The hottest Testing Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

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.

What Is a Software Simulator?

CodeYam’s Substack • 39 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
🕹 Technology Software Simulations AI Testing Automation
  1. Simulators are valuable tools leveraged by inventors and engineers throughout history to test ideas quickly and gain insights into complex problems.
  2. A robust software simulator has qualities like a simulated environment, scenarios, isolation, and automation, which can significantly speed up the software development process.
  3. Software simulators allow testing how software performs in various scenarios, enabling faster delivery of high-quality products without the need for extensive manual testing.

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.
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Lab Tests

Harnessing the Power of Nutrients • 219 implied HN points • 14 Oct 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Metabolism Testing
  1. Comprehensive lab tests can help identify nutritional deficiencies and energy metabolism issues.
  2. A simple DIY home test for molybdenum deficiency can be done with basic equipment and a supplement.
  3. Interpreting the Genova Methylation Panel requires going beyond the report's interpretive section to uncover patterns.

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

Are You Okay? • 279 implied HN points • 23 Dec 22
🏥 Health & Wellness Prevention Testing Treatment Viral Infections 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.

Readers respond to TDD x Psychological Safety survey

🔮 Crafting Tech Teams • 119 implied HN points • 14 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Engineering Testing Psychological safety Quality Assurance Software Development
  1. Experts find more ways to reward themselves while they work, not because they are more disciplined.
  2. Identity and team cohesion play a significant role in TDD adoption among tech teams.
  3. TDD adoption can lead to a blameless culture, improved design, and higher quality when implemented correctly.

sqlmesh test

davidj.substack • 47 implied HN points • 12 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Software Data Engineering Testing Development
  1. Unit tests and data tests are different. Unit tests check if a function works right with set inputs, while data tests check if the data meets certain conditions.
  2. Running tests locally can save costs and speed things up. If you test your code on your own machine, you don’t have to pay for the cloud data warehouse until you’re ready.
  3. Creating external models in sqlmesh can be automated, making it easier to document source tables. You just run a command to generate the necessary files instead of doing it manually.

Technical Debt 101: A Short Quick Guide

Weekend Developer • 19 implied HN points • 31 May 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Code Quality Project management Testing
  1. Technical debt is like borrowing time when you write code shortcuts that need to be revised later, similar to financial debt repayment with interest.
  2. Ways technical debt can occur: rushed development, lack of documentation, poor testing, ignoring refactoring, avoiding version upgrades, and lacking developer tools.
  3. Consequences of excessive technical debt include decreased productivity, increased bugs, higher costs, team morale issues, and security risks; managing it involves prioritizing refactoring, writing tests, documenting, reviewing code, and communicating with stakeholders.

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 Scripting
  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

Do You Want to Remove "If" Statements From Your Java Code?

Weekend Developer • 19 implied HN points • 11 May 24
🕹 Technology Programming Refactoring Software Engineering Error Handling Testing
  1. To reduce reliance on 'if' statements in Java code, use guard statements at the beginning of methods or blocks to quickly exit when conditions aren't met.
  2. Consider using ternary operators as a concise way to replace 'if-else' statements within methods, but be cautious of overusing them for readability.
  3. Separate logic into reusable policy rules, encapsulating business rules into classes or methods, to promote code organization and maintainability.

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.

The SAT is not fairer than grades

Pershmail • 78 implied HN points • 03 May 23
🚌 Education Testing Admissions Fairness Social Mobility Standardized tests
  1. For poorer students, high school grades are a better indicator of success than SAT scores.
  2. Standardized tests, like the SAT, can be biased towards wealthier students by reflecting their better access to resources and test preparation.
  3. There is a need for multiple pathways to success in education that do not solely rely on grades or standardized tests, providing second chances for students.

Lateral thinking

Logging the World • 79 implied HN points • 12 Nov 22
🔬 Science Research Data Analysis Public Health Epidemiology Testing
  1. Lateral flow tests had a much lower false positive rate than many initially assumed, around 0.03%, showing their effectiveness.
  2. Data on PCR retests of positive lateral flow tests revealed a positive predictive value of 82% even at low prevalence, supporting the reliability of lateral flow tests.
  3. A rise in prevalence due to variants like delta and omicron, as well as ease in lockdown restrictions, contributed to the wider acceptance of lateral flow tests for controlling the pandemic.

