This document discusses the principles of test-driven development (TDD). It explains that TDD involves specifying an application programming interface (API) through tests before implementing it to prove correctness. The core cycle of TDD is described as red-green-refactor, where tests are written (red), made to pass (green), and code is refactored for maintainability. Common structures for unit tests, advantages of TDD, and heuristics for the process are also outlined, along with examples of coding katas and how to set up a project and run unit tests.