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J B Rainsberger Integrated Tests Are A Scam HD

Christopher Cabanne · talk · Watch on YouTube

Testing, debugging & developer toolsSoftware architecture & design

What it is

J. B. Rainsberger argues that large integrated tests are a scam: they are slow, fail opaquely, and give a false sense of coverage. He advocates focused collaboration and contract tests at boundaries instead.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends it in testing-strategy debates as the classic case for fewer integration tests and more small, well-contracted unit tests.

  • 4 people recommended it
  • 4 different months
  • 0 strong recommendations
  • first 2017, last 2023

What HN commenters said

  1. “J.B Rainsberger says it best”

    Rainsberger on why coarse-grained integrated tests hurt productivity.

    pooktrain, 2017-03 · Recommendation · in “Zen and the Art of Unit Testing”

  2. “Integration Tests Are A Scam”

    Argues for mostly unit tests with clear contracts at boundaries.

    1_player, 2017-10 · Recommendation · in “Write tests. Not too many. Mostly integration”

  3. “which is a tad click-bait, but actually quite good”

    Makes the case for fewer integration tests than unit tests.

    mpweiher, 2018-07 · Recommendation · in “Goodbye Microservices: From 100s of problem children to 1 superstar”

  4. “JBRainsberger has an nice talk on them [1].”

    Talk on why integration tests slow teams and fail opaquely.

    mihaigalos, 2022-09 · Recommendation · in “Fit: Framework for Integrated Test”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: integration tests, unit testing, contract tests, test design, jb rainsberger

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