Code I plan to keep? I'm writing unit tests for anything that I'm worried might get broken. Code I'm going to throw away? Fuck it. Rarely worth testing.
The problem comes when people start treating prototype code as production code. That tells me that a) their prototype was probably too rich, and b) they're asking for trouble by building on a shaky foundation.
I think the solution is to be very clear about whether a given chunk of code is a prototype or for real. When a prototype pays off enough that you want to take is seriously, rewrite it. Tests and all.
Code I plan to keep? I'm writing unit tests for anything that I'm worried might get broken. Code I'm going to throw away? Fuck it. Rarely worth testing.
The problem comes when people start treating prototype code as production code. That tells me that a) their prototype was probably too rich, and b) they're asking for trouble by building on a shaky foundation.
I think the solution is to be very clear about whether a given chunk of code is a prototype or for real. When a prototype pays off enough that you want to take is seriously, rewrite it. Tests and all.