The hottest Testing Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Technology Topics

Testing a book's code: Overall conclusions

Mostly Python • 524 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Testing Python
  1. When creating a test suite, consider the constraints of your project and think about how to handle testing for non-traditional outputs like images or sound files.
  2. Use pytest to optimize your test suite by utilizing features like parametrization, fixtures, parallel test execution, and custom CLI arguments.
  3. An effective test suite should not only focus on passing tests but also consider failure scenarios, the need for assertions about test setup, and testing across platforms early on.
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A COVID Q&A: booster timing; testing; contagiousness; & the Novavax shot

Are You Okay? • 718 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness COVID-19 Medical Advice Vaccination Testing Well-being
  1. It's crucial for high-risk individuals to consider getting a COVID booster shot 6 months post-infection, but the benefits of additional doses diminish for those at lower risk. Boosters may help briefly reduce infection risks, but lifestyle factors like sleep, nutrition, and exercise are also key for health.
  2. COVID testing should be prioritized for cases where results would alter medical care. For healthy individuals, testing may not be as critical for every symptom, but knowing the specific virus causing symptoms can still influence precautions and decisions.
  3. In households with multiple symptomatic individuals, differing COVID test results can occur; one positive and one negative doesn't necessarily mean the negative individual isn't contagious. Contact a healthcare provider for guidance when unsure.

Testing a book's code, part 6: Testing a Django project

Mostly Python • 314 implied HN points • 15 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Programming Software Testing Web Development
  1. Testing a Django project in a book involves creating a copy of the project, setting up a separate virtual environment, and ensuring it functions correctly on new Django versions.
  2. When testing a Django project, focus is usually on internal code, but the priority here is verifying functionality on new Django versions due to its frequent updates.
  3. The post discusses developing a single test function for a Django project named Learning Log, emphasizing the importance of testing project functionality as intended.

Don't Waste Your Money on the Clearblue Menopause Journey Test

The Vajenda • 2024 implied HN points • 08 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Menopause Testing Symptoms Hormones Therapy
  1. Menopause can be diagnosed clinically based on age, menstrual status, and symptoms, not through blood or urine tests.
  2. Hormone tests for menopause can be unreliable due to individual variations and do not determine when therapy should be started.
  3. Clearblue Menopause Stage Indicator test may not provide reliable results and consulting with a healthcare professional is still necessary.

Testing a book's code, part 4: Testing Matplotlib data visualizations

Mostly Python • 314 implied HN points • 01 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Programming Data Testing
  1. Testing data visualizations programs involves assessing both terminal and graphical outputs.
  2. Automated testing of Matplotlib programs can be challenging due to the appearance of the Matplotlib plot viewer.
  3. One approach to overcome the challenge of testing Matplotlib programs is to modify the files to generate image files for testing.

Testing a book's code, part 3: Testing a game

Mostly Python • 314 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
🕹 Technology Testing Python
  1. The post discusses testing a game project, Alien Invasion, which may seem challenging to test at first.
  2. Testing the book's code against different versions of Python is important to identify bugs and incompatibilities.
  3. Using tools like pyenv to switch between Python versions can make testing with different versions easier.

Explaining Anomalous GCSE Results

Cremieux Recueil • 90 implied HN points • 21 Feb 24
🚌 Education Testing Intelligence Bias
  1. Some Black African students in the UK perform better on GCSE exams than on IQ tests, leading to a puzzle that is not easily explained by sampling differences.
  2. The discrepancy between GCSE performance and general intelligence indicates that GCSEs may be biased indicators of intelligence, favoring certain groups over others.
  3. Psychometric bias might explain why Black Africans in the UK excel in GCSEs despite IQ tests suggesting otherwise, highlighting the presence of biases in assessment methods.

Why the Turing Test is Not Enough

Insight Axis • 592 implied HN points • 06 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI Philosophy Science Intelligence Testing
  1. The Turing Test is a thought experiment, not a formal test, and was proposed by Alan Turing to test machine intelligence
  2. Passing the Turing Test does not necessarily indicate true intelligence in AI, as it requires reasoning capabilities and explanatory capacity
  3. Artificial General Intelligence testing should involve multi-dimensional assessments beyond the Turing Test, covering various aspects like linguistic, spatial, and mathematical intelligence

3 Tests AGI Must Pass

Insight Axis • 237 implied HN points • 27 Aug 23
🕹 Technology AI Computing Testing Reasoning Creativity
  1. Computers must excel at calculations to form the foundation for any further intelligence programming.
  2. After calculation, computers need to progress to reasoning - the ability to evaluate information and use it to make value-based decisions.
  3. The ultimate test for artificial intelligence is creativity - the capability to acknowledge rules but break them intuitively to create something new.

I Am A Sequencing Absolutist

ASeq Newsletter • 80 implied HN points • 06 Oct 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Genetics Diagnosis Testing Medical care
  1. The author strongly believes in the power and importance of DNA and RNA sequencing in diagnostics.
  2. Many clinicians tend to delay diagnostic tests unless absolutely necessary, relying on common symptoms and tests first.
  3. Despite the potential of advanced genetic testing, clinicians may be hesitant to order tests if there are no clear treatment options available.

Friday Q&A: Preventing, Testing for & Treating Viral Infections

Are You Okay? • 279 implied HN points • 23 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Prevention Testing Treatment Q&A
  1. The post discusses preventing, testing for, and treating viral infections, focusing on how to navigate situations involving fevers.
  2. There is an offer for a 7-day free trial to subscribe for more detailed information and access to full post archives.
  3. There is an invitation to engage by asking questions for future Friday Q&A sessions.

How "new type" helps avoid production outages

Blog System/5 • 4 HN points • 09 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Programming Software Infrastructure Testing Patterns
  1. The 'new type' idiom in programming involves wrapping native types in domain-specific types to prevent errors when passing values to external APIs.
  2. Avoid using primitive types like integers or strings directly in your code base by creating new types like `Username` and `Size` for better code structure.
  3. Adopting the 'new type' pattern can help prevent production outages by catching issues like function argument swaps early on and enforcing correct usage through type safety.

How things fail

Only Wonder Knows • 39 implied HN points • 03 Nov 23
🕹 Technology Testing Reliability Engineering
  1. Testing things to failure can reveal weaknesses and help improve reliability.
  2. The HALT test is an effective method to stress test products and discover design flaws.
  3. Each weakness identified in the HALT test presents an opportunity to enhance product reliability.

How To Communicate With Software Engineers So That They Understand You

Money in Transit • 39 implied HN points • 09 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Communication Software Engineering Testing Programming Language Information Flow
  1. Software engineering is not inherently more difficult than other professions like medicine or law.
  2. Effective communication with software engineers can be facilitated by using frameworks like The Spreadsheet Analogy and the Given-When-Then method.
  3. Communication breakdowns between engineers and non-engineers can be bridged by understanding software engineering concepts and speaking a shared language.

Saving Time Using Auto1111's API: Automated Workflow for XYZ Grids

followfox.ai’s Newsletter • 98 implied HN points • 27 May 23
🕹 Technology Automation API Workflow Testing
  1. An automated workflow using Auto1111's API can save time when generating XYZ comparison grids
  2. The process involves creating a CSV file with parameters for each grid and using a script to feed these parameters to Auto1111 through the API
  3. While this automated workflow can save time, it may not allow for immediate review and adjustments after each grid generation