=20=20
=20=20=20
    <div id=3D"ygrp-actbar" style=3D"clear: both; margin-bottom: 10px; whit=
e-space: nowrap; color: #666; padding-top: 15px;">
      <div>
        <a href=3D"mailto:shlomif-ik1l9ssToec+JF/[email protected]?subject=3DRe%3A%20Book%20Reco=
mmendation%3A%20Test%20Driven%20Development%3A%20By%20Example%20%28by%20Ken=
t%20Beck%29" style=3D"margin-right: 0; padding-right: 0;">
	  Reply to <span style=3D"font-weight: 700;">sender</span></a> |
        <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]?subject=3DRe%3A%20Book=
%20Recommendation%3A%20Test%20Driven%20Development%3A%20By%20Example%20%28b=
y%20Kent%20Beck%29">
	  Reply to <span style=3D"font-weight: 700;">group</span></a> |
        	  <a href=3D"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hackers-il/post;_ylc=3D=
X3oDMTJwazhhbjl0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE4NTczMzIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDA2NzY=
0BG1zZ0lkAzUxNjMEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDcnBseQRzdGltZQMxMzExMzQ0MzIz?act=3Dreply&m=
essageNum=3D5163">Reply <span style=3D"font-weight: 700;">via web post</spa=
n></a> |
            	<a href=3D"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hackers-il/post;_ylc=
=3DX3oDMTJlMmI2Zmc1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE4NTczMzIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDA2=
NzY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTMxMTM0NDMyMw--" style=3D"font-weight:=
 700;">Start a New Topic</a>
      </div>

                <a href=3D"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hackers-il/message=
/5163;_ylc=3DX3oDMTM0a2dxb2UxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE4NTczMzIEZ3Jwc3BJZA=
MxNzA1MDA2NzY0BG1zZ0lkAzUxNjMEc2VjA2Z0cgRzbGsDdnRwYwRzdGltZQMxMzExMzQ0MzIzB=
HRwY0lkAzUxNjM-">Messages in this topic</a>
          (<span style=3D"font-weight: 700;">1</span>)
          </div>=20
<!------- Start Nav Bar ------>

<!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<div id=3D"ygrp-vital" style=3D"background-color: #e0ecee; font-family: Ver=
dana; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 10px;">
      <span id=3D"vithd" style=3D"font-weight: bold; color: #333; text-tran=
sform: uppercase; ">Recent Activity:</span>

    <ul style=3D"list-style-type: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; display: inl=
ine;">
                                                    </ul>
=20=20=20=20
  <div style=3D"clear: both; padding-top: 2px; color: #1e66ae;">
    <a href=3D"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hackers-il;_ylc=3DX3oDMTJlOXJx=
ajhvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzE4NTczMzIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDA2NzY0BHNlYwN2dGw=
Ec2xrA3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUDMTMxMTM0NDMyMw--" style=3D"text-decoration: none;">Vis=
it Your Group</a>
  </div>
</div>

=20=20
<div id=3D"ft" style=3D"font-family: Arial; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5p=
x; padding: 0 2px 0 0; clear: both;">
  <a href=3D"http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=3DX3oDMTJkNjQyZmt1BF9TAzk3MzU5Nz=
E0BGdycElkAzE4NTczMzIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDA2NzY0BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZ=
QMxMzExMzQ0MzIz" style=3D"float: left;"><img src=3D"http://l.yimg.com/a/i/u=
s/yg/logo/us.gif" height=3D"15" width=3D"137" alt=3D"Yahoo! Groups" style=
=3D"border: 0;"/></a>
  <div style=3D"color: #747575; float: right;">Switch to: <a href=3D"mailto=
:[email protected]?subject=3DChange Delivery Format: T=
raditional" style=3D"text-decoration: none;">Text-Only</a>, <a href=3D"mail=
to:[email protected]?subject=3DEmail Delivery: Digest" clas=
s=3D"margin-rt" style=3D"text-decoration: none;">Daily Digest</a> &bull; <a=
 href=3D"mailto:[email protected]?subject=3DUnsubscrib=
e" style=3D"text-decoration: none;">Unsubscribe</a> &bull; <a href=3D"http:=
//docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/" style=3D"text-decoration: none;">Terms of Use=
</a></div>
</div>

<!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->

  </div> <!-- ygrp-msg -->

  <!-- Sponsor -->
  <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
  <div id=3D"ygrp-sponsor" style=3D"width:160px; float:right; clear:none; m=
argin:0 0 25px 0; background: #fff;">

<!-- Start Recommendations -->
<div id=3D"ygrp-reco">
     </div>
<!-- End Recommendations -->



  </div>   <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->

  <div style=3D"clear:both; color: #FFF; font-size:1px;">.</div>
</div>

  <img src=3D"http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=3D97359714/grpId=3D1857332/grpspI=
d=3D1705006764/msgId=3D5163/stime=3D1311344323/nc1=3D1/nc2=3D2/nc3=3D3" wid=
th=3D"1" height=3D"1"> <br>

<div style=3D"color: #fff; height: 0;">__,_._,___</div>
<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEnd|**|-~-->

</body>

<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~-->
<head>
  <style type=3D"text/css">
  <!--
  #ygrp-mkp {
  border: 1px solid #d8d8d8;
  font-family: Arial;
  margin: 10px 0;
  padding: 0 10px;
}

