就在今天，我不得不更改一个类，之前已经为其编写了单元测试。 测试本身写得很好，包括我甚至没有想过的测试场景。 幸运的是，所有测试都通过了，我的更改很快得到了验证，并自信地放到了测试环境中。

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。

还没有人提到的一件事是，让所有开发人员承诺实际运行和更新任何现有的自动化测试。当您重新进行自动化测试并发现由于新的开发而出现故障时，会失去很多价值并使自动化测试非常痛苦。因为开发人员已经手动测试了代码，所以大多数测试不会指出错误，所以花在更新它们上的时间只是浪费。

说服怀疑者不要破坏其他人在单元测试上所做的工作，对于从测试中获得价值更为重要，而且可能更容易。

每次从存储库更新时，花费数小时更新由于新特性而损坏的测试既没有效率也没有乐趣。

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。

我最近在我的工作场所经历了完全相同的经历，发现大多数人都知道理论上的好处，但必须具体地向他们推销这些好处，所以下面是我使用的(成功地)要点:

它们在执行负测试(处理意外输入(空指针、越界值等)时节省了时间，因为您可以在单个进程中完成所有这些。 它们在编译时提供关于更改标准的即时反馈。 它们对于测试在正常运行时可能不会公开的内部数据表示非常有用。

还有那个大的…

您可能不需要单元测试，但是当其他人进入并在没有完全理解的情况下修改代码时，它可以捕捉到他们可能犯的许多愚蠢的错误。

单元测试很像去健身房。你知道这对你有好处，所有的争论都有意义，所以你开始锻炼。刚开始有一种冲动，这很好，但几天后你开始怀疑是否值得这样做。你每天花一个小时换衣服，在仓鼠转轮上跑步，你不确定除了腿和手臂疼痛之外，你真的得到了什么。

然后，也许一两周后，就在疼痛消失的时候，一个重要的截止日期开始来临。你需要把醒着的每一个小时都用来完成“有用的”工作，所以你要去掉无关紧要的事情，比如去健身房。你改掉了这个习惯，当截止日期结束的时候，你又回到了起点。如果你设法回到健身房，你会觉得和你第一次去的时候一样酸痛。

You do some reading, to see if you're doing something wrong. You begin feel a little bit of irrational spite toward all the fit, happy people extolling the virtues of exercise. You realize that you don't have a lot in common. They don't have to drive 15 minutes out of the way to go to the gym; there is one in their building. They don't have to argue with anybody about the benefits of exercise; it is just something everybody does and accepts as important. When a Big Deadline approaches, they aren't told that exercise is unnecessary any more than your boss would ask you to stop eating.

所以，回答你的问题，单元测试通常是值得付出努力的，但是所需的努力量对每个人来说都不一样。如果你在一家不重视代码质量的公司处理意大利面条式的代码库，那么单元测试可能需要付出巨大的努力。(许多经理会歌颂单元测试，但这并不意味着他们会在关键时刻支持单元测试。)

如果你正试图将单元测试引入到你的工作中，并且没有看到你所期待的所有阳光和彩虹，不要责怪自己。你可能需要找一份新工作来真正让单元测试为你工作。