[Storment33]

It is called snapshot testing, very valid technique. Maybe not best suited to a mathematical function like they have here, but I have found it useful for stuff like compilers asserting on the AST, where it would be a pain to write out and assert on the output and may also change shape.

[xenophonf]

TIL. That looks like a nice way to add tests to legacy code without having to re-create what TDD would have had the developers started that way.

[globular-toast]

It is indeed a good way to add regression testing to code with no tests. But it's no substitute for TDD. It can't tell you why something is the way it is, nor can it distinguish between intentional and incidental (although maybe some would argue you shouldn't, given Hyrum's law and all). But it will at least guide you as you try to figure that out and stop you breaking stuff constantly.

[Storment33]

The problem is some stuff is a real pain to test with static assertions. Such as I was saying about compilers. It would be a real pain to maintain an expected AST in a unit test, then you'd have to go rework it all if you change the shape and or add/remove nodes etc.

You can mix the approaches, have some static assertions(as sanity checks) but make most snapshot tests. Like I said I wouldn't use snapshot testing for a fibonacci method, but there are problems out there that are a real pain to test via static assertions.