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One the one hand, your points are valid. But on the other hand, it is frustrating to see that TDD proponents resort solely to rhetoric to sway people.



Nope, there are also studies (done by Microsoft and IBM) indicating that TDD helps: https://www.infoq.com/news/2009/03/TDD-Improves-Quality


It isn't terribly clear from the abstract and I'm not going to pay for the paper, but it sounds like this is really a comparison of tests vs no tests. That has nothing to say about the practice of TDD.

This is why this newer study is interesting; it compares to TLD, which allows you to say something about TDD rather than just about testing.


Careful: sometimes even widely cited studies like Nagappan don't actually show what they are misreported as showing either. For example, if you look at the development processes being compared in the cases examined, often they aren't quite TDD as widely described and advocated.


Since when is pointing out the serious flaws of a study "rhetoric"?

I'm ambivalent on TDD, but the arguments defending this study here have been ridiculous and anti-intellectual.




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