#ygrp-mkp hr {
  border: 1px solid #d8d8d8;
}

#ygrp-mkp #hd {
  color: #628c2a;
  font-size: 85%;
  font-weight: 700;
  line-height: 122%;
  margin: 10px 0;
}

#ygrp-mkp #ads {
  margin-bottom: 10px;
}

#ygrp-mkp .ad {
  padding: 0 0;
}

#ygrp-mkp .ad p {
  margin: 0;
}

#ygrp-mkp .ad a {
  color: #0000ff;
  text-decoration: none;
}
  #ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc {
  font-family: Arial;
}

#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc #hd {
  margin: 10px 0px;
  font-weight: 700;
  font-size: 78%;
  line-height: 122%;
}

#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc .ad {
  margin-bottom: 10px;
  padding: 0 0;
}

  a {
    color: #1e66ae;
  }

  #actions {
    font-family: Verdana;
    font-size: 11px;
    padding: 10px 0;
  }

  #activity {
    background-color: #e0ecee;
    float: left;
    font-family: Verdana;
    font-size: 10px;
    padding: 10px;
  }

  #activity span {
    font-weight: 700;
  }

  #activity span:first-child {
    text-transform: uppercase;
  }

  #activity span a {
    color: #5085b6;
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  #activity span span {
    color: #ff7900;
  }

  #activity span .underline {
    text-decoration: underline;
  }

  .attach {
    clear: both;
    display: table;
    font-family: Arial;
    font-size: 12px;
    padding: 10px 0;
    width: 400px;
  }

  .attach div a {
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  .attach img {
    border: none;
    padding-right: 5px;
  }

  .attach label {
    display: block;
    margin-bottom: 5px;
  }

  .attach label a {
    text-decoration: none;
  }
=20=20
  blockquote {
    margin: 0 0 0 4px;
  }

  .bold {
    font-family: Arial;
    font-size: 13px;
    font-weight: 700;
  }

  .bold a {
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  dd.last p a {
    font-family: Verdana;
    font-weight: 700;
  }

  dd.last p span {
    margin-right: 10px;
    font-family: Verdana;
    font-weight: 700;
  }

  dd.last p span.yshortcuts {
    margin-right: 0;
  }

  div.attach-table div div a {
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  div.attach-table {
    width: 400px;
  }

  div.file-title a, div.file-title a:active, div.file-title a:hover, div.fi=
le-title a:visited {
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  div.photo-title a, div.photo-title a:active, div.photo-title a:hover, div=
.photo-title a:visited {
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  div#ygrp-mlmsg #ygrp-msg p a span.yshortcuts {
    font-family: Verdana;
    font-size: 10px;
    font-weight: normal;
  }

  .green {
    color: #628c2a;
  }

  .MsoNormal {
    margin: 0 0 0 0;
  }

  o {
    font-size: 0;
  }

  #photos div {
    float: left;
    width: 72px;
  }

  #photos div div {
    border: 1px solid #666666;
    height: 62px;
    overflow: hidden;
    width: 62px;
  }

  #photos div label {
    color: #666666;
    font-size: 10px;
    overflow: hidden;
    text-align: center;
    white-space: nowrap;
    width: 64px;
  }

  #reco-category {
    font-size: 77%;
  }

  #reco-desc {
    font-size: 77%;
  }

  .replbq {
    margin: 4px;
  }

  #ygrp-actbar div a:first-child {
   /* border-right: 0px solid #000;*/
    margin-right: 2px;
    padding-right: 5px;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg {
    font-size: 13px;
    font-family: Arial, helvetica,clean, sans-serif;
    *font-size: small;
    *font: x-small;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg table {
    font-size: inherit;
    font: 100%;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg select, input, textarea {
    font: 99% Arial, Helvetica, clean, sans-serif;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg pre, code {
    font:115% monospace;
    *font-size:100%;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg * {
    line-height: 1.22em;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg #logo {
    padding-bottom: 10px;
  }

  #ygrp-mlmsg a {
    color: #1E66AE;
  }

  #ygrp-msg p a {
    font-family: Verdana;
  }

  #ygrp-msg p#attach-count span {
    color: #1E66AE;
    font-weight: 700;
  }

  #ygrp-reco #reco-head {
    color: #ff7900;
    font-weight: 700;
  }

  #ygrp-reco {
    margin-bottom: 20px;
    padding: 0px;
  }

  #ygrp-sponsor #ov li a {
    font-size: 130%;
    text-decoration: none;
  }

  #ygrp-sponsor #ov li {
    font-size: 77%;
    list-style-type: square;
    padding: 6px 0;
  }=20

  #ygrp-sponsor #ov ul {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0 0 0 8px;
  }

  #ygrp-text {
    font-family: Georgia;
  }

  #ygrp-text p {
    margin: 0 0 1em 0;
  }

  #ygrp-text tt {
    font-size: 120%;
  }

  #ygrp-vital ul li:last-child {
    border-right: none !important;=20
  }=20
  -->
  </style>
</head>

<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEnd|**|-~-->
</html>
<!-- end group email -->


--yWH4LehqGRxosSO48qiPPtRh6rx-HwgFTJBEIMI--