RDEL #31: How do developers fix their own bugs differently from other developers bugs?

Research-Driven Engineering Leadership • 19 implied HN points • 26 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Software Development Bug Fixing Research Testing Programming
  1. Bugs are inevitable in software development, and fixing bugs is a crucial part of the process.
  2. Developers tend to fix their own bugs faster than bugs introduced by other developers.
  3. Testing early in development helps catch and resolve bugs more efficiently.

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.

Forcefully deterministic unit testing

Stateless Machine • 3 HN points • 18 Jul 24
🕹 Technology Programming Software Testing Development
  1. Unit tests should not interact with anything outside the program. This keeps tests clean and focused just on the code being tested.
  2. To make testing easier, functions should use interfaces to handle outside interactions. This allows for fake implementations during testing.
  3. By controlling how the outside world is accessed in a programming language, tests can be made deterministic. This means results are reliable and consistency is ensured.

5 Tips to Write Effective Code in Enterprise Organizations

Weekend Developer • 39 implied HN points • 21 Oct 23
🕹 Technology Coding Testing Collaboration Troubleshooting
  1. Writing code in enterprise organizations is different from startups due to legacy code, lack of tests, and constant changes.
  2. To write effective code in enterprise organizations, understand the system, write more tests, and collaborate with testers.
  3. Refactoring code, troubleshooting issues, and getting a birds-eye view are key to improving code quality and system understanding.

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.

A Guide to Switching Platform to Shopify

Cristian’s Substack • 39 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
💼 Business E-commerce Cost Analysis Testing SEO
  1. Shopify offers benefits like fast-loading websites, scalable infrastructure, and a great back office user experience.
  2. Potential drawbacks of Shopify include dependency on apps, development costs, mismanagement risks, and limited content management.
  3. Steps before switching to Shopify include assessing pain points, trying out a test store, evaluating costs, planning migration, and making necessary platform checks before the switch.

AI and the end of integration testing

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 17 Sep 23
🕹 Technology Software AI Development Testing Engineering
  1. AI will change how we build software, making traditional integration testing much harder or even impossible. This is because the possibilities for what software can do will become nearly infinite.
  2. Without effective integration testing, we will rely more on monitoring and telemetry to ensure software is working well in real time. Companies will need to focus on creating systems that check themselves while they run.
  3. New challenges will arise, like how to assess things like 'helpfulness' or 'safety' in software. We may need to create new measures and standards to evaluate these more complex qualities.

OmegaQuant endgame: test results after 9 years of no PUFAs

Experimental Fat Loss • 92 implied HN points • 25 Nov 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Nutrition Testing Health trends
  1. Long-term avoidance of PUFAs can significantly reduce linoleic acid levels in the body.
  2. The levels of arachidonic acid may not necessarily reflect dietary intake, as they can also be influenced by enzyme activity.
  3. Avoiding omega-6-rich foods like seed oils can lead to a healthy omega-3 ratio without needing to consume fatty fish.

Episode 33: Better Built By Burkhard

burkhardstubert • 99 implied HN points • 01 Jan 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Testing Productivity Continuous Delivery
  1. Test-Driven Development (TDD) helps developers get quick feedback while coding, improving overall project quality. This means fewer mistakes and less time spent fixing problems later.
  2. Using TDD can reduce the complexity of code by breaking down problems into smaller parts, making it easier to manage and understand.
  3. TDD encourages a culture of continuous improvement and teamwork, allowing all developers to take responsibility for the code they write. This leads to better collaboration and a more successful project.

Up to 103 tennis players failed doping tests and escaped bans

Honest Sport • 19 implied HN points • 31 Dec 23
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Regulations Testing
  1. Many tennis players have failed drug tests but faced no penalties. Out of 156 players who tested positive from 2013 to 2019, around 103 didn’t receive any sanctions.
  2. The International Tennis Federation has reduced the testing for blood doping significantly since 2018. This might have allowed players to avoid detection during important tournaments.
  3. The rules around doping cases can be confusing, as some players can continue playing even after testing positive for certain drugs, leading to a lack of transparency about who is really being punished.