Visual Unit Tests and Live Coding

Don Kirkby

When I write Python code to build graphical reports or user interfaces, I wish it felt more like Inkscape or Powerpoint where you can immediately see the effect of your changes.

In this talk, I'll demonstrate techniques I've developed that combine unit testing and live coding to create a Python environment that feels closer to Inkscape or Powerpoint. I'll also talk about some of the challenges of writing visual unit tests.

If you haven't written unit tests yet, you can still get some ideas from this talk. You could also read my essay on test-driven development to get a head start.