我是一名维护工程师，负责一个文档记录不佳、糟糕而庞大的代码库。我希望编写代码的人已经为它编写了单元测试。 每次我进行更改和更新产品代码时，我都担心自己可能会因为没有考虑某些条件而引入错误。 如果他们编写测试，那么对代码库的更改就会更容易、更快。(与此同时，代码库将处于更好的状态)..

我认为，在编写api或框架时，单元测试非常有用，因为这些api或框架必须持续多年，并由原始编码器以外的人使用/修改/发展。

在我们的办公室里，每天都有这样的对话:

“伙计，我就是喜欢单元测试，我刚刚能够对某些东西的工作方式进行了一系列更改，然后能够通过再次运行测试来确认我没有破坏任何东西……”

细节每天都在变化，但情绪却不变。单元测试和测试驱动开发(TDD)有很多隐藏的和个人的好处，也有很多明显的好处，除非他们自己做，否则你无法真正向他们解释。

但是，忽略这一点，下面是我的尝试!

Unit Tests allows you to make big changes to code quickly. You know it works now because you've run the tests, when you make the changes you need to make, you need to get the tests working again. This saves hours. TDD helps you to realise when to stop coding. Your tests give you confidence that you've done enough for now and can stop tweaking and move on to the next thing. The tests and the code work together to achieve better code. Your code could be bad / buggy. Your TEST could be bad / buggy. In TDD you are banking on the chances of both being bad / buggy being low. Often it's the test that needs fixing but that's still a good outcome. TDD helps with coding constipation. When faced with a large and daunting piece of work ahead writing the tests will get you moving quickly. Unit Tests help you really understand the design of the code you are working on. Instead of writing code to do something, you are starting by outlining all the conditions you are subjecting the code to and what outputs you'd expect from that. Unit Tests give you instant visual feedback, we all like the feeling of all those green lights when we've done. It's very satisfying. It's also much easier to pick up where you left off after an interruption because you can see where you got to - that next red light that needs fixing. Contrary to popular belief unit testing does not mean writing twice as much code, or coding slower. It's faster and more robust than coding without tests once you've got the hang of it. Test code itself is usually relatively trivial and doesn't add a big overhead to what you're doing. This is one you'll only believe when you're doing it :) I think it was Fowler who said: "Imperfect tests, run frequently, are much better than perfect tests that are never written at all". I interpret this as giving me permission to write tests where I think they'll be most useful even if the rest of my code coverage is woefully incomplete. Good unit tests can help document and define what something is supposed to do Unit tests help with code re-use. Migrate both your code and your tests to your new project. Tweak the code till the tests run again.

我参与的很多工作都没有很好地进行单元测试(web应用程序用户交互等)，但即使如此，我们在这个商店里都被测试感染了，当我们把测试束缚住时，我们最高兴。我怎么极力推荐这种方法都不为过。

我在其他任何答案中都没有看到这一点，但我注意到的一件事是，我可以更快地调试。你不需要通过正确的步骤序列深入到你的应用程序中，只发现你犯了一个布尔错误，需要重新做一遍。使用单元测试，您可以直接进入正在调试的代码。

多年来，我一直试图说服人们，他们需要为自己的代码编写单元测试。无论他们是先编写测试(如TDD)还是在编写功能之后，我总是试图向他们解释对代码进行单元测试的所有好处。几乎没有人反对我。你不能否认一些显而易见的事情，任何聪明的人都会看到单元测试和TDD的好处。

单元测试的问题在于它需要行为上的改变，而要改变人们的行为是非常困难的。用语言，你会让很多人同意你的观点，但你不会看到他们做事的方式有太多变化。

你必须通过行动来说服人们。你的个人成功会比你的争论吸引更多的人。如果他们看到你不只是在谈论单元测试或TDD，而是在做你鼓吹的事情，而且你是成功的，人们就会试图模仿你。

You should also take on a lead role because no one writes unit test right the first time, so you may need to coach them on how to do it, show them the way, and the tools available to them. Help them while they write their first tests, review the tests they write on their own, and show them the tricks, idioms and patterns you've learned through your own experiences. After a while, they will start seeing the benefits on their own, and they will change their behavior to incorporate unit tests or TDD into their toolbox.

改变不会在一夜之间发生，但只要有一点耐心，你就可能实现你的目标。

单元测试绝对是值得付出努力的。不幸的是，您选择了一个困难的(但不幸的是常见的)场景来实现它。

从单元测试中获得的最大好处是从头开始使用它——在一些精选的小项目中，我有幸在实现类之前编写单元测试(此时接口已经完成)。通过适当的单元测试，您可以在类还处于婴儿期时就发现并修复它们，而不是在将来毫无疑问会集成到复杂系统中的任何地方。

如果您的软件是完全面向对象的，那么您应该能够在类级别上添加单元测试，而不需要太多的努力。如果您没有那么幸运，您仍然应该尽可能地尝试合并单元测试。确保当你添加新功能时，新部分都有清晰的接口，你会发现单元测试让你的工作变得更容易。

简而言之——是的。它们值得你付出每一分努力……在某种程度上。在一天结束的时候，测试仍然是代码，并且很像典型的代码增长，您的测试最终将需要重构，以便可维护和可持续。有一大堆的陷阱!当涉及到单元测试时，但是没有什么，我的意思是没有什么比丰富的单元测试集更能让开发人员更自信地进行更改了。

I'm working on a project right now.... it's somewhat TDD, and we have the majority of our business rules encapuslated as tests... we have about 500 or so unit tests right now. This past iteration I had to revamp our datasource and how our desktop application interfaces with that datasource. Took me a couple days, the whole time I just kept running unit tests to see what I broke and fixed it. Make a change; Build and run your tests; fix what you broke. Wash, Rinse, Repeat as necessary. What would have traditionally taken days of QA and boat loads of stress was instead a short and enjoyable experience.

提前准备，一点点额外的努力，当你不得不开始摆弄核心特性/功能时，它会给你带来十倍的回报。

我买了这本书——它是xUnit测试知识的圣经——它可能是我书架上被引用最多的书之一，我每天都在查阅它:链接文本