notYetImplemented

[asashour]

Use case

Sometimes there is a need to commit a test case, before actually implementing it.

As part of Test-driven development, this has the benefit of:

• Agreeing first if a scenario is a correct and expected behavior, before starting the implementation.
• One may lack the implementation knowledge, but a test case could be easier to contribute.
• Divide and conquer: splitting the tests from the implementation, since each needs a different perspective, and different teams could separately handle them.
• When an implementation is (accidentally) fixed, a failing notYetImplemented test would point to the tracked issue to be closed.

Some other projects use the same concept, e.g. Groovy and Selenium.

Needles to say, this doesn't mean implementation is done without testing. But it means tests can be committed, and implementation can later follow.

Proposal

An optional flag to be added to the tests (optionally having an issue URL), and when set, the result of the test is reversed.

• If the test fails (as expected) then the build will be green
• If the implementation succeeds, then the build is red complaining Test XYZ is marked as notYetImplemented but already works.

[jakemac53]

I think this is a duplicate of #1178