[nikdaheratik]

It seems like there are several issues you're having and not all of them are TDD specific. To begin with, the way you learned to program, and to approach a programming problem, is different from the approach the course is trying to teach you.

If you are generally someone who works more from a "bottom-up" approach, then having to define all of the functions/variables beforehand can be frustrating. This is especially true since you may not have enough experience with a larger project that requires this kind of blueprint, so you don't know what parts are important to plan out beforehand and which are just boilerplate that can be worked out later.

TDD actually works okay with "bottom up" in that you write a new test as you are making each new function or other piece of code. However, it can lead to missing important test coverage if you don't think about the big picture as far as what the software needs to be doing. TDD can also work with "top down" approaches that are useful when planning larger software, in that it gives you something to shoot for while filling out the functions you defined at the start. However, trying to learn both TDD/Unit testing and enforcing a top-down approach to solving the problem seems like a recipe for frustration.

Advice: Ignore the testing to begin with. Start with each step the software needs to take to solve the problem -- in comments, on paper, whatever. Then break these down into functions as much as possible. They can be very ugly, multiple variable messes if you want, the key is to try and master a more "top down" approach before worrying about testing.