Test Driven Development

    RED                GREEN              REFACTOR
 Write a test    Write minimal code    Clean up the
 that fails  ──→  to make it pass  ──→  implementation  ──→  (repeat)
      │                  │                    │
      ▼                  ▼                    ▼
   Test FAILS        Test PASSES         Tests still PASS

// RED: This test fails because createTask doesn't exist yet
describe('TaskService', () => {
  it('creates a task with title and default status', async () => {
    const task = await taskService.createTask({ title: 'Buy groceries' });

    expect(task.id).toBeDefined();
    expect(task.title).toBe('Buy groceries');
    expect(task.status).toBe('pending');
    expect(task.createdAt).toBeInstanceOf(Date);
  });
});

// GREEN: Minimal implementation
export async function createTask(input: { title: string }): Promise<Task> {
  const task = {
    id: generateId(),
    title: input.title,
    status: 'pending' as const,
    createdAt: new Date(),
  };
  await db.tasks.insert(task);
  return task;
}

Bug report arrives
       │
       ▼
  Write a test that demonstrates the bug
       │
       ▼
  Test FAILS (confirming the bug exists)
       │
       ▼
  Implement the fix
       │
       ▼
  Test PASSES (proving the fix works)
       │
       ▼
  Run full test suite (no regressions)

// Bug: "Completing a task doesn't update the completedAt timestamp"

// Step 1: Write the reproduction test (it should FAIL)
it('sets completedAt when task is completed', async () => {
  const task = await taskService.createTask({ title: 'Test' });
  const completed = await taskService.completeTask(task.id);

  expect(completed.status).toBe('completed');
  expect(completed.completedAt).toBeInstanceOf(Date);  // This fails → bug confirmed
});

// Step 2: Fix the bug
export async function completeTask(id: string): Promise<Task> {
  return db.tasks.update(id, {
    status: 'completed',
    completedAt: new Date(),  // This was missing
  });
}

// Step 3: Test passes → bug fixed, regression guarded

          ╱╲
         ╱  ╲         E2E Tests (~5%)
        ╱    ╲        Full user flows, real browser
       ╱──────╲
      ╱        ╲      Integration Tests (~15%)
     ╱          ╲     Component interactions, API boundaries
    ╱────────────╲
   ╱              ╲   Unit Tests (~80%)
  ╱                ╲  Pure logic, isolated, milliseconds each
 ╱──────────────────╲

Is it pure logic with no side effects?
  → Unit test (small)

Does it cross a boundary (API, database, file system)?
  → Integration test (medium)

Is it a critical user flow that must work end-to-end?
  → E2E test (large) — limit these to critical paths

// Good: Tests what the function does (state-based)
it('returns tasks sorted by creation date, newest first', async () => {
  const tasks = await listTasks({ sortBy: 'createdAt', sortOrder: 'desc' });
  expect(tasks[0].createdAt.getTime())
    .toBeGreaterThan(tasks[1].createdAt.getTime());
});

// Bad: Tests how the function works internally (interaction-based)
it('calls db.query with ORDER BY created_at DESC', async () => {
  await listTasks({ sortBy: 'createdAt', sortOrder: 'desc' });
  expect(db.query).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
    expect.stringContaining('ORDER BY created_at DESC')
  );
});

// DAMP: Each test is self-contained and readable
it('rejects tasks with empty titles', () => {
  const input = { title: '', assignee: 'user-1' };
  expect(() => createTask(input)).toThrow('Title is required');
});

it('trims whitespace from titles', () => {
  const input = { title: '  Buy groceries  ', assignee: 'user-1' };
  const task = createTask(input);
  expect(task.title).toBe('Buy groceries');
});

// Over-DRY: Shared setup obscures what each test actually verifies
// (Don't do this just to avoid repeating the input shape)

Preference order (most to least preferred):
1. Real implementation  → Highest confidence, catches real bugs
2. Fake                 → In-memory version of a dependency (e.g., fake DB)
3. Stub                 → Returns canned data, no behavior
4. Mock (interaction)   → Verifies method calls — use sparingly

it('marks overdue tasks when deadline has passed', () => {
  // Arrange: Set up the test scenario
  const task = createTask({
    title: 'Test',
    deadline: new Date('2025-01-01'),
  });

  // Act: Perform the action being tested
  const result = checkOverdue(task, new Date('2025-01-02'));

  // Assert: Verify the outcome
  expect(result.isOverdue).toBe(true);
});

// Good: Each test verifies one behavior
it('rejects empty titles', () => { ... });
it('trims whitespace from titles', () => { ... });
it('enforces maximum title length', () => { ... });

// Bad: Everything in one test
it('validates titles correctly', () => {
  expect(() => createTask({ title: '' })).toThrow();
  expect(createTask({ title: '  hello  ' }).title).toBe('hello');
  expect(() => createTask({ title: 'a'.repeat(256) })).toThrow();
});

// Good: Reads like a specification
describe('TaskService.completeTask', () => {
  it('sets status to completed and records timestamp', ...);
  it('throws NotFoundError for non-existent task', ...);
  it('is idempotent — completing an already-completed task is a no-op', ...);
  it('sends notification to task assignee', ...);
});

// Bad: Vague names
describe('TaskService', () => {
  it('works', ...);
  it('handles errors', ...);
  it('test 3', ...);
});

1. REPRODUCE: Navigate to the page, trigger the bug, screenshot
2. INSPECT: Console errors? DOM structure? Computed styles? Network responses?
3. DIAGNOSE: Compare actual vs expected — is it HTML, CSS, JS, or data?
4. FIX: Implement the fix in source code
5. VERIFY: Reload, screenshot, confirm console is clean, run tests