JUnit, created by Kent Beck and Erich Gamma, is an open source framework for test-driven development in any Java-based code. JUnit automates unit testing and reduces the effort required to frequently test code while developing it.

While there are lots of bits of documentation all over the place, there isn't a go-to-manual that serves as a quick reference for JUnit. This Pocket Guide meets the need, bringing together all the bits of hard to remember information, syntax, and rules for working with JUnit, as well as delivering the insight and sage advice that can only come from a technology's creator.

Any programmer who has written, or is writing, Java Code will find this book valuable. Specifically it will appeal to programmers and developers of any level that use JUnit to do their unit testing in test-driven development under agile methodologies such as Extreme Programming (XP) [another Beck creation].

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 4 Ratings

All you need... - 2004-10-29
Reviewer Rating:
Quick disclosure - I'm a big fan of JUnit already. :) Anything that will convince java developers to use JUnit is a good thing. JUnit is as powerful as it is simple. To prove it, everything you need to know about JUnit is in this 80 page pocket guide. If you are a Java programmer, this pocket guide will easily convince you to add JUnit to your daily development processes. It covers the entire JUnit API, using JUnit with Ant, Extending JUnit, and plenty of suggestions on how to test various situations with JUnit.

I liked the descriptions on how to run JUnit standalone or within various IDEs (Eclipse, JBuilder and IntelliJ IDEA). I have been working with JUnit in Eclipse for quite some time and recently started a project using IntelliJ IDEA - so it helped me get JUnit going quickly. I also found the short history on JUnit interesting as well.

Whether you're new to Java development or just haven't used JUnit yet, this is the perfect pocket guide to help you get started.

Basic introduction to JUnit - 2008-02-15
Reviewer Rating:
I got "JUnit Pocket Guide" along with "JUnit in Action" and "JUnit Recipes". I figured I should have Beck's book since he's the father of JUnit and a major force in test-driven development. I figured I'd get a concise explanation of JUint and be able to use the book as a reference.

While the book more or less meets those goals, the writing is terse and mostly fails to provide the illuminating insights I was hoping for. I was also disappointed that the book is not well-structured to use as a reference, and is somewhat out of date with JUnit 4.x at this point. After reading this I moved on to "JUnit in Action", which I highly recommend.

Overall, I'm not disappointed that I got the book given the reasonable price and minimal investment in time reading it. It does serve as a quick introduction to and motivation for using JUnit. However, if you intend to put JUnit into practice, you can easily skip this book and go directly to one of the many excellent and more comprehensive books on JUnit--this book won't be enough and offers nothing indispensable.

Barebones introduction to JUnit - 2004-11-07
Reviewer Rating:
This is a short and sweet end-to-end introduction to JUnit. The text is pretty terse and there are a surprising number of a screenshots for a book so small. The book starts with an introduction to testing. It then gives a high level architectural overview of JUnit, along with it's API. There is a short digression into the history of the framework. Then it's into putting a front-end on the tests both on the command line and embedded into IDEs.

write better code and save time - use JUnit - 2008-07-03
Reviewer Rating:
The philosophies in this book will help me get more out of life.
I have wanted to learn JUnit for several months now. The techniques in this book will help me write better code and think more clearly in many planning and development aspects in life.

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