Fusebox: Developing ColdFusion® Applications

Thinking About Testing

One thing that’s obvious about the software development world is that programmers aren’t testers. Programmers are artistic inventors who like to create new ways to “do stuff.” They know the thrill of a really cool logic technique that is well applied. They willingly sit up through the dark nights, fueled by any food that can be delivered lest concentration be broken, poking and prodding an idea until it springs into the shape of a wonderful piece of code.

But they aren’t testers.

Testers are adventurers—warriors on a quest to break things. They are focused, diligent, effective breakers of all things created by programmers. They seek the weak points of a program with the assurance of a martial artist who knows the specific ...