Tag: methodology
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Sufficiency In Software Testing
When I was finishing up my B.S. I took a class in embedded software testing. The big assignment was to write the software that controls a single elevator, test the software to our satisfaction and deliver the whole shebang at the end of the semester. The critical lesson I learned from the course was…
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Writing Good Error Messages
I received this little note from my Mac today. This made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside despite the interruption of my work because it satisfies my general criteria for displaying error messages to users. A graphical severity indicator is given so I know whether or not to care. It provides a succinct, human-readable…
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Software Engineering Curse Words
Here lie terms frequently used in software development which I don’t particularly care for. Programmer Commercial software is as much about programming as building bridges is about installing steel I-beams. Writing actual code is only part of the engineering effort. When I see a job posting entitled “Java Programmer” I usually suspect that this is…
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5 Roadblocks To Enterprise Rails Acceptance
I love Rails for its pragmatic design and agile culture: two qualities not usually associated with the large, enterprisey systems of Fortune 500 companies. In my last formal position I was part of a small internal movement to drive the Rails train upward through the IT ranks, but the effort was met with limited success.…
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If A Unit Test Fails In The Woods, Does It Make A Sound?
No, it doesn’t. Unit tests that execute a large amount of code but fail to make assertions along the way give you a false sense of confidence in the code. They pass when they should fail. These problems, formally known as type 2 errors, are a huge liability for a development team because the tests…