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November 07, 2006
Time to go home? Leave a broken test
I often have to take a few minutes at the beginning of each day to remember where I left off yesterday. I've tried things like leaving a note to myself to remind me of the details of my work in progress.
The most effective thing I've found, though, is leaving a broken test.
It's simple and effective if you're test-driving code. For example, let's say I'm writing a class that encapsulates whether a password meets a password policy. I'm hungry, tired and want to go home in time to go for a run:
[Test]
public void ValidPasswordMustHaveANumber()
{
Password password = new Password( "PasswordWithNoNumber" );
Assert.IsFalse( validator.IsValid( password ), "passwords without a number are invalid" );
}
When I come in the next morning I'll run the tests and see:
Assertion failed: passwords without a number are invalid.
Then I'll remember where I left the previous day.
Posted at 07:50 AM | Permanent Link | Comments (5)
November 01, 2006
Please Find Posted This Blog Entry
A poorly constructed and tired phrase in email writing is:
“Please find attached the document that you requested…”
This phrase is verbose, passive, and imprecise. Strunk and White cringe every time it is used.
It is imprecise: Who attached the document? You? Me? The Document Fairy? The phrase doesn't convey the actor.
It is verbose: The alternative, “I’ve attached,” is shorter.
It is passive: It uses third person passive voice.
Don’t use this phrase. Replace it with the straightforward and concise “I’ve attached the document…” It should be included in chapter 5 of the next edition of Elements of Style.
Posted at 07:48 AM | Permanent Link | Comments (1)