Testing 101: Escape Testing Paralysis!
Learning to write good tests is critical to being a programmer. We write tests to make sure the work is solid and doing what it's supposed to, while exerting as little effort as possible (we're not lazy; we're effective...). When I understood that, I determined that I was going to get great at testing. So naturally I started internet research: "Dear Google, show me 'best code testing practices.'"
I quickly gathered that there are a multitude of testing solutions with numerous opinions on each one. In the same way that children can choose blue LEGO bricks, red ones, or two green ones and then argue loudly about which choice is superior, I heard terms like unit testing, functional testing, integration testing, acceptance testing, etc., and all the debates on what should and shouldn’t be tested in our applications.
I soon found myself in testing-paralysis. My overloaded brain said I had to thoroughly understand each of these paradigms before I could begin implementing any kind of testing on my apps. (Which color LEGO is best?) I didn’t feel confident enough to implement any test, for fear of choosing the wrong test, so I resorted to saying, “Let’s just build the app, and I’ll circle back and test it later.”
Little did I know that even though I thought avoiding the tests was making my life easier, I was actually digging myself into a hole.