test-driven-development

Test-driven development enforces writing a failing test first, then minimal code to pass it, then refactoring. This cycle ensures complex algorithms are thoroughly tested before implementation and builds confidence in your test suite by verifying tests actually catch bugs.

Use test-driven development for complex algorithms, data transformations, and business logic with edge cases where reliability is critical. Avoid it for UI components, simple CRUD operations, or straightforward mappings where the overhead outweighs the benefit.

The red-green-refactor cycle is the core TDD workflow: write a failing test (red), implement minimal code to pass it (green), then refactor while keeping tests passing. This disciplined approach prevents over-engineering and ensures every line of production code has test coverage.

Yes. Test-driven development enforces writing tests before code, which forces you to think through edge cases upfront. By requiring tests to fail first, it prevents the common pitfall of writing tests that pass regardless of the actual behavior.

Test-driven development prevents bugs by making failing tests a mandatory prerequisite before writing production code. This ensures business logic is specified by tests, edge cases are covered systematically, and refactoring keeps all tests green.