Software testing may form the bedrock of quality software, but most teams find that quality is more important than quantity in their test suites. Not all tests are created equal. Good tests cover the normal and novel; they protect the happy path and round off edge cases. On the other hand, flaky tests can quickly unravel, and an abundance of tests might give a team an inflated sense of confidence.
Every team manages this balancing act in their own way, but principal crafter Robert Wenner proposes that the two concepts are not mutually exclusive. In this recent 8th Light University presentation, Robert provides a refresher on what test coverage is, how it’s measured, and what its shortcomings are, before explaining how he has used test coverage metrics to uncover problematic code before it broke any tests — or before its lack of tests broke something else.
Join the Dialogue
- 100 Go Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Code from the presentation
- O’Rly book covers (More examples on Reddit)
About Robert Wenner
Robert Wenner is a principal software crafter at 8th Light. He fully embraces the Perl virtues of laziness (let the computer do the grunt work), hubris (write high-quality code so that people don't complain), and impatience (can't this be automated?).
About 8th Light University
8th Light University (8LU) is a semi-regular virtual event that is managed by 8th Light Inc, a global software consultancy. Topics focus on improving the craft of software development. Developers of all skill levels are welcome! Watch past event videos on YouTube or join the 8LU group to find out about upcoming events.