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Test-Driven Java Development

Chapter 1. Why Should I Care for Test-driven Development?

This book is written by developers for developers. As such, most of the learning will be through code. Each chapter will present one or more TDD practices and we'll try to master them by solving katas. In karate, kata is an exercise where you repeat a form many times, making little improvements in each. Following the same philosophy, we'll be making small, but significant improvements from one chapter to the next. You'll learn how to design and code better, reduce time-to-market, produce always up-to-date documentation, obtain high code coverage through quality tests, and write clean code that works.

Every journey has a start and this one is no exception. Our destination is a Java developer with the test-driven development (TDD) black-belt.

In order to know where we're going, we'll have to discuss, and find answers, to some questions that will define our voyage. What is TDD? Is it a testing technique, or something else? What are the benefits of applying TDD?

The goal of this chapter is to obtain an overview of TDD, to understand what it is and to grasp the benefits it provides for its practitioners.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

Understanding TDD
What is TDD?
Testing
Mocking
Executable documentation
No debugging

Why TDD?

You might be working in an agile or waterfall environment. Maybe you have well-defined procedures that were battle-tested through years of hard work, or maybe you just started your own start-up. No matter what the situation was, you likely faced at least one, if not more, of the following pains, problems, or causes for unsuccessful delivery:

Part of your team is kept out of the loop during the creation of requirements, specifications, or user stories
Most, if not all, of your tests are manual, or you don't have tests at all
Even though you have automated tests, they do not detect real problems
Automated tests are written and executed when it's too late for them to provide a real value to the project
There is always something more urgent than dedicating time to testing
Teams are split between testing, development, and functional analysis departments, and they are often out of sync
An inability to refactor the code because of the fear that something will be broken
The maintenance cost is too high
The time-to-market is too big
Clients do not feel that what was delivered is what they asked for
Documentation is never up to date
You're afraid to deploy to production because the result is unknown
You're often not able to deploy to production because regression tests take too long to run
Team is spending too much time trying to figure out what some method or a class does

Test-driven development does not magically solve all of these problems. Instead, it puts us on the way towards the solution. There is no silver bullet, but if there is one development practice that can make a difference on so many levels, that practice is TDD.

Test-driven development speeds up the time-to-market, enables easier refactoring, helps to create better design, and fosters looser coupling.

On top of the direct benefits, TDD is a prerequisite for many other practices (continuous delivery being one of them). Better design, well-written code, faster time-to-market, up-to-date documentation, and solid test coverage, are some of the results you will accomplish by applying TDD.

It's not an easy thing to master TDD. Even after learning all the theory and going through best practices and anti-patterns, the journey is only just beginning. TDD requires time and a lot of practice. It's a long trip that does not stop with this book. As a matter a fact, it never truly ends. There are always new ways to become more proficient and faster. However, even though the cost is high, the benefits are even higher. People who spent enough time with TDD claim that there is no other way to develop a software. We are one of them and we're sure that you will be too.

We are strong believers that the best way to learn some coding technique is by coding. You won't be able to finish this book by reading it in a metro on the way to work. It's not a book that one can read in bed. You'll have to get your hands dirty and code.

In this chapter, we'll go through basics; starting from the next, you'll be learning by reading, writing, and running code. We'd like to say that by the time you're finished with this book, you'll be an experienced TDD programmer, but this is not true. By the end of this book, you'll be comfortable with TDD and you'll have a strong base in both theory and practice. The rest is up to you and the experience you'll be building by applying it in your day-to-day job.

Understanding TDD

At this time, you are probably saying to yourself "OK, I understand that TDD will give me some benefits, but what exactly is test-driven development?" TDD is a simple procedure of writing tests before the actual implementation. It's an inversion of a traditional approach where testing is performed after the code is written.

Red-green-refactor

Test-driven development is a process that relies on the repetition of a very short development cycle. It is based on the test-first concept of extreme programming (XP) that encourages simple design with a high level of confidence. The procedure that drives this cycle is called red-green-refactor.

The procedure itself is simple and it consists of a few steps that are repeated over and over again:

Write a test.
Run all tests.
Write the implementation code.
Run all tests.
Refactor.
Run all tests.

Since a test is written before the actual implementation, it is supposed to fail. If it doesn't, the test is wrong. It describes something that already exists or it was written incorrectly. Being in the green state while writing tests is a sign of a false positive. Tests like these should be removed or refactored.

