A couple months ago as ODTUG was working out the final details for the Oracle PL/SQL Programming 2007 conference I came up with an idea for a Test-A-Thon:

Contestants are handed a set of programs, and test cases for each of the programs. They must then (in the next hour) build test scripts for those programs that automatically verify whether or not the program works. Whoever gets furthest in building the test scripts wins the prize.

Now, generally this sort of idea would have been, and should have been rejected out of hand. Anytime you get into writing code (as with hands-on classes), you are always looking at needing lots of time. And we're not talking about writing just any sort of code. We're talking about test code, which most developers don't have any idea of how to write. Build test code for four (or more) programs you have never seen before that moment, in the space of an hour? Programs that return collections, that modify tables, that write to files? And, further, the test code must automatically verify the results?

That's just not going to work, Steven.

Oh, yeah? Well, it worked!

The OPP2007 conference ended yesterday. Over 280 developers and DBAs (from around the US, the Netherlands, the UK, Australia, Portugal and...Cape Verde!) attended two long, intense days of trainings. They heard from the PL/SQL Product Manager and Development Manager. They listened to me talk for over 7 hours in one day (I kid you not!), and even politely laughed at my jokes.

And at the end of the first day, which started at 8:30 AM and ended at 7:30 PM....we kicked off the Test-A-Thon.

Close to 30 programmers ignored the hundreds of others enjoying the food and drink of the reception. They accepted their assignments, installed Oracle XE if they didn't already have Oracle installed on their laptops, and installed trial versions of Quest Code Tester for Oracle, if they wanted to use that tool. Most did, but others chose to use utPLSQL and even PL/SQL Developer's Test Script feature.

Steven Feuerstein talking with competitors

An hour later, five people had completed all of the basic exercises, two of whom also completed a bonus step. So we broke the tie based on who had finished the basic exercises first. We declared Filipe Silva from Porto Portugal, the winner of the first ever PL/SQL Test-A-Thon!

Steven Feuerstein with Filipe Silva as he collects his prizes

Filipe (who also attended the founding OPP conference in November 2005) won the following prizes: a really fancy certificate announcing his victory; a trophy with flashing lights; a full-use license to Quest Code Tester, courtesy of Quest Software; an Apple® iPod™ MP3 Player with 30GB Hard Drive, courtesy of Quest Software; a signed set of books by Steven Feuerstein, courtesy of O'Reilly Media; $100 gift certificate to Sharper Image, courtesy of ODTUG; a $200 donation to the U.S. non-profit of his choice. Not bad, eh?

All the others NAMES who finished the basic exercises received a 2nd Prize ribbon and a signed set of books by Steven Feuerstein, courtesy of O'Reilly Media.

Finally, everyone who participated received the new and very cool "The Bug Stops Here" t-shirt:


"All right," you might be saying. "I am happy for Filipe. But what's the big deal?"

The big deal for me is that the Test-A-Thon was a critical validation of Quest Code Tester for Oracle. It's one thing for me to have an idea in my head "Don't write test code. Describe your test and let us generate the code for you." It's another thing to create a tool that lets me do precisely that (that is, I am now not only one of the world's leading experts on PL/SQL. I am also the world-wide, foremost expert on using Quest Code Tester J). It's another thing entirely for someone else, a stranger to my ideas and dreams, to pick up the product and make it work for them.

The Test-A-Thon participants had no previous experience with the product. They installed it on their laptop at 7:30 PM (well, some a bit earlier in the day) and immediately jumped into a high-pressure fray, using a brand new tool based on a workflow that is different from any other tool they've used before.

No doubt about it, they ran into some problems and some challenges. We clearly saw that the usability of Quest Code Tester needs to be improved in several key areas. But five people managed to achieve something that would have been unthinkable before Code Tester came along. And many of the others who didn't make it all the way through the basic exercises were still very impressed with what Code Tester could do for them.

We plan to hold other Test-A-Thons, so keep an eye open for an opportunity to prove your testing prowess and take home some cool prizes.