Most engineers should adopt property-based testing and stop there — it is the most practical lightweight formal method.

Hillel recommends most engineers adopt property-based testing, which defines properties and throws thousands of inputs at a system. He considers formal methods a niche tool, while property-based testing is the most practical approach for building robust software. ✦ AI generated

Hillel Wayne · The Pragmatic Engineer · 2026-07-29 · original ↗

Hillel recommends most engineers adopt property-based testing, and stop there. Property-based tests mean defining properties which the test then throws thousands of inputs at, in order to stress test a system. Hillel is convinced that formal methods are a niche tool for most engineers, whereas property-based testing is the most practical approach for building robust software with this lightweight formal method.

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