Note

While writing tests, we are in the red state. When the implementation of a test is finished, all tests should pass and then we will be in the green state.

If the last test failed, implementation is wrong and should be corrected. Either the test we just finished is incorrect or the implementation of that test did not meet the specification we had set. If any but the last test failed, we broke something and changes should be reverted.

When this happens, the natural reaction is to spend as much time as needed to fix the code so that all tests are passing. However, this is wrong. If a fix is not done in a matter of minutes, the best thing to do is to revert the changes. After all, everything worked not long ago. Implementation that broke something is obviously wrong, so why not go back to where we started and think again about the correct way to implement the test? That way, we wasted minutes on a wrong implementation instead of wasting much more time to correct something that was not done right in the first place. Existing test coverage (excluding the implementation of the last test) should be sacred. We change the existing code through intentional refactoring, not as a way to fix recently written code.

Tip

Do not make the implementation of the last test final, but provide just enough code for this test to pass.

Write the code in any way you want, but do it fast. Once everything is green, we have confidence that there is a safety net in the form of tests. From this moment on, we can proceed to refactor the code. This means that we are making the code better and more optimum without introducing new features. While refactoring is in place, all tests should be passing all the time.

If, while refactoring, one of the tests failed, refactor broke an existing functionality and, as before, changes should be reverted. Not only that at this stage we are not changing any features, but we are also not introducing any new tests. All we're doing is making the code better while continuously running all tests to make sure that nothing got broken. At the same time, we're proving code correctness and cutting down on future maintenance costs.

Once refactoring is finished, the process is repeated. It's an endless loop of a very short cycle.

Speed is the key

Imagine a game of ping pong (or table tennis). The game is very fast; sometimes it is hard to even follow the ball when professionals play the game. TDD is very similar. TDD veterans tend not to spend more than a minute on either side of the table (test and implementation). Write a short test and run all tests (ping), write the implementation and run all tests (pong), write another test (ping), write implementation of that test (pong), refactor and confirm that all tests are passing (score), and then repeat—ping, pong, ping, pong, ping, pong, score, serve again. Do not try to make the perfect code. Instead, try to keep the ball rolling until you think that the time is right to score (refactor).

Tip

Time between switching from tests to implementation (and vice versa) should be measured in minutes (if not seconds).

It's not about testing

T in TDD is often misunderstood. Test-driven development is the way we approach the design. It is the way to force us to think about the implementation and to what the code needs to do before writing it. It is the way to focus on requirements and implementation of just one thing at a time—organize your thoughts and better structure the code. This does not mean that tests resulting from TDD are useless—it is far from that. They are very useful and they allow us to develop with great speed without being afraid that something will be broken. This is especially true when refactoring takes place. Being able to reorganize the code while having the confidence that no functionality is broken is a huge boost to the quality.

Tip

The main objective of test-driven development is testable code design with tests as a very useful side product.

Testing

Even though the main objective of test-driven development is the approach to code design, tests are still a very important aspect of TDD and we should have a clear understanding of two major groups of techniques as follows:

Black-box testing
White-box testing

The black-box testing

Black-box testing (also known as functional testing) treats software under test as a black-box without knowing its internals. Tests use software interfaces and try to ensure that they work as expected. As long as functionality of interfaces remains unchanged, tests should pass even if internals are changed. Tester is aware of what the program should do, but does not have the knowledge of how it does it. Black-box testing is most commonly used type of testing in traditional organizations that have testers as a separate department, especially when they are not proficient in coding and have difficulties understanding it. This technique provides an external perspective on the software under test.

Some of the advantages of black-box testing are as follows:

Efficient for large segments of code
Code access, understanding the code, and ability to code are not required
Separation between user's and developer's perspectives

Some of the disadvantages of black-box testing are as follows:

Limited coverage, since only a fraction of test scenarios is performed
Inefficient testing due to tester's lack of knowledge about software internals
Blind coverage, since tester has limited knowledge about the application

If tests are driving the development, they are often done in the form of acceptance criteria that is later used as a definition of what should be developed.

Tip

Automated black-box testing relies on some form of automation such as behavior-driven development (BDD).

The white-box testing

White-box testing (also known as clear-box testing, glass-box testing, transparent-box testing, and structural testing) looks inside the software that is being tested and uses that knowledge as part of the testing process. If, for example, an exception should be thrown under certain conditions, a test might want to reproduce those conditions. White-box testing requires internal knowledge of the system and programming skills. It provides an internal perspective on the software under test.

