I largely agree - there is a certain testing dogma that goes into testing that this article dispels nicely. Of course, it comes with its own dogma, though I guess that's a bit tongue in cheek considering the author says: "let me firebomb the debate with the following list of nuance-less opinions".
So let me add some nuances:
1) DO aim high though, just recognize that the work in getting there is probably better spent elsewhere in your app.
3) BUT ignore this advice if you don't write tests yet. When you learn to test, or start working on a new feature that you may not know how to test, it will take you as long to test it as to code it. From there on though, test cost of testing is pretty cheap, so the 1/2 or 1/3 ratios start to make sense.
4) Do test that you are correctly using features and libraries (yes, standard activerecord stuff is probably going overboard).
5) But dont forget that many bugs occur at the boundaries of functional units.
6) Do what works for you, and what makes sense for you code base and business priorities. I don't love cucumber myself, but when others swear by it I can see why they like it.
Kent Beck's quote at the end is lovely. The first and only book on TDD I read was Beck's, and it's good to know that he's not actually as dogmatic as the book makes you think.
So let me add some nuances:
1) DO aim high though, just recognize that the work in getting there is probably better spent elsewhere in your app.
3) BUT ignore this advice if you don't write tests yet. When you learn to test, or start working on a new feature that you may not know how to test, it will take you as long to test it as to code it. From there on though, test cost of testing is pretty cheap, so the 1/2 or 1/3 ratios start to make sense.
4) Do test that you are correctly using features and libraries (yes, standard activerecord stuff is probably going overboard).
5) But dont forget that many bugs occur at the boundaries of functional units.
6) Do what works for you, and what makes sense for you code base and business priorities. I don't love cucumber myself, but when others swear by it I can see why they like it.
Kent Beck's quote at the end is lovely. The first and only book on TDD I read was Beck's, and it's good to know that he's not actually as dogmatic as the book makes you think.