Should you always start testing your code with unit tests? When does it make sense to look at integration or end-to-end testing as a first step instead? This week on the show, we speak with previous guest Eric Matthes about where to begin testing your code.

Eric is the author of the popular book Python Crash Course. Early in the development of the book, he decided to introduce testing and added a chapter on testing code with pytest.

Over the past couple of years, Eric has continued to consider when and where to test a project’s code. He thinks there are hazards to always starting with unit tests. The type of project and its audience should determine what kind of testing to employ initially.

We discuss using pytest to develop integration tests on multiple types of projects. We also explore fixtures and what goes into building a test suite. Eric also shares criteria for when and where it makes sense to add unit tests to a project.

Course Spotlight: Using Python’s assert to Debug and Test Your Code

In this course, you’ll learn how to use Python’s assert statement to document, debug, and test code in development. You’ll learn how assertions might be disabled in production code, so you shouldn’t use them to validate data. You’ll also learn about a few common pitfalls of assertions in Python.

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