Testing minified javascript

Question

Should we test the minified versions of our javascript files as we develop them, or is it an extremely low risk that the minified javascript does not differ in function from the un-minified version?

Answer 1

Running your test suites against them should be enough.

...

You do have test suites... right?

Answer 2

Run them through jslint before minifying them and if they pass that they should minify without a problem. The key here is to not forget a ; since minifying will remove all linefeeds. Also declaring variables helps the minifying process, but not doing so will not break anything by minifying.