test-driven-development

Test-driven development prevents regressions by enforcing a test-first workflow where you write failing unit tests before production code, ensuring every feature and bug fix is validated against real behavior signals immediately.

To start the red-green-refactor cycle, write a failing unit test that captures intended behavior, implement minimal production code to pass it, then refactor while keeping tests green to maintain quality assurance.

Yes, test-first development applies to bug fixes and refactoring by requiring a failing test that reproduces the bug before fixing it, and maintaining green tests while restructuring code to prevent regressions.

The best way to write meaningful unit tests is to enforce clear test discipline, creating named tests that verify real behavior rather than relying on mocks alone during the test-driven development process.

Test-driven development requires a unit testing framework to execute tests and confirm failures, but does not depend on specific external libraries or component dependencies to enforce its red-green-refactor workflow.