Is TestDriven.NET, everyone's favorite addin for Unit Testing support in practically all versions of Visual Studio .NET, going to cost money soon? Yes and no.

According to the recent post by Jamie Cansdale, he's planning a "TestDriven.NET Team Edition" which will not be free, but will include added features, one of them will be integration with code coverage tools found inside Visual Studio .NET 2005 Team System. Other features were not mentioned, but Jamie promises to elaborate more on the topic soon.

 

Cansdale:

"Code Coverage support is the first of many features that will be included in a commercial TestDriven.NET Team Edition. This however won't be the death of FREE versions of TestDriven.NET. Expect more news in the next day or two."

 

TD.NET has been enjoying a growing popularity among developers who write Unit Tests with Visual Studio .NET. It's been the one and only tool to support "Ad hoc"  testing and debugging inside VS.NET, and Jamie promises the current, free, editions will remain free even though the commercial editions will not.

 

Making TD.NET a commercial product is both a blessing and a curse. The curse is the obvious part, but the blessing lies in having a tool that has support, a proper website, and a guaranteed stream of development. Many companies don't like their developers using such "anonymous" tools in fear that they may contain viruses, bugs, or may lead to "unique tools" within the organization - tools which no one other than the original developer will now how to operate, even though they have been essential to the development and maintenance of large amounts of code.

TD.NET may not be included in those tools just yet, but future versions may include other features which make it even more valuable to an organization and indispensable.

 

The blessing also lies in the fact that Jamie gets rewarded for his huge efforts in this product. Having created such an innovative and powerful product, Jamie deserves not only recognition, but to actually cash in on his efforts. That will help him stay focused on the task, support and future features.

 

Good going Jamie, and good luck!