Our discussion of deprecation begins from the fundamental premise that code is a liability, not an asset. After all, if code were an asset, why should we even bother spending time trying to turn down and remove obsolete systems? Code has costs, some of which are borne in the process of creating a system, but many other costs are borne as a system is maintained across its lifetime. These ongoing co... [更多...]

Unit tests are limited by the imagination of the engineer writing them. That is, they can only test for anticipated behaviors and inputs. However, issues that users find with a product are mostly unanticipated (otherwise it would be unlikely that they would make it to end users as issues). This fact suggests that different test techniques are needed to test for unanticipated behaviors.（单元测试受到编写它们的... [更多...]

Writing testable code requires an upfront investment. It is especially critical early in the lifetime of a codebase because the later testability is taken into account, the more difficult it is to apply to a codebase. Code written without testing in mind typically needs to be refactored or rewritten before you can add appropriate tests.（编写可测试代码需要前期投入。在代码库生命周期的早期，这一点尤其重要，因为越晚考虑可测试性，就越难应用到代码库中。在没有考虑... [更多...]

At Google, we’ve found that engineers sometimes need to be persuaded that testing via public APIs is better than testing against implementation details. The reluctance is understandable because it’s often much easier to write tests focused on the piece of code you just wrote rather than figuring out how that code affects the system as a whole. Nevertheless, we have found it valuable to encourage s... [更多...]

Unlike the QA processes of yore, in which rooms of dedicated software testers pored over new versions of a system, exercising every possible behavior, the engineers who build systems today play an active and integral role in writing and running automated tests for their own code. Even in companies where QA is a prominent organization, developer-written tests are commonplace. At the speed and scale... [更多...]

Instead, before you begin writing, you should (formally or informally) identify the audience(s) your documents need to satisfy. A design document might need to persuade decision makers. A tutorial might need to provide very explicit instructions to someone utterly unfamiliar with your codebase. An API might need to provide complete and accurate reference information for any users of that API, be t... [更多...]

Google’s culture, like that of a lot of software companies, is based on giving engineers wide latitude in how they do their jobs. There is a recognition that strict processes tend not to work well for a dynamic company needing to respond quickly to new technologies, and that bureaucratic rules tend not to work well with creative professionals. Code review, however, is a mandate, one of the few bla... [更多...]

Rules are laws. They are not just suggestions or recommendations, but strict, mandatory laws. As such, they are universally enforceable—rules may not be disregarded except as approved on a need-to-use basis. In contrast to rules, guidance provides recommendations and best practices. These bits are good to follow, even highly advisable to follow, but unlike rules, they usually have some room for va... [更多...]

At Google, we use the Goals/Signals/Metrics (GSM) framework to guide metrics creation. 在谷歌，我们使用目标/信号/指标（GSM）框架来指导指标创建。 A goal is a desired end result. It’s phrased in terms of what you want to understand at a high level and should not contain references to specific ways to measure it. A signal is how you might know that you’ve achieved the end result. Signals are things we wou... [更多...]

As your role evolves, all the best practices still apply. You’re still a “servant leader”; you’re just serving a larger group. That said, the scope of problems you’re solving becomes larger and more abstract. You’re gradually forced to become “higher level.” That is, you’re less and less able to get into the technical or engineering details of things, and you’re being pushed to go “broad” rather t... [更多...]