testing

Module description

Front-end developers should learn unit testing for several key reasons:

1. Catch bugs early: Writing unit tests helps the developer to catch bugs during the early stages of development which could prevent potential issues in production. It helps to validate that each unit of the software performs as designed.

2. Maintainability and easier refactoring: When your codebase has a good suite of unit tests, making changes and refactoring becomes much easier. You can be confident that your changes didn't break anything else in the application if all your tests are still passing.

3. Better code structure: Writing tests often encourages developers to write more modular, decoupled code which is easier to maintain and understand.

4. Documentation: Good unit tests can also act as documentation by example. They can help a new contributor (or forgetful future you) understand how different parts of the application are supposed to behave.

5. Faster development cycle: Even though writing tests can seem like it's slowing you down, it actually speeds up the development cycle in the long run. You catch bugs instantaneously, you don't have to manually retest functionality, and your automated tests run much more quickly than manual testing.

6. Professional development: Many companies expect their developers to know how to write unit tests. Learning it will make you more marketable as a job candidate.

7. Builds credibility and confidence: Unit tests provide proof that your code actually works and increases confidence in the quality and reliability of your code, which can be especially important when collaborating in a team or delivering a project to a client.

It's important to note that while unit testing provides numerous benefits, it is only one part of a comprehensive testing strategy, which can also include integration, functional, and end-to-end testing.

Education materials

• Video. Unit testing
• Video. Jest Crash Course - Unit Testing in JavaScript
• Jest documentation. Getting started
• What are Unit Testing, Integration Testing and Functional Testing?
• BDD vs TDD vs ATDD: Key Differences
• Fundamentals of Software Testing
• The different types of software testing
• Software Testing Basics
• Test Driven Development
• JS Testing Best Practices
• JS Testing Tutorial
• Testing Best Practices
• Integration Testing
• E2E Testing Frameworks