is anybody really doing this in the real world? it seems kind of inefficient to go through 15 testing cycles to write 10 lines of dead simple code.

i like to write tests before my code when i am trying to solve a specific problem, or think of a new potential issue and want to test it, but i find "pure" TDD takes it way too far. i don't see practical use in exhaustively testing every single potential case for a simple wrapper around datetime. i do like the idea for really critical sections, but it seems way overkill for most code.

TDD to me seems, like most things, as a good tool to have in the tool box, but moderation is key. articles like this are helpful to describe the practice but tend to always prescribe it for everything.