test-driven-development

Test-first development catches bugs early by mandating a strict RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle. This requires writing and verifying a failing test before implementing any production code, ensuring issues are resolved before embedding them in the final software.

The RED-GREEN-REFACTOR cycle is a strict test-driven development workflow. RED means writing a failing test first, GREEN is implementing minimal code to pass that test, and REFACTOR is optimizing the code without breaking existing tests.

To write code for new features using strict test-driven development, write a failing test verifying the specific behavior first, implement the minimal production logic to pass it, then refactor for readability while keeping all tests passing.

Yes, test-driven development applies to new feature development, bug fixes, refactoring, and behavior changes across cross-platform software engineering projects. It enforces comprehensive test coverage and prevents post-hoc test writing for maintainable codebases.

You can prevent skipping test-first steps by using built-in guardrails against common rationalizations. This includes red flags, common excuse rebuttals, and a verification checklist to ensure the strict test-driven workflow is maintained.

The best way to verify API retry logic is to first write a test confirming the operation retries 3 times, confirm the test fails, implement the minimal retry logic to pass the test, then refactor the code for readability.