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> Test everything. Test it early. Test it extensively. While in some contexts appropriate and many times helpful, testing is not the way to create reliable sof
by igorhvr 18y ago
> Test everything. Test it early. Test it extensively.
While in some contexts appropriate and many times helpful, testing is not the way to create reliable software.
Willingness to learn from mistakes, knowing your limits and biases, practicing complete concentration, disciplined reasoning and careful thinking is.
- tom_rath 18y agoYes, testing is the way to create reliable software. How else can you find the 'mistakes, limits, biases', etc. which come from the 'concentration, reasoning and careful thinking' you THINK you have? Learning how to break your software is one of the best ways of ensuring you stop writing software that breaks!
- igorhvr 18y agoIf you don't reason properly, no amount of testing will save you. It is only part (an important one, surely) of what you need to create reliable software. I saw too many developers in a cycle like this: test->bang keyboard->test again (not working)->bang keyboard (now a hack) ->test again(still not working - let's try one more thing)->bang keyboard->test again (it works - Don't touch it!) which is why early focus on testing doesn't seem very sound advice. The original post is about "Career Advice For Young Developers" - and for a young developer, focusing on careful thinking is better than focusing on testing.