Some of the advantages of white-box testing are as follows:

Efficient in finding errors and problems
Required knowledge of internals of the software under test is beneficial for thorough testing
Allows finding hidden errors
Programmers introspection
Helps optimizing the code
Due to the required internal knowledge of the software, maximum coverage is obtained

Some of the disadvantages of white-box testing are as follows:

It might not find unimplemented or missing features
Requires high-level knowledge of internals of the software under test
Requires code access
Tests are often tightly coupled to the implementation details of the production code, causing unwanted test failures when the code is refactored.

White-box testing is almost always automated and, in most cases, has the form of unit tests.

Tip

When white-box testing is done before the implementation, it takes the form of TDD.

The difference between quality checking and quality assurance

The approach to testing can also be distinguished by looking at the objectives they are trying to accomplish. Those objectives are often split between quality checking (QC) and quality assurance (QA). While quality checking is focused on defects identification, quality assurance tries to prevent them. QC is product-oriented and intends to make sure that results are as expected. On the other hand, QA is more focused on processes that assure that quality is built-in. It tries to make sure that correct things are done in the correct way.

Note

While quality checking had a more important role in the past, with the emergence of TDD, acceptance test-driven development (ATDD), and later on behavior-driven development (BDD), focus has been shifting towards quality assurance.

Better tests

No matter whether one is using black-box, white-box, or both types of testing, the order in which they are written is very important.

Requirements (specifications and user stories) are written before the code that implements them. They come first so they define the code, not the other way around. The same can be said for tests. If they are written after the code is done, in a certain way, that code (and the functionalities it implements) is defining tests. Tests that are defined by an already existing application are biased. They have a tendency to confirm what code does, and not to test whether client's expectations are met, or that the code is behaving as expected. With manual testing, that is less the case since it is often done by a siloed QC department (even though it's often called QA). They tend to work on tests' definition in isolation from developers. That in itself leads to bigger problems caused by inevitably poor communication and the police syndrome where testers are not trying to help the team to write applications with quality built-in, but to find faults at the end of the process. The sooner we find problems, the cheaper it is to fix them.

Note

Tests written in the TDD fashion (including its flavors such as ATDD and BDD) are an attempt to develop applications with quality built-in from the very start. It's an attempt to avoid having problems in the first place.

Executable documentation

Another very useful aspect of TDD (and well-structured tests in general) is documentation. In most cases, it is much easier to find out what the code does by looking at tests than the implementation itself. What is the purpose of some methods? Look at the tests associated with it. What is the desired functionality of some part of the application UI? Look at the tests associated with it. Documentation written in the form of tests is one of the pillars of TDD and deserves further explanation.

The main problem with (traditional) software documentation is that it is not up to date most of the time. As soon as some part of the code changes, the documentation stops reflecting the actual situation. This statement applies to almost any type of documentation, with requirements and test cases being the most affected.

The necessity to document code is often a sign that the code itself is not well written.Moreover, no matter how hard we try, documentation inevitably gets outdated.

Developers shouldn't rely on system documentation because it is almost never up to date. Besides, no documentation can provide as detailed and up-to-date description of the code as the code itself.

Using code as documentation, does not exclude other types of documents. The key is to avoid duplication. If details of the system can be obtained by reading the code, other types of documentation can provide quick guidelines and a high-level overview. Non-code documentation should answer questions such as what the general purpose of the system is and what technologies are used by the system. In many cases, a simple README is enough to provide the quick start that developers need. Sections such as project description, environment setup, installation, and build and packaging instructions are very helpful for newcomers. From there on, code is the bible.

Implementation code provides all needed details while test code acts as the description of the intent behind the production code.

Tip

Tests are executable documentation with TDD being the most common way to create and maintain it.

Assuming that some form of Continuous Integration (CI) is in use, if some part of test-documentation is incorrect, it will fail and be fixed soon afterwards. CI solves the problem of incorrect test-documentation, but it does not ensure that all functionality is documented. For this reason (among many others), test-documentation should be created in the TDD fashion. If all functionality is defined as tests before the implementation code is written and execution of all tests is successful, then tests act as a complete and up-to-date information that can be used by developers.

What should we do with the rest of the team? Testers, customers, managers, and other non coders might not be able to obtain the necessary information from the production and test code.

As we saw earlier, two most common types of testing are black-box and white-box testing. This division is important since it also divides testers into those who do know how to write or at least read code (white-box testing) and those who don't (black-box testing). In some cases, testers can do both types. However, more often than not, they do not know how to code so the documentation that is usable for developers is not usable for them. If documentation needs to be decoupled from the code, unit tests are not a good match. That is one of the reasons why BDD came in to being.

Note

BDD can provide documentation necessary for non-coders, while still maintaining the advantages of TDD and automation.

Customers need to be able to define new functionality of the system, as well as to be able to get information about all the important aspects of the current system. That documentation should not be too technical (code is not an option), but it still must be always up to date. BDD narratives and scenarios are one of the best ways to provide this type of documentation. Ability to act as acceptance criteria (written before the code), be executed frequently (preferably on every commit), and be written in natural language makes BDD stories not only always up to date, but usable by those who do not want to inspect the code.

Documentation is an integral part of the software. As with any other part of the code, it needs to be tested often so that we're sure that it is accurate and up to date.

Note

The only cost-effective way to have accurate and up-to-date information is to have executable documentation that can be integrated into your continuous integration system.

TDD as a methodology is a good way to move towards this direction. On a low level, unit tests are a best fit. On the other hand, BDD provides a good way to work on a functional level while maintaining understanding accomplished using natural language.

Description

Test-driven development (TDD) is a development approach that relies on a test-first procedure that emphasises writing a test before writing the necessary code, and then refactoring the code to optimize it. The value of performing TDD with Java, one of the most established programming languages, is to improve the productivity of programmers, the maintainability and performance of code, and develop a deeper understanding of the language and how to employ it effectively. Starting with the basics of TDD and reasons why its adoption is beneficial, this book will take you from the first steps of TDD with Java until you are confident enough to embrace the practice in your day-to-day routine. You’ll be guided through setting up tools, frameworks, and the environment you need, and will dive right in to hands-on exercises with the goal of mastering one practice, tool, or framework at a time. You’ll learn about the Red-Green-Refactor procedure, how to write unit tests, and how to use them as executable documentation. With this book you’ll also discover how to design simple and easily maintainable code, work with mocks, utilise behaviour-driven development, refactor old legacy code, and release a half-finished feature to production with feature toggles. You will finish this book with a deep understanding of the test-driven development methodology and the confidence to apply it to application programming with Java.

What you will learn

Explore the tools and frameworks required for effective TDD development

Perform the RedGreenRefactor process efficiently, the pillar around which all other TDD procedures are based

Master effective unit testing in isolation from the rest of your code

Design simple and easily maintainable codes by implementing different techniques

Use mocking frameworks and techniques to easily write and quickly execute tests

Develop an application to implement behaviourdriven development in conjunction with unit testing

Enable and disable features using Feature Toggles

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Pau Gonzalez Nov 05, 2015

The best book on TDD. If after reading the book you still do not understand or do not want to apply TDD.., it's your fault.It contains very well explained code, talks about Unit tests, BDD, black box testing, whitebox ... some CI ...I highly recommend it.

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Amazon Customer Nov 12, 2015

This is an excellent book on TDD and Java. The book covers every aspect of TDD, and contains helpful information for both novices and experts.Although I don't use Java on a daily basis, the examples on the book are very easy to follow and understand. and the authors give very clear explanations that can be applied to any language.Very recommended for any software craftsman (or apprentice, as it is my case :) ).

IGNASI MARIMON CLOS SUNYOL Oct 12, 2015

I've been developing in Java for the last 14 years and doing testing and then TDD for most of that time. Still, in this book I still learned some tricks and tools I'll add to my toolbox. I got the book to review the literature on the subject expecting just another intro to TDD. Instead, I've found that while introducing TDD, some more advanced aspects not usually mentioned are presented. For example, the importance of test method names.On each chapter, Viktor and Alex present just the minimum tools to achieve the goal they are focusing on and emphasize on the technique they want the reader to learn. This may seem irrelevant but I've found many people who struggle when they need to draw a line between integration and unit testing, or who fail to understand that when testing hurts it is a sign of a bad design. The book is rich on examples and code samples and as the authors put it: "It's not a book that one can read in bed. You'll have to get your hands dirty and code."Very recommendable to any self-respected java developer who wants to go a step forward.

Cem Kaner Sep 11, 2016

It is rare to see a good book on this topic written for inexperienced programmers. I can use it with first-year college students. You do need a basic knowledge of classes/objects to benefit from the book.

Amazon Customer Apr 29, 2016

great book

Test-Driven Java Development: Invoke TDD principles for end-to-end application development with Java

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