How To Code Well

142 - 6 Ways to improve your code tests

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    • 6 ways to improve your testing

    1) Automate as much as you can

    • Use CI pipelines
    • Run these locally even if your’e not committing any changes
    • Include other code auditing tools such as phpstan or phpmd

      • 2) Statics are evil

      • There is no way to test a static method that calls another static method

        • 3) Having many mocks is an indication of bad code design

        4) Use tests to help refactor you code

        • If a unit of work cannot be easily tested then it usually means the code is not designed well
        • Break up your tests into smaller chunks
        • Tests can highlight micro and minor refactors
        • Refactor your code and then re test
        • Try and do this in a TDD fashion

          • 5) Avoid flaky tests

          • Clean up state
          • Check for bottle necks which could cause timeouts
          • Mock external services or dependancies
          • Look into potential memory leaks

            • 6) Re think what testing means to you

            • Testing is a contractual agreement between the programmer and the code
            • Testing is documentation - Gherkin, Acceptance Criteria, Business requirements
            • Testing is boundary setting which helps with focus
            • Testing is future proofing

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              How To Code WellBy Peter Fisher
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