Articles

Computer screen showing clean code Clean Coding Practices for a Scalable Test Automation Framework

Many organizations are looking to expand their automation abilities by designing and developing test automation frameworks. However, we often abandon good coding practices in favor of working as fast as possible. We need to treat this project like any other application development project. Here are three of the most important clean coding practices to keep in mind in order to make a scalable test automation framework.

Sumon Dey's picture Sumon Dey
Sign reading "Duh!" When the Code Is Too Obvious to Check

How many times does something seem too obvious to check? Most of the time this normal human response is a handy shortcut. Your brain tries to save you time—but you can’t always trust it. If your code malfunctions, each of those "too obvious to check" thoughts will bias your thinking about what caused the malfunction. We have to commit up front, before our thinking crystalizes, that the code will have to prove to us that it is correct.

Steve Poling's picture Steve Poling
Car steering wheel photo by Nicolai Berntsen A Case for Test-First Development

You may feel you don't have time to write unit tests, but you really don't have time not to. Steve Poling makes the case that writing tests first not only will yield better code, but will help you get that code working right sooner. Here's how using a test-first approach changes your thinking about coding, lets you see mistakes immediately, and helps you create more testable code.

Steve Poling's picture Steve Poling
Question mark cursor Critical Questions to Ask When Choosing a Third-Party API

This article exposes the risks and hidden costs involved in the seemingly innocent decision of which third-party APIs to use to gather and report data, offload critical functionality, and save implementation time. It addresses some typical reasons the decision-making process over third-party use is overlooked, as well as how to make good choices confidently and consistently.

Paul Bruce's picture Paul Bruce
Thinking Critically about Software Development BSC West 2015 Keynote: Better Thinking for Better Software: Thinking Critically about Software Development

Software developer Laurent Bossavit delivered the second keynote presentation, about why we need to think more critically about software development. He began his presentation by saying his intention was to make you question what you know—or what you think you know.

Beth Romanik's picture Beth Romanik
DevOps off the Rails Has DevOps Gone Off the Rails?

DevOps is evolving with some potentially very harmful choices embedded in it. Among these are poor adoption of sound computer science, little thought to the maintainability of DevOps code, and choices of tools based solely on productivity without concern for maintainability. Will this cause DevOps to fail to live up to its potential?

Clifford Berg's picture Clifford Berg
photo from pair programming sessions Pair Programming in the Clink

In this personal experience story, Daryl Kulak relates the day he spent behind bars. He was there to participate in a program that pairs prisoners with software developers “from the outside” to explore the art and science of agile software development. “It’s like a code retreat,” Kulak notes, “except it’s inside a prison.”

Daryl  Kulak's picture Daryl Kulak
Ping-Pong Programming: Enhance Your TDD and Pair Programming Practices

Team player Dave Hoover wants to share a software development practice he enjoys. It emerged from the practices of extreme programming as a competitive yet simultaneously collaborative practice. Dave has found that this practice promotes the flow of knowledge between software developers better than any other practice he has experienced. As you might have guessed from the title of this week's column, this practice is called ping-pong programming, or P3 for short.

Dave Hoover

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