Archive for category Opinion
Effective Code Coverage (and Metrics in General)
This is the best definition of code metrics I have found so far1: Code metrics is a set of software measures that provide developers better insight into the code they are developing. By taking advantage of code metrics, developers can understand which types and/or methods should be reworked or more thoroughly tested. Development teams can [...]
Great candidate == great (technical skills + personality + attitude)
Posted by Alex Ruiz in Interviewing, Opinion on July 6, 2010
In my previous job, I spent a considerable amount of time interviewing candidates. After years of interviewing candidates, I finally realized that a candidate’s personality and attitude are as important as her technical skills. Even though I’m going to describe what may seem obvious to most of you, I’d like to share my short and [...]
When 100% coverage gives us a false sense of security
I use code coverage tools on a regular basis only to ensure that the most complex areas of the code base are properly tested. I tend to bravely fight the temptation to get excited by this metric and waste valuable time adding meaningless tests (e.g. getters and setters) just to keep the numbers going up. [...]
A (overlooked?) use case for the Strategy pattern, part 2: it’s not about Template Method
Recap As I explained in my previous post, I think there is a use case for the strategy pattern that, in my opinion, we often overlook: This is what I’ve seen: class A has method x. Just after method x is done doing its thing and before it exits, it calls a (sometimes empty) protected [...]
A (overlooked?) use case for the Strategy pattern
Composition over inheritance. It seems that we all agree and understand this valuable principle. I’ve been reading a good amount of code lately from some open source projects (including mine,) and I think we are still missing at least one use case where to apply it. This is what I’ve seen: class A has method [...]
Thoughts about "UI Test Automation Tools are Snake Oil"
Posted by Alex Ruiz in Open Source, Opinion, Testing on January 18, 2010
I just finished reading "UI Test Automation Tools are Snake Oil" by Michael Feathers. Although I agree with many of the ideas in the article, I also think it contains some hasty generalizations and misplaced blame. Mr. Feathers points out that “selling UI test automation tools is irresponsible” and these tools are sold “with a [...]
Giving Infinitest and “Continuous Testing” a try…
It has been a week since I started using Infinitest while working on FEST-Assert. I’m very pleased with the results, to the point that I’m getting addicted to it! Infinitest is an interesting tool that brings Continuous Testing to your IDE (Eclipse or IDEA.) From its website: Whenever you make a change, Infinitest runs tests [...]
Polyglot Programming: Flawed Dream?
I’ve been reading for some time various articles and blogs about Polyglot Programming, and the perception I got is there are two opposite views: the ones preaching it and the ones that tried and it didn’t work for them. IMHO, the points made by polyglot programming enthusiasts sound indeed pretty attractive, in theory. I haven’t [...]
Reorganizing long test classes
For the next release of FEST-Swing, the number of automated tests has increased considerably: from 2,677 to 3,000+ (and counting!) Special attention has been paid to the quality of the tests: DRY and readable code, meaningful assertions, and proper naming. Tests are treated with the same TLC (Tender Loving Care) as the rest of the [...]
A couple of lessons I learned about API design
One of the reasons I work on open source is to become a better programmer. Learning opportunities come from different sources, being practice the more obvious one. In the last couple of weeks I learned two important lessons about API design not by practicing my craft, but from listening to our users. What I learned [...]
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Welcome
My name is Alex Ruiz. I'm a programmer with special interest in Java, API design, testing and OOP. I'm the creator of FEST, an open source project that aims at making testing of Swing and JavaFX user interfaces (and testing in general) easier.
I work as a Software Engineer in the JavaFX Controls team at Oracle.
