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<li id="no" title="Some thoughts about testing" expanded="false">Some thoughts about testing<ul>
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<li title="Goals"><a href="why_test_chapter.html#id2271413">Goals</a></li>
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<h1>6 Running Test Suites</h1>
<h3><a name="id2266562">6.1
Using the Common Test Framework</a></h3>
<p>The Common Test Framework provides a high level
operator interface for testing. It adds the following features to
the Erlang/OTP Test Server:</p>
<ul>
<li>Automatic compilation of test suites (and help modules).</li>
<li>Creation of additional HTML pages for better overview.</li>
<li>Single command interface for running all available tests.</li>
<li>Handling of configuration files specifying data related to
the System Under Test (and any other variable data).</li>
<li>Mode for running multiple independent test sessions in parallel with
central control and configuration.</li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="id2266607">6.2
Automatic compilation of test suites and help modules</a></h3>
<p>When Common Test starts, it will automatically attempt to compile any
suites included in the specified tests. If particular
suites have been specified, only those suites will be compiled. If a
particular test object directory has been specified (meaning all suites
in this directory should be part of the test), Common Test runs
make:all/1 in the directory to compile the suites.</p>
<p>If compilation should fail for one or more suites, the compilation errors
are printed to tty and the operator is asked if the test run should proceed
without the missing suites, or be aborted. If the operator chooses to proceed,
it is noted in the HTML log which tests have missing suites.</p>
<p>Any help module (i.e. regular Erlang module with name not ending with
"_SUITE") that resides in the same test object directory as a suite
which is part of the test, will also be automatically compiled. A help
module will not be mistaken for a test suite (unless it has a "_SUITE"
name of course). All help modules in a particular test object directory
are compiled no matter if all or only particular suites in the directory
are part of the test.</p>
<p>If test suites or help modules include header files stored in other
locations than the test directory, you may specify these include directories
by means of the <span class="code">-include</span> flag with <span class="code">run_test</span>,
or the <span class="code">include</span> option with <span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span>.
In addition to this, an include path may be specified with an OS
environment variable; <span class="code">CT_INCLUDE_PATH</span>. Example (bash):</p>
<p><span class="code">$ export CT_INCLUDE_PATH=~testuser/common_suite_files/include:~testuser/common_lib_files/include</span></p>
<p>Common Test will pass all include directories (specified either with the
<span class="code">include</span> flag/option, or the <span class="code">CT_INCLUDE_PATH</span>
variable, or both) to the compiler.</p>
