Devnexus 2025 - TDD & Generative AI A Perfect Pairing - Bouke Nijhuis



AI Summary

Summary of “TDD and Gen: A Perfect Pairing”

  • Introduction
    • Talk on Test Driven Development (TDD) and Generative AI (Gen AI).
    • Previous discussions focused on AI coding assistants’ capability in generating test cases.
  • Key Concepts
    • Generative AI: AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot, JetBrains AI, and GPT.
    • Test Driven Development (TDD): Writing tests in advance leads to higher-quality implementations.
    • Pair Programming: Two-person approach to coding, enhancing collaboration.
  • Proposed Approach: Combining TDD, Gen AI, and Pair Programming.
    • Test Driven Generation (TDG): Human writes tests; AI generates corresponding implementations.
      • Tests are used both as inputs for AI and for validating implementations.
  • Benefits of Using AI for Code Generation
    • AI can produce initial implementations.
    • Automated testing ensures correctness of AI-generated code.
  • Illustrative Example:
    • Demonstration involved creating a simple “Odd/Even” test and generating its implementation using AI.
    • Challenges in manual steps were discussed, emphasizing automation of this process.
  • Local vs. Cloud Models: Discussed different environments for AI models.
    • Local models are faster but might be less powerful than cloud models.
  • Future Improvements:
    • Expanding capabilities to handle various languages and frameworks.
    • Developing an IDE plugin to streamline the coding process.
  • Conclusion:
    • TDD and Generative AI form a synergistic relationship.
    • The model proposed effectively leads to production-ready code, with automated validation possible.