you build the test code first, and then design/code until the tests pass

I've tried that and found it didn't work out all that well. In order to write a sensible test, the feature more or less has to be completely designed. I found myself ping-ponging between the code and the test as I was refining the design. My experience is that test suites can't really be written efficiently until a significant amount of design and coding has been done.
Otherwise I agree with you, automated test suites are the way to go.

In reply to Re: Re: What efforts go into a programming project? (Somewhat OT) by echo
in thread What efforts go into a programming project? (Somewhat OT) by dragonchild

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