▶Book Description
Test-driven development (TDD) is a development approach that relies on a test-first procedure that emphasizes writing a test before writing the necessary code, and then refactoring the code to optimize it.The value of performing TDD with Java, one of the longest established programming languages, is to improve the productivity of programmers and the maintainability and performance of code, and develop a deeper understanding of the language and how to employ it effectively.
Starting with the basics of TDD and understanding why its adoption is beneficial, this book will take you from the first steps of TDD with Java until you are confident enough to embrace the practice in your day-to-day routine.You'll be guided through setting up tools, frameworks, and the environment you need, and we will dive right into hands-on exercises with the goal of mastering one practice, tool, or framework at a time. You'll learn about the Red-Green-Refactor procedure, how to write unit tests, and how to use them as executable documentation.With this book, you'll also discover how to design simple and easily maintainable code, work with mocks, utilize behavior-driven development, refactor old legacy code, and release a half-finished feature to production with feature toggles.You will finish this book with a deep understanding of the test-driven development methodology and the confidence to apply it to application programming with Java.
▶What You Will Learn
- Explore the tools and frameworks required for effective TDD development
- Perform the Red-Green-Refactor process efficiently, the pillar around which all other TDD procedures are based
- Master effective unit testing in isolation from the rest of your code
- Design simple and easily maintainable code by implementing different techniques
- Use mocking frameworks and techniques to easily write and quickly execute tests
- Develop an application to implement behavior-driven development in conjunction with unit testing
- Enable and disable features using feature toggles
▶Key Features
- Explore the most popular TDD tools and frameworks and become more proficient in building applications
- Create applications with better code design, fewer bugs, and higher test coverage, enabling you to get them to market quickly
- Implement test-driven programming methods into your development workflows
▶Who This Book Is For
If you're an experienced Java developer and want to implement more effective methods of programming systems and applications, then this book is for you.
▶What this book covers
- Chapter 1, Why Should I Care for Test-Driven Development?, spells out our goal of becoming a Java developer with a TDD black belt. In order to know where we're going, we'll have to discuss and find answers to some questions that will define our voyage.
- Chapter 2, Tools, Frameworks, and Environments, will compare and set up all the tools, frameworks and environments that will be used throughout this book. Each of them will be accompanied with code that demonstrates their strengths and weaknesses.
- Chapter 3, Red-Green-Refactor –. From Failure Through Success until Perfection, will help us develop a Tic-Tac-Toe game using the red-green-refactor technique, which is the pillar of TDD. We'll write a test and see it fail; we'll write a code that implements that test, run all the tests, and see them succeed; and finally, we'll refactor the code and try to make it better.
- Chapter 4, Unit Testing –. Focusing on What You Do and Not on What Has Been Done, shows that to demonstrate the power of TDD applied to unit testing, we'll need to develop a remote-controlled ship. We'll learn what unit testing really is, how it differs from functional and integration tests, and how it can be combined with test-driven development.
- Chapter 5, Design –. If It's Not Testable, It's Not Designed Well, will help us develop a Connect 4 game without any tests and try to write tests at the end. This will give us insights into the difficulties we are facing when applications are not developed in a way that they can be tested easily.
- Chapter 6, Mocking –. Removing External Dependencies, shows how TDD is about speed. We want to quickly demonstrate some idea/concept. We'll continue developing our Tic-Tac-Toe game by adding MongoDB as our data storage. None of our tests will actually use MongoDB since all communications to it will be mocked.
- Chapter 7, TDD and Functional Programming –. A Perfect Match, dives into the functional programming paradigm and how TDD could be applied when programming in that way. We'll explore parts of the functional API provided by Java since version 8 and create readable and meaningful tests.
- Chapter 8, BDD –. Working Together with the Whole Team, discusses developing a book store application by using the BDD approach. We'll define the acceptance criteria in the BDD format, carry out the implementation of each feature separately, confirm that it is working correctly by running BDD scenarios, and if required, refactor the code to accomplish the desired level of quality.
- Chapter 9, Refactoring Legacy Code –. Making It Young Again, will help us refactor an existing application. The process will start with creation of test coverage for the existing code and from there on, we'll be able to start refactoring until both the tests and the code meet our expectations.
- Chapter 10, Feature Toggles –. Deploying Partially Done Features to Production, will show us how to develop a Fibonacci calculator and use feature toggles to hide functionalities that are not fully finished or that, for business reasons, should not yet be available to our users.
- Chapter 11, Putting It All Together, will walk you through all the TDD best practices in detail and refresh the knowledge and experience you gained throughout this book.
- Chapter 12, Leverage TDD by Implementing Continuous Delivery, explains how TDD and continuous delivery form a very powerful combination that leads to better and faster software deliveries. Some of the problems that companies are facing nowadays are illustrated with an example of a fictitious company. At the end, the speed of the development is increased and some of the pain points are mitigated by the implementation of an effective development pipeline based on automated tests and continuous delivery.
