Fit for Developing Software Framework for Integrated Tests

by Mugridge, Rick; Cunningham, Ward

• ISBN13: 9780321269348
• ISBN10: 0321269349
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-06-29
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

An example-based book that introduces an effective open source framework for building better software by incorporating automated testing.

Author Biography

Rick Mugridge runs his own company, Rimu Research, and is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He specializes in Agile software development, automated testing, test-driven development, and user interfaces. Rick is one of the world's leading developers of Fit fixtures and tools, and is the creator of the FitLibrary.

Ward Cunningham is widely respected for his contributions to the practices of object-oriented development, Extreme Programming, and software agility. Cofounder of Cunningham & Cunningham, Inc., he has served as Director of R&D at Wyatt Software and as principal engineer at the Tektronix Computer Research Laboratory. Ward led the creation of Fit, and is responsible for innovations ranging from the CRC design method to WikiWikiWeb.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xxi
Preface	xxiii
Acknowledgments	xxv
About the Authors	xxvii
Introduction	1	(6)
The Need for Fit	1	(1)
The Value of Fit Tables	2	(1)
Fit and Business Roles	3	(2)
Organization of the Book	5	(1)
The Book's Use of Color	6	(1)
PART I Introducing Fit Tables	7	(80)
Communicating with Tables	9	(4)
Fit Tables	9	(1)
Tables for Communicating	10	(1)
Tables for Testing	11	(1)
Tables, Fixtures, and a System Under Test	11	(1)
Reading Fit Tables	11	(2)
Testing Calculations with ColumnFixture Tables	13	(10)
Calculating Discount	13	(1)
Reports: Traffic Lights	14	(2)
Calculating Credit	16	(3)
Selecting a Phone Number	19	(1)
Summary	20	(1)
Exercises	21	(2)
Testing Business Processes with ActionFixture Tables	23	(8)
Buying Items	23	(3)
Actions on a Chat Server	26	(2)
Summary	28	(1)
Exercises	29	(2)
Testing Lists with RowFixture Tables	31	(8)
Testing Lists Whose Order Is Unimportant	31	(3)
Testing Lists Whose Order Is Important	34	(2)
Summary	36	(1)
Exercises	36	(3)
Testing with Sequences of Tables	39	(10)
Chat Room Changes	39	(4)
Discount Group Changes	43	(3)
Summary	46	(1)
Exercises	47	(2)
Creating Tables and Running Fit	49	(8)
Using Spreadsheets for Tests	49	(1)
Organizing Tests in Test Suites	50	(2)
Using HTML for Tests	52	(2)
Summary	54	(1)
Exercises	55	(2)
Using FitNesse	57	(10)
Introduction	57	(1)
Getting Started	58	(3)
Organizing Tests with Subwikis	61	(1)
Test Suites	62	(1)
Ranges of Values	63	(1)
Other Features	64	(1)
Summary	64	(1)
Exercises	64	(3)
Expecting Errors	67	(4)
Expected Errors with Calculations	67	(2)
Expected Errors with Actions	69	(1)
Summary	69	(2)
FitLibrary Tables	71	(10)
Flow-Style Actions with DoFixture	71	(3)
Expected Errors with DoFixture	74	(1)
Actions on Domain Objects with DoFixture	75	(1)
Setup	76	(2)
CalculateFixture Tables	78	(1)
Ordered List Tables	78	(1)
Testing Parts of a List	79	(1)
Summary	79	(1)
Exercises	80	(1)
A Variety of Tables	81	(6)
Business Forms	81	(1)
Testing Associations	82	(1)
Two-Dimensional Images	83	(2)
Summary	85	(1)
Exercises	85	(2)
PART II Developing Tables for RentAPartySoftware	87	(88)
Introducing Fit at RentAPartySoftware	89	(6)
RentAPartySoftware	89	(1)
Development Issues	90	(1)
An Initial Plan	90	(1)
The Cast	91	(1)
The Rest of This Part	92	(1)
Summary	92	(1)
Exercises	93	(2)
Getting Started: Emily and Don's First Table	95	(8)
Introduction	95	(1)
Choosing Where to Start	95	(1)
The Business Rule	96	(1)
Starting Simple	97	(1)
Adding the Grace Period	98	(1)
Adding High-Demand Items	99	(1)
Reports	100	(1)
Seth's Return	101	(1)
Summary	101	(1)
Exercises	102	(1)
Testing a Business Process: Cash Rentals	103	(12)
Introduction	103	(1)
Cash Rentals	104	(3)
Split and Restructure	107	(2)
Which Client	109	(2)
Summary	111	(1)
Exercises	112	(3)
Tests Involving the Date and Time	115	(12)
Introduction	115	(1)
Charging a Deposit	115	(3)
Dates	118	(1)
Business Transactions	119	(2)
Sad Paths	121	(1)
Reports	122	(2)
Summary	124	(1)
Exercises	124	(3)
Transforming Workflow Tests into Calculation Tests	127	(10)
Introduction	127	(1)
Testing Calculations Instead	128	(3)
Using Durations	131	(1)
Reports	132	(1)
Summary	133	(1)
Exercises	134	(3)
Story Test-Driven Development with Fit	137	(18)
Introduction	137	(2)
The Stories	139	(1)
The First Storytests	140	(3)
The Planning Game	143	(4)
Adding to the Storytests	147	(1)
Progress During the Iteration	148	(3)
Exploratory Testing at Iteration End	151	(1)
Summary	151	(2)
Exercises	153	(2)
Designing and Refactoring Tests to Communicate Ideas	155	(16)
Principles of Test Design	155	(1)
Fit Tests for Business Rules	156	(5)
Workflow Tests	161	(4)
Calculation Tests	165	(2)
List Tests	167	(1)
Tests and Change	168	(2)
Automation of Tests	170	(1)
Summary	170	(1)
Closing for Nonprogrammers	171	(4)
The Value of Fit Tables	171	(1)
Getting Fit at RentAPartySoftware	171	(4)
PART III Introducing Fit Fixtures	175	(78)
Connecting Tables and Applications	177	(2)
Writing Fixtures	177	(1)
Fixtures and Traffic Lights	178	(1)
Column Fixtures	179	(8)
Fixture CalculateDiscount	179	(3)
Extending Credit	182	(2)
Selecting a Phone Number	184	(1)
ColumnFixture in General	185	(1)
Summary	186	(1)
Exercises	186	(1)
Action Fixtures	187	(8)
Buying Items	187	(3)
Changing State of Chat Room	190	(2)
ActionFixture in General	192	(1)
Summary	193	(1)
Exercises	194	(1)
List Fixtures	195	(8)
Testing Unordered Lists	195	(2)
Testing Ordered Lists	197	(4)
Testing a List with Parameters	201	(1)
Summary	202	(1)
Exercises	202	(1)
Fixtures for Sequences of Tables	203	(10)
Chat Room Fixtures	203	(5)
Discount Group Fixtures	208	(3)
Summary	211	(1)
Exercises	212	(1)
Using Other Values in Tables	213	(6)
Standard Values	213	(1)
Values of Money	214	(3)
Values in FitNesse and the Flow Fixtures	217	(1)
Summary	217	(1)
Exercises	217	(2)
Installing and Running Fit	219	(4)
Installing Fit and FitLibrary	219	(1)
Running Fit on Folders	219	(1)
Running Fit on HTML Files	220	(1)
Running Tests During the Build	220	(1)
Other Ways to Run Tests	220	(1)
Summary	221	(2)
Installing FitNesse	223	(4)
Installation	223	(1)
Locating the Code	223	(1)
Larger-Scale Use with Virtual Wiki	224	(1)
Debugging FitNesse Tests	224	(1)
Summary	225	(1)
Exercises	225	(2)
FitLibrary Fixtures	227	(20)
Flow-Style Actions with DoFixture	227	(4)
DoFixtures as Adapters	231	(1)
Using SetFixture	232	(1)
Expected Errors with DoFixture	232	(2)
Actions on Domain Objects with DoFixture	234	(3)
DoFixture in General	237	(2)
Setup	239	(3)
CalculateFixture Tables	242	(1)
Ordered-List Tables	243	(1)
Testing Parts of a List	244	(1)
Using Other Values in Flow Tables	245	(1)
Summary	245	(1)
Exercises	245	(2)
Custom Table Fixtures	247	(6)
Business Forms	247	(1)
Testing Associations	248	(3)
Two-Dimensional Images	251	(1)
Summary	252	(1)
PART IV Developing Fixtures for RentAPartySoftware	253	(52)
Fixtures and Adapting the Application	255	(6)
Introduction	255	(1)
The Programmers' Perspective	255	(1)
System Architecture	256	(2)
Test Infecting for Improvements	258	(2)
The Rest of This Part	260	(1)
Emily's First Fixture	261	(6)
The Table	261	(1)
Developing the Fixture	262	(3)
Summary	265	(1)
Exercises	266	(1)
Fixtures Testing Through the User Interface	267	(10)
Introduction	267	(2)
Spike	269	(1)
The Fixtures	270	(1)
The Adapter	271	(3)
Showing Others	274	(1)
Summary	275	(2)
Restructuring the System for Testing	277	(12)
Test Infecting	277	(1)
Slow Tests	278	(1)
Setup	278	(2)
Barriers to Testing	280	(2)
Transactions	282	(1)
Transaction Fixture	283	(2)
Split Domain and Data Source Layers	285	(1)
Reduce Interdependencies	286	(1)
Summary	287	(2)
Mocks and Clocks	289	(6)
Introduction	289	(2)
Changing the Date	291	(1)
Time-Related Object Interactions	292	(1)
Date Formatting	292	(1)
Changing the Application in Small Steps	293	(1)
Summary	294	(1)
Running Calculation Tests Indirectly	295	(6)
Testing Directly	295	(2)
Testing Indirectly	297	(3)
Summary	300	(1)
Closing for Programmers at RPS	301	(4)
The Value of Fit Tables	301	(1)
Getting Fit at RPS	301	(4)
PART V Custom Development	305	(28)
The Architecture of Fit	307	(6)
Running Fit	307	(1)
Parse Tree	308	(1)
doTable()	309	(1)
Counts in Class Fixture	310	(1)
The Fixture Subclasses	310	(1)
TypeAdapter	311	(1)
Summary	312	(1)
Exercises	312	(1)
Developing Custom Fixtures	313	(6)
Using SetUpFixture	313	(1)
SetUpFixture	314	(1)
ImageFixture	314	(2)
Summary	316	(3)
Custom Runners	319	(6)
Runners	319	(1)
Calculator Runner	319	(1)
Reading Tests from a Text File	320	(2)
Reading Tests from a Spreadsheet	322	(2)
Summary	324	(1)
Model-Based Test Generation	325	(8)
Symmetries: Operations That Cancel Each Other	325	(1)
Generate a Simple Sequence	326	(3)
Generate an Interleaved Sequence	329	(3)
Summary	332	(1)
Exercises	332	(1)
PART VI Appendices	333	(8)
A. Background Material	335	(2)
A.1 Testing	335	(1)
A.2 Agile Software Development	335	(1)
A.3 Ubiquitous Language	336	(1)
B. Book Resources Web Site	337	(2)
C. Fit and Other Programming Languages	339	(2)
C.1 Table Portability	339	(1)
C.2 Other Programming Languages	339	(2)
Bibliography	341	(4)
Index	345

Excerpts

Fitness, agility, and balance apply as much to software development as they do to athletic activities. We can admire the movements of a highly skilled dancer, skier, or athlete. Gracefulness comes from wasting no energy on unnecessary tension or balance recovery, so that effort can be focused exactly where it is needed, exactly when it is needed. The expert is continuously making small adjustments to stay aligned and in balance. Agile responses to unexpected changes distinguish the expert from the nonexpert, as their rebalancing adjustments are fluid and subtle and go unnoticed by nonexperts. Injury, pain, distractions, and poor concentration can wreck balance, reducing the expert's ability to respond well in a focused way. Much more effort is required to perform even at a substandard level. A high degree of fitness and practice is needed in order to build the required concentration, balance, agility, and focused power. This, inevitably, is a process of refinement over time, with attention given to more subtle aspects of risk assessment and response as expertise increases. The achievements of athletes have continued to improve over time, sometimes through changes that break assumptions about the activity or how best to train. Big changes are often met with skepticism but will slowly become accepted as the norm as they prove their worth. When we look at the efforts of most software developers, we see a lot of energy being wasted. In the rush to get software completed, there is often little time to reflect on how to improve the way we do things, how to get that special fitness, balance, and agility that allow us to be graceful in our intellectual efforts in order to achieve inspired results with less effort. We get unbalanced when we have to fix old bugs, losing flow. We often have to speculate about what's needed, and feedback is too slow. Our software becomes less than elegant and is difficult to change, with tensions and stresses building up in us and in our software. This book is intended to help improve your fitness and agility in two areas of software development where we can make huge improvements to current practice. First, improving communication between the people who need the software and the people who develop it, as well as show you how to express the business rules that are at the heart of a software solution. Second, how to use automated testing to provide immediate and effective feedback so we can maintain balance and agility and avoid "injury." The book also questions some common assumptions about the way in which software is developed. But we don't expect that you'll make a big leap of faith: We start with current practice and show how you make small yet effective improvements. Just like the dancer and the athlete, you will have to do more than simply read about how to do this. It is also necessary to practice. Rick Mugridge Ward Cunningham 0321269349P06012005