31 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
31 lines
1.3 KiB
Markdown
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---
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date: 2025-07-05
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title: Dealing with icky code
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permalink: /daily/2025/07/05/dealing-icky-code
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---
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Most, if not all, software projects have some code that is difficult to work on.
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Maybe it was written a long time ago or it performs some difficult or complex logic.
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It may not follow modern best practices and, most likely, isn't covered by automated tests.
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No-one wants to work on it.
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But, what happens when it needs to change?
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How can you do it and be confident the change doesn't break the existing functionality?
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Before you make any changes, identify the use cases of the current code and cover them by [writing automated tests][1].
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Functional, web or browser tests allow you to make HTTP requests to an endpoint and make assertions on a response, and ensure it returns the correct status code and content, rather than focussing on the implementation details.
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If you need to test an existing Drupal website, [use Drupal Test Traits][0].
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Once you have tests in place, you can make the required changes and ensure the original functionality still works by running them and checking they still pass.
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Hopefully, you'll have written tests for the new functionality, so the test suite will start to grow.
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[0]: /daily/2025/06/18/exploring-drupal-test-traits
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[1]: /presentations/tdd-test-driven-drupal
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