Re: Features you would like to see

[Thomas Breuel <tmbdev@...>]

> I have to agree. If anything the attitude exemplified by the  
> comments Thomas makes indicate someone that hasn't been around long  
> enough

I've been developing in assembly/C/C++/Lisp/ML since the early 80's.   
I started out as a serious user of debuggers, but pretty much stopped  
using debuggers and have been using testing and assertions instead  
for the last 20 years.

> to know that unit testing does not equal quality. Too many people  
> treat unit testing as a panacea rather than just part of the solution.

Whoa, you're seriously missing the context here.  People were having  
trouble debugging their code with the Lua debugger.   Since the Lua  
debugger is not going to change overnight (if ever), I suggested they  
try testing and assertions because it's something they can do right  
now and that's known to reduce the need for debuggers.  Do you have  
any additional constructive suggestions?

As for people claiming it's a "panacea" or that it "equals quality",  
I'm not sure where you got that from.  However, while not a panacea,  
testing and assertions have specific benefits and are becoming a  
standard part of professional software development (e.g., http:// 
googletesting.blogspot.com/; note also the motto).  The Wikipedia  
articles on unit testing, assertions, TDD, and DBC list both benefits  
and limitations and may be a good starting point if you want to learn  
more.

Cheers,
Thomas.