So what is all this talking about “automatic testing”? I know my code work so I don’t have to write some “test case” just to verify that; A complete waste of time!
Just kidding. No one in their right mind would say that they write bugfree code. One of the tools to help weed out the bugs before the code hits production is automatic testing, more specifically unit testing. This helps fix some problems but it also presents some of its own.
The Dilemma
The dilemma I am constantly finding myself in is this: I want to make beautiful code and design, but I also want to make sure it is functioning as it should. Now, there are a number of more or less subtle ways to (more…)
Switching to another programming language is difficult. Especially if you are switching from an imperative one to a functional one. There are a number of reasons why you would think that switching is bad, and when considering F# I dare say that none of those reasons are correct. The language compiles to IL (Intermediate Language) code that runs on Microsofts tried and tested .NET runtime (or Mono’s ditto). You have access to all the same classes in the .NET hierarchy that you have from any other .NET capable language. You can write web applications, WinForms applications or console applications in F#. You can connect to any kind of database that you can connect to from any other .NET language. You can use your existing C# og VB.NET code in your F# applications, or you can write F# code and use it in your existing applications. You have the opportunity to write more concise and maintainable code in a language that has much higher performance than any other functional language I know – with the possible exception of Clean, but that is still debatable, and you can mix functional programming with object oriented ditto at your leasure.
But what about testing? In these TDD (Test Driven Development) oriented days being able to properly test your code with automated unit- and integration tests is paramount. And if you have to use another (or perhaps write your) test framework than the one you are already using and familiar with, that might be an insuperable problem. Fortunately you can easily use NUnit with F# and I will show you how. (more…)