test-driven-development

The red-green-refactor cycle in test-driven development involves writing a failing test first, implementing minimal code to pass the test, and then refactoring the code to improve quality and maintainability without breaking functionality.

Yes, you can apply test-driven development to bug fixing and code refactoring to prevent regressions. The methodology requires writing failing tests that capture the bug or desired behavior before implementing the actual code corrections.

The best way to start writing reliable code using TDD is to define strict test cases for new features before writing functional code. This structured, test-first approach ensures robustness and high code quality from the initial development stage.

Yes, the test-driven development methodology provides clear guidance on writing effective tests, including naming conventions and common patterns like mocking and fixtures to ensure your testing setup is robust and maintainable.

You should reconsider the test-first approach when exploring completely unknown technical territories where defining expected behavior upfront is impossible, as test-driven development requires knowing the expected outcomes to write failing tests before functional code.