> Is it weird that not only have I never heard of the "rule" this post argues against
This "rule" is known mostly because it is featured in the "Clean Code" book by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob). You should have heard of it ;)
This "rule" is known mostly because it is featured in the "Clean Code" book by Robert C. Martin (Uncle Bob). You should have heard of it ;)
Looking at the Amazon listing and a third-party summary[0] it seems to be the sort of wool-brained code astrology that was popular twenty years ago when people were trying to push "extreme programming" and TDD.
[0] https://gist.github.com/wojteklu/73c6914cc446146b8b533c0988c...
It would be easier if it were all terrible advice.
That paragraph is followed by 'Single Concept per Test' where he starts with: 'Perhaps a better rule is that we want to test a single concept per test.'
So, technically he doesn't say it.
When I first wrote tests years ago, I would try to test everything in one test function. I think juniors have a tendency to do that in functions overall - it's par to see 30-100+ line functions that might be doing just a little too much on their own, and test functions are no different.
I’ve come to learn to completely disregard any non-specific criticism of that book (and its author). There is apparently a large group of people who hate everything he does and also, seemingly, him personally. Everywhere he (or any of his books) is mentioned, the haters come out, with their vague “it’s all bad” and the old standard “I don’t know where to begin”. Serious criticism can be found (if you look for it), and the author himself welcomes it, but the enormous hate parade is scary to see.