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Mar 19, 2005, 18:10 #1
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A Forum with a Built-In Unit Tester
An old thread was just bumped up and I was struck by this post by lastcraft. My mind wandered a little and I got to thinking about the idea of group code development using a forum and I had this crazy idea.
What if there was a unit tester (e.g. SimpleTest) integrated into the forum so that you could write test scripts that could "include" code from another post and run tests on it. It would essentially be a way to run code posted with inputs that you define.
Of course the whole slew of security issues it would bring up would probably make it impossible. You might have to create a custom version of PHP without any libraries that even remotely effect a system resources. And then it would need to be run in a service and memory limited sandbox. The upshot would be that unit tests would have to mock almost everything, which might not be a bad thing.
Marcus' idea of a '"codefest" or "designfest" thread' intrigues me. If only there was some structure, tools, or as least some rules to support doing such a thing.Christopher
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Mar 19, 2005, 21:48 #2
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As you said, unrealistic. Thats not even a forum feature really - "why" would you want to unit test your code on a forum when you can do it twenty times quicker by refreshing your browser?
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Mar 20, 2005, 02:52 #3
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"why" would you want to unit test your code on a forum when you can do it twenty times quicker by refreshing your browser?
Obviously the execution speed of the tests would not be the proirity. Instead I saw the goal as enabling a group TDD process.Christopher
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Mar 20, 2005, 12:33 #4
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It is a good idea... but the security threat.
This would be better for a web design team than a public forum, where all you need to join is a valid email account.We miss you, Dan Schulz.
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Mar 20, 2005, 12:57 #5
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Oh yeah, I fully understand the security problems and that it is a crazy idea.
It just seemed to me to be an intriguing idea to do forum based TDD by allowing you to essentially "run" posted code in a sandbox for all to see with unit test code. I think it would take lastcraft's "codefest" idea to another level.Christopher
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Mar 20, 2005, 13:23 #6
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What do you mean by TDD anyway?
We miss you, Dan Schulz.
Learn CSS. | X/HTML Validator | CSS validator
Dynamic Site Solutions
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Mar 20, 2005, 13:25 #7
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Jason Sweat ZCE - jsweat_php@yahoo.com
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Detestable (adjective): software that isn't testable.
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Mar 20, 2005, 13:50 #8
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It has possibilities on a trusted-invite system, but never public. Something basecamp-esqu with a unit tester is what I think you're trying to describe
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Mar 20, 2005, 13:55 #9
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Hi.
Why not use a Sourceforge or Tigris project alongside? That way the code could progress in the project space with the design commentry and code snippets on the forum.
yours, MarcusMarcus Baker
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Mar 20, 2005, 14:26 #10
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Why not use a Sourceforge or Tigris project alongside? That way the code could progress in the project space with the design commentry and code snippets on the forum.
Is there interest in setting up a Sourceforge or Tigris project where ideas and codefests from this forum could live? We would have to agree on the rules, directory layout, membership, etc. But that could probably be easily done. I have a basic belief that, though opinionated, the members of this form are a pretty respectful and cooperative lot.Christopher
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