One of the benefits of having a chronic respiratory disorder is free flu vaccinations. A major part of the annual ritual is the interrogation by the Asthma Nurse. Now, there are two types of asthma medication: preventers are taken regularly and stop attacks; relievers are for taking during an attack. Preventers take over five days of regular usage to be effective; the reliever gives immediate and (for me) total relief. "So why did you decide to stop taking your preventer" asked the nurse, which shows a touching belief in rationality. The reliever takes about ten seconds to bring me back to the surface when I feel like I'm trying to breathe through a snorkel while two feet underwater; the preventor takes about a week of regular usage to bed in, and stops me having to take the reliever. I just forget to take the preventer; I know I should take it, but without immediate feedback I can't get into the habit. The phrase "immediate feedback" in the last paragraph probably gives some idea of where I'm going here. When you are practicing test first programming, the test are driving the design: the tests are of immediate value. Interface-first tests are valuable, in the medium term...

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 | Permalink | 0 Comments