test-driven-development

To enforce a strict test-driven development workflow, you must follow the mandatory Red-Green-Refactor cycle, which requires writing a failing test before creating any production code. This prevents technical debt and ensures high code reliability.

The Red-Green-Refactor cycle in unit testing is a strict workflow where you first write a failing test, implement minimal code to pass the test, and then refactor the implementation. This guarantees meaningful tests and focused code.

Test-driven development prevents mocking behavior instead of real logic by providing anti-pattern guardrails. This ensures your tests target actual system behavior and prevents polluting production code with test-only methods.

No, you cannot fix bugs using test-driven development without writing tests first. The strict workflow prohibits production code creation for bug fixes without a preceding failing test that defines the expected behavior.

The best way to define expected behavior before writing production code is writing a failing test case first. This test-driven approach guarantees your tests are meaningful and your feature implementation remains strictly focused.