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what_is_a_good_unit_test

What Is a Good Unit Test? 5 Must-Haves

In this day and age, unit testing isn’t as controversial as it once was. Sure, you still see the occasional inflammatory, clickbait-y, confrontational “unit testing is garbage” type of post on Reddit and Hacker News.

And there are still developers out there ignorant of the existence of unit testing—or any type of automated testing, for what it’s worth. Believe it or not.

However, if we consider the developers that do know about unit testing, I’d say the debate is pretty much over. It’s generally agreed, today, that unit testing has a positive influence on software projects.

With that in mind, the next question then becomes “what makes for a good unit test?” That’s what this post is all about. Today, we present you five must-haves for a great unit test.

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layered_architecture_solid_aproach_ndepend

Layered Architecture: Still a Solid Approach

Layered architecture gets a lot of flack.

Even though it’s still the most prevalent architecture, we view it as an anti-pattern. It’s old, not scaleable, and anti-SOLID. It encourages (shudder) monoliths!

Yes, I know. Hexagonal architecture is the way to go. Or maybe I’m feeling a taste for onions. But only if it’s clean!

The point is that even though it may not be an object-oriented nirvana, layered architecture is still a useful pattern. And if done right, it paves the way towards more advanced designs and architecture.

So let’s talk about layers.

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autofac_detailed_look_under_hood

Autofac: A Detailed Look Under the Hood at Its Code Quality

In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve been diving ever-further down the code research rabbit hole.  Today it brings me to the Autofac codebase (found here).  But to understand how I’ve arrived here, consider some of the questions that I’ve answered previously.

With each of these studies (and the rest of the series), the research has become more sophisticated.  This is because I’ve started working with folks that have a data science and machine learning background.  So I’m now having fun assembling measurable codebase properties into broad categories and seeing how my corpus of 500+ open source codebase resolves into patterns.

And that brings me to Autofac.

It caught my eye by ranking in the 85th percentile for what I’m calling “testable” codebases and in the 58th for “readability.”  And in general, it scores decently to well in just about every measure.  This gave me an idea for a post in the same sort of vein as the one I did about Moq.  Let’s do a deep dive into Autofac’s codebase using NDepend.

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Software Architecture Document? You Don’t Need That

In the spirit of the Agile Manifesto, we’ve reduced our dependence on software documentation. In some ways, this has improved our lives. And in other ways, it’s been taken too far and had the opposite effect.

The manifesto values “working software over comprehensive documentation,” which isn’t to say that documentation isn’t necessary. All too often, the baby is thrown out with the bathwater, and teams produce little to no documentation at all—including the software architecture document.

So which bits of documentation should we throw out and which should we still deliver? Indeed, we should prioritize those deliverables like any other user story. Some organizations will place a higher value on certain documents than others. Nearly all should put more priority on creating a software architecture document. Here’s why…

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design_patters_that_have_aged_poorly_ndepend

3 Design Patterns That Have Aged Poorly

Design patterns seem to be a controversial topic. On one hand, many developers seem to love them and treat the famous book by the Gang of Four like sacred scripture. On the other hand, many developers loath the very idea of design patterns. It’s not too hard to find posts around the web with titles such as “Design Patterns are Bad Design,” “Following Design Patterns Is A Bad Idea,” and of course, the inevitable “Design Patterns Considered Harmful.”

What can we take from that? Well, as it is with pretty much everything in our industry, it’s really hard to reach some form of consensus on design patterns. My take is this: design patterns are tools. Some are more useful, others less useful. Some may be outright harmful. And others may not make sense for your scenario, but maybe for Joe who sits three desks from you, they’re a gift from heaven.

But that’s not what this post is really about (i.e. deciding whether design patterns are “good” or “bad”). As we’ve seen, such discussion is simplistic and misses the point.

What we’re going to do instead is cover three design patterns that haven’t aged quite well. These design patterns are ones that you no longer go around implementing. And if you do, you probably shouldn’t.

Let’s get started.

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declarative_programming_in_depth

Declarative Programming in Depth

Most people that start programming learn to program in an imperative way. Shortly after, they will probably learn a declarative language too. Many developers go a long way without knowing the difference. Many will probably never know. And they could very well be great developers. But knowing the difference could change the way you write code for the better, so let’s dive in.

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Software_architecture_5_patterns_you_need_to_know

Software Architecture: the 5 Patterns You Need to Know

When I was attending night school to become a programmer, I learned several design patterns: singleton, repository, factory, builder, decorator, etc. Design patterns give us a proven solution to existing and recurring problems. What I didn’t learn was that a similar mechanism exists on a higher level: software architecture patterns. These are patterns for the overall layout of your application or applications. They all have advantages and disadvantages. And they all address specific issues.

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Continuing Our Clean Architecture Example in C Sharp

Continuing Our Clean Architecture Example in C#

After a somewhat long delay, it’s time to finally continue our series on clean architecture. This is the second post in the inner series in which we show you a quick implementation of said architecture and the third post in the overall series. In case you haven’t read the previous posts, please do so by using the links in the series layout below:

Without further ado, let’s continue our implementation.

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log4net vs NLog A Comparison of How They Affect Codebases

Log4net vs NLog: A Comparison of How They Affect Codebases

Ah, the old “versus” Google search.  Invariably, you’re in the research stage of some decision when you type this word into a search engine.  Probably not something like Coke vs Pepsi.  Maybe “C# vs Java for enterprise projects” or “angular vs react.”  Or if you landed here, perhaps you’re looking at “log4net vs NLog.”

With a search like this, you expect a certain standard script.  The writer should describe each one anecdotally, perhaps with a history.  Then comes the matrix with a list of features and checks and exes for each one, followed by a sober list of strengths and weaknesses.  Then, with a flourish, I should finish with a soggy conclusion that it really depends on your needs, but I maybe kinda sorta like one better.

I’m not going to do any of that. Continue reading Log4net vs NLog: A Comparison of How They Affect Codebases