This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Python Buzz by Simon Willison. Original Post: Programming by Contract in Python Feed Title: Simon Willison: Python Feed URL: http://simon.incutio.com/syndicate/python/rss1.0 Feed Description: Simon Willison's Python cateory Latest Python Buzz Posts Latest Python Buzz Posts by Simon Willison Latest Posts From Simon Willison: Python

Programming by Contract seems to be a sister technique to unit testing - instead of (or as well as) writing a set of tests for a piece of code you write a set of pre- and post-conditions for the data being processed which are then checked whenever the program is run in debugging mode. Contracts for Python discusses the technique, providing a reference implementation and a PEP suggesting inclusion of support for the technique in the core language. Programming by contract was first demonstrated in the Eiffel language, and there's a good introduction to it in Eiffel.com as well.