I started with Extreme Programming in 99 and grew and evolved through all the refinements to the process around testing. It's always been about providing safety. Fast has always been about not running silly tests that take too long
Fast Feedback is a core objective. It is not in competition with safety, safety is an integral part. Safety is the feedback you are expecting. We want to know about that safety fast.
A popular term that came around in the early 2000s was "Brain Engaged", meaning you needed always to be aware of why you were doing things and not following blind rules. Meaning you need to know the purpose of going fast.
The whole point is to go as fast as possible safely.
Some of the biggest challenges is how to get things quick while maintaining safety. Kind of makes no sense to have fast tests with no safety.
Now you mention mocks, and I have seen people mock in very strange ways that devalue tests.
I like the general guidance from Kent Beck "I get paid for code that works, not for tests, so my philosophy is to test as little as possible to reach a given level of confidence"
I started with Extreme Programming in 99 and grew and evolved through all the refinements to the process around testing. It's always been about providing safety. Fast has always been about not running silly tests that take too long
Fast Feedback is a core objective. It is not in competition with safety, safety is an integral part. Safety is the feedback you are expecting. We want to know about that safety fast.
A popular term that came around in the early 2000s was "Brain Engaged", meaning you needed always to be aware of why you were doing things and not following blind rules. Meaning you need to know the purpose of going fast.
The whole point is to go as fast as possible safely.
Some of the biggest challenges is how to get things quick while maintaining safety. Kind of makes no sense to have fast tests with no safety.
Now you mention mocks, and I have seen people mock in very strange ways that devalue tests.
I like the general guidance from Kent Beck "I get paid for code that works, not for tests, so my philosophy is to test as little as possible to reach a given level of confidence"