How to program effectively when it takes a long time to simply test your code

efficiencytime

My workflow has always been to write one logical step and then run the program and inspect the output. This process have served me incredibly well for assignments in university. However, as I do more development, there are often times when simply compiling and running your code takes 1 to 2 minutes. Examples include uploading a program to a microcontroller, requiring interaction with an external server, and unable to implement automation due to authentication, software architecture, or complexity.

These types of tasks are very unsuitable to how I usually program, and I'm having difficulties coding effectively. I usually make a lot of syntax errors and logic errors, most of which I easily catch by testing. However, with such a long wait time, this method is too time consuming.

Best Answer

First off, any sort of interactive debugging is great. You want that in your toolkit, because if not yet, then someday you will really benefit from having it. (Details vary by language, platform, and IDE.)

requiring interaction with an external server, and unable to implement automation due to authentication, software architecture, or complexity.

I'd look into some frameworks for using mock objects. These allow you to surround the component being tested with a fake ecosystem of other components, so that your tests are more specifically-targeted and you can avoid testing everything as a whole unit as much.

In addition, the mock objects themselves can be programmed in with assertions, so you can check that the component-being-tested really did make a certain call.

Related Solutions

Unit-testing – How to automatically test a time check

One simple way is to pass in the time from outside the method:

doSomething(long currentTime) {
   //...stuff
   startTime = currentTime;
   //... more stuff
}

Your production code that calls the method can pass in the real value for System.currentTimeMillis(), whereas your unit test(s) can pass in a specific known value.

Of course, this isn't quite the same as your original. Another possibility that is a little more complex but should mimic the behaviour of your of your original more closely:

doSomething(ITimeGetter timeGetter) {
   //...stuff
   startTime = timeGetter.GetCurrentTime;
   //... more stuff
}

Define the interface:

interface ITimeGetter
{
   long GetCurrentTime();
}

Two implementations, one for the production code:

class RealTimeGetter implements ITimeGetter
{
  long GetCurrentTime()
  {
      return System.currentTimeMillis();
  }
}

One for the unit tests:

class TimeGetterForTests implements ITimeGetter
{
  long GetCurrentTime()
  {
     // return a known value.
  }
}

Instantiate an ITimeGetter appropriate to your scenario and pass it in to the method you want to test.

Project Management – How Much Time Should Be Spent on Unit Testing?

The amount of unit testing that is needed depends on several factors:

Product Size (The larger the project, the greater the need to include at least some unit testing)
Required Quality Level (If you are quickly putting software together that needs to be out as quick as possible and some minor bugs are acceptable, then you might be forced to skip some testing like unit testing)
Type of Product (UI's can be unit tested, but sometimes it is easier to skip unit testing on heavy GUI sections of a project and instead test manually)
Your Coding Ability/History (What type of bugs do you normally create? Are they things that Unit Testing normally catches or things that another type of testing normally finds. Knowing this might push you to do more or less unit testing)

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Unit-testing – How to automatically test a time check

Project Management – How Much Time Should Be Spent on Unit Testing?

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