Semergence

ONJava.com: Approaches to Mocking [Feb. 11, 2004]

Everyone knows what a mock is, just from the name, but as with many seemingly simple ideas, there is more to them than first meets the eye. This article explores the two types of mocks that exist and covers some of the problems inherent in their use. Finally, it considers the reason why a developer might chose to use mocks. After all, common understanding holds that mocks are used for unit testing, a key part of Test Driven Design, but that isn’t necessarily about testing at all.

A Brief Introduction to IoC

This article aims to introduce the notion of Inversion Of Control (IoC) and how it can streamline application design. We will look at the different types of IoC frameworks. By showing how IoC can result in simpler, more flexible code, you’ll also be able to see why IoC has attracted so much interest of late.

The IoC principle seems to be the cool principle of the week.

jMock - A Lightweight Mock Object Library for Java

jMock is a library for testing Java code using mock objects.

Mock objects help you design and test the interactions between the objects in your programs.

The Simplest Thing that Could Possibly Work

A friend of mine once said that there are problems and there are difficulties. A problem is something you savor. You say, “Well that’s an interesting problem. Let me think about that problem a while.” You enjoy thinking about it, because when you find the solution to the problem, it’s enlightening.

And then there are difficulties. Computers are famous for difficulties. A difficulty is just a blockage from progress. You have to try a lot of things. When you finally find what works, it doesn’t tell you a thing. It won’t be the same tomorrow. Getting the computer to work is so often dealing with difficulties.

AgileAlliance

Good overview of the agile approach to developing software. Presents the conclusion that agile methods are not a “silver bullet” but that industry attention is shifting focus from process to practice.

Software Development Online: Proof Positive

Solid research supporting the value of agility is beginning to come in, but the tough task of convincing the Doubting Thomases to “cross the chasm” may take further effort.

Stupid web site makes you register to view article.

The Poetry of Programming

Richard Gabriel is a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems, where he researches the architecture, design, and implementation of very large systems, as well as development techniques for building them. He is the author of three books: Writers’ Workshops and the Work of Making Things, Patterns of Software, and Performance and Evaluation of Lisp Systems. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford in 1981 and returned to school to get a Master’s in Fine Arts in poetry in 1998 at Warren Wilson College. In addition, he has in the works a program that would offer an MFA in software design. We recently caught up with him to trace the connections between creativity, software, and poetry.

In which Richard Gabriel argues for a MFA in Software Engineering.

Build a Java Web App Using HttpUnit and the Test-driven Methodology, Part I

Unit performs automated testing for standalone Java applications that either run on the command line or serve as components. If you develop large-scale or distributed applications, however, you are most likely going to work with Java Web applications. Because Web applications communicate via HTTP rather than Java method calls, JUnit is poorly equipped to test Web applications. HttpUnit comes to the rescue. This freely available toolprovides Web testing functionality that complements JUnit.

Don’t forget about JWebUnit. I think it’s a lot easier to work with.

Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

Wise teachings from people a lot smarter than me.