[.NET - General] Comment-Driven Development (CDD) (TM)

A recent secretGeek post on TODO-Driven Development may have started out as a somewhat tongue-in-cheek parody, but I am among the first to admit that I have used this "new" methodology successfully many times! While I now believe that Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a better way to go (when you can), I still use the TODO-Driven approach sometimes.

Back in the days of structured programming (when dinosaurs ruled the earth), we used to write "stubs" for yet-to-be written functions and subroutines and we often wrote pseudo-code comments before actually committing ourselves to compilable code. Perhaps I can trademark a name for this tried-and-true approach as "Comment-Driven development(CDD)?" Then I can also write a book and become famed and flamed as a methodological guru!

To me, the real reason why these and similar methodologies actually tend to work is this: they make you think before you code. Another key point is that they make you actually get started, rather than just sitting back in some bewildered state of "analysis paralysis."