Java Testing Weekly 20 / 2016

There are many software development blogs out there, but many of them don't publish testing articles on a regular basis.

Also, I have noticed that some software developers don't read blogs written by software testers.

That is a shame because I think that we can learn a lot from them.

That is why I decided to create a newsletter that shares the best testing articles which I found during the last week.

Let's get started.

Technical Stuff

  • Creating data driven API tests with REST Assured and TestNG describes how you can write parameterized tests for a REST API by using TestNG and Rest Assured. This is an introductory level post, but if you have no experience from this topic, and you must get started "right now", you should take a look at this blog post.
  • How to Split JUnit Tests in a Continuous Integration Environment describes why you should split your test suite into smaller test groups and run these test groups separately. Also, it introduces several techniques that help you create these test groups with Maven. This is a very useful blog post because running all tests at the same time is not as useful as you might think.
  • JUnit vs Spock + Spock Cheatsheet describes what is wrong with JUnit. It also provides a handy cheatsheet that helps you to get started with Spock Framework. I admit that I really like Spock Framework, but its problem is that you need to learn Groovy. Of course this is not problem if you are motivated to write clean tests. However, the sad fact that is that all developers do not really care about writing clean tests.
  • Unit Testing RxJava: From Beginner to Competent User helps you to write automated tests for reactive code that is written with RxJava. This blog post is a real gem because there are not many articles that talk about writing automated tests for reactive code. In other words, if you are working with reactive code, you must read this blog post.

The Really Valuable Stuff

  • 4 Things You Need to Know About Test Automation identifies four things that you must know about automated testing. This is my guest post which I wrote for WhiteSource Software, and my goal was to crush the most common myths about automated testing. In the end I will also share some tips that help you to create your own test automation strategy.
  • A No Jira Experiment is a story that describes what happens when a hardcore Jira user decides to report bugs by using other communication channels. The outcome is not a surprise to me because I think that Jira is not a good tool for reporting bugs. The problem is that it's extremely hard to write a bug report that can be fixed without asking additional information from the tester. Most of the time you have to bounce the issue back and forth. This is a total waste of time. I think that it is much more productive (and fun) to fix the issue together with a tester who can verify the fix after I have written it.
  • Unicorns of Testing is a post that basically explains why a tester cannot win no matter what title she/he uses. In my opinion, one of the biggest problems of software development is that we value developers more than the other members of our software development team. It's insane because writing code doesn't help us to create useful software. Unfortunately, I fear that this attitude is not going anywhere.
  • Well written test cases – or not. A few thoughts on test design explains why creating a well written and a detailed test plan is a bad idea. The problem is that after you have finished this test plan, you have successfully tested zero features. Also, when you start following this test plan, you are not making any progress because you spend most of your time writing test reports. This is insane and a total waste of your time. I have an idea: do more testing and less writing.
  • Whom Do I serve? explains why developers are not valuable without testers and vice versa. This is one of best descriptions which I have ever seen. In other words, if you know an arrogant developer, you should show this blog post to him/her. On the other hand, if you are an arrogant developer, do yourself a favor and read this blog post.
  • When to Coach and When to Mentor explains the difference between coaching and mentoring, and helps you to select the correct mode when you are helping other persons. I decided to add this post on this list because I think that it is extremely useful for anyone who wants to help other people to improve their skills. If you don't want to do this, you can just ignore this blog post.

It's Time for Feedback

Because I want to make this newsletter worth your time, I am asking you to help me make it better.

P.S. If you want to make sure that you don't ever miss Java Testing Weekly, you should subscribe my newsletter.

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