Test First!

Test-first development should be a cornerstone techniques for all developers. Whether you use test-first development for all of the code you write (as suggested by Agile experts such as Bob Martin), or you just apply it to certain problems, every developer should know how. In this session, you'll see us develop a simple application using TDD, and you'll also learn why the technique is so effective.

Test-driven development provides more than better quality. Learn why:

• Test driven development improves your designs.
• TDD reduces the amount of code you have to write.
• TDD reduces coupling.
• TDD makes your code easier to learn and read.
• TDD reduces the cost of refactoring.

To understand test-first development, you need to see the techniques in action. We'll develop a simple Java application and build some positive and negative tests.

About Bruce Tate

Bruce Tate is a kayaker, mountain biker, and father of two from Austin, Texas. Currently at RapidRed, his focus is on rapid development and Ruby applications. Bruce was the chief technology officer behind the sites ChangingThePresent.org and ClassWish. His current project is DigtheDirt, a social gardening site. The international speaker has coauthored more than a dozen books including Rails Up and Running, Deploying Rails Applications, Beyond Java, and From Java to Ruby. His firm seeks to improve total application quality through the use of small teams, expressive programming language and agile development practices.

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