Title:       From Test::Simple to Test::Extreme
Speaker:     Michael Graham
Duration:    45 Minutes

Description:

How writing tests for your Perl code is a lot easier than it might seem
at first.   How good testing practices can save you time, reduce your
stress level, and improve your job satisfaction.

Synopsis:

Bugs creep into even the most sophisticated software development
process.  For instance, in 1996, the European Space Agency rocket
Ariane 5 exploded on it's maiden flight.  The explosion was caused by a
software overflow error that was missed in testing.  The rocket had been
in development for 10 years, at a cost of $7 billion.

Personally, I count myself lucky that I'm not going to crash any rockets
with my Perl code.

But I've slept restlessly on many a Friday night, dreaming of all the
disasters introduced by that "one last change" I made to the production
code before I left the office.

Sometimes software is like wallpaper - you fix one bug, and another bug
pops up somewhere else.  I hate being afraid of touching production code
for fear of breaking it.  And, after I've made a change, I hate worrying
about what I've broken.

Testing to the rescue!  A good test suite can do wonders for your peace
of mind.  It is truly a great feeling to dive into production code with
confidence, make some changes, then run your test suite and watch all of
the tests pass.

But how to write the tests?  And where to start?  There are more than 30
modules in CPAN devoted to helping Perl developers test their code.  And
they range from Test::Simple to Test::Extreme.

But once you get started, Perl testing is really surprisingly easy.

In this talk, I will make sense of the most common modules for Perl
testing, and also address some software testing topics along the way.
Here's a list of what I hope to cover:

    * Writing basic tests from scratch

    * Easier tests with Test::Simple and Test::More

    * Tips for writing good tests

    * How to create a CPAN-module-style test suite that runs with
      'make test'

    * When you should write your tests before you write your code




Speaker's Bio
-------------
Michael Graham is a Toronto-based Perl programmer, musician, goaltender,
unrealistic dreamer and unrepentant idealogue.  He is the author of two
CPAN modules (Class::Constructor and Palm::Progect).  He faked his way
through high school math by learning Pi to 50 decimal places.  Strangely
enough he has never learned to defend himself in a fight.  His favourite
colour is dulcet.  His vanity web site (including slides of his talks)
can be found at http://occamstoothbrush.com/.