Testing is like pulling up a bucket of water from a well

“Ultimately, programming is hard. Often, we are smart, so we succeed. TDD is there to help us out when we’re not so smart.

Kent Beck (who basically invented TDD) uses the metaphor of lifting a bucket of water out of a well with a rope: when the well isn’t too deep, and the bucket isn’t very full, it’s easy. And even lifting a full bucket is pretty easy at first. But after a while, you’re going to get tired.

TDD is like having a ratchet that lets you save your progress, take a break, and make sure you never slip backwards. That way you don’t have to be smart all the time.”

From: Test-Driven Development by Kent Beck