Saturday June 22, 2013

So, About That Unit Testing Thing...

I spotted Jonathan Rasmusson’s reflections on unit tests and quality in iOS development a while back. But given the reference in the latest issue of iOS Dev Weekly, combined with the kerfuffle raised by the snark in NSHipster’s great round-up on unit testing resources, I thought I’d link to it:

So imagine my surprise when I entered a community responsible for some of the worlds most loved mobile applications, only to discover they don’t unit test. Even more disturbing, they seem to be getting away with it!

… [excellent reflection] …

And that is what this experience taught me. I need to be more than a collection of practices. I will unit test where I can (including iOS) and I will doing whatever else it takes where I can’t.

I cheer for the shiny new testing tools in Xcode 51 and the wider community’s push to reduce the friction when unit testing. I also cheer for those who aren’t afraid to question their own long-held practices while in pursuit of wisdom.

  1. Don’t worry NDA cops. At the time of this article that link goes to a public preview page listing the unit testing and continuous integration goodies of the yet-to-be-released Xcode 5. Still, if something happens to me and I don’t post anymore after this, please tell my family that I love them.