Indeed. I've never seen a TDD debate that has focused specifically on whether tests upfront are sufficient for designing good APIs, etc., though (ironically, th

Indeed. I've never seen a TDD debate that has focused specifically on whether tests upfront are sufficient for designing good APIs, etc., though (ironically, the most important part of TDD!). Usually, one side is aghast that the other side doesn't believe in testing (when they usually do, just not to an eXtreme), and the other isn't convinced that letting tests do all the design work makes sense. They're usually talking (or firing cannonballs!) past each other, mistaking disagreement for mutually extremist positions. (And then the "us vs. them" feelings kick in...) I'm in very strong agreement that automated testing (unit, regression, integration, etc.) pays for itself in most sufficiently large projects, but skeptical of TDD specifically - testing during exploratory programming often gives good feedback, but it's just one of many tools.