Exploring Extreme Programming
Automated refactoring tools are great, but sometimes the tool doesn’t make the best choice. We can often nudge the tool to a better choice. Why Bother? Why bother nudging? Couldn’t you do the refactoring manually just as quickly? You could Continue reading Refactoring: Forcing the Right Extract Method
Environments vary substantially between computers, so you’ll often see environment-specific code hidden in the PEEKs and POKEs of old BASIC programs. We’ll take a brief tour of the Ohio Scientific and Commodore 64, two computers from the late 1970s to Continue reading Ohio Scientific and Commodore 64 Environments
Once in a while, I run into a 1980s-era BASIC program, typically written for Commodore 64, Apple ][, or TRS-80. I’d like to transliterate it into a modern language, refactor it, and explore it. These old programs make a nice Continue reading Transliterating Old-School BASIC
When we create test data in TDD, we do it to drive out new capabilities. But all test data is not of the same value. If your data has the wrong symmetry, it can mislead you about what’s working. Object Continue reading Avoid Irrelevant Symmetry!
Some refactorings (e.g., Extract Method or Extract Class) introduce new elements. Should you revise the tests to take these into account? The classic consultant’s answer applies: It depends. The obvious next question is “Depends on what?”, and we’ll explore some Continue reading Revise Tests While Refactoring? It Depends
Objects usually track state, but you can instead track history and derive the current state from the history. (For example, databases blend both modes behind the scenes.) Why might history be helpful? One reason is that it can make it Continue reading Reversible, Incremental Data Structures
Authorization is the process of deciding whether to allow a user can access or use some resource. (Don’t confuse it with authentication, the process of deciding whether a user is who they claim to be.) TDD and Authorization From a Continue reading Authorization – TDD Patterns
Evolutionary design works by growing a system one capability at a time, keeping the design just sufficient for the system so far. As needs change, the system evolves to meet them. Evolutionary design has its technical challenges, but limiting beliefs Continue reading Limiting Beliefs About Evolutionary Design
See also “The Gerrymander Game – Part 1, Puzzle“ I implemented the core of the gerrymandering game using TDD, and it was a challenge. Why? Because I didn’t know in advance how to solve it. My Overall Strategy To make Continue reading The Gerrymander Game – Part 2, TDD
Sets are fundamental in mathematics — and programming. We’ll look at some considerations when using Test-Driven Development (TDD) for set-like objects. This is the last in a series of articles describing TDD for container objects; see the References for the Continue reading Set-Like Objects – TDD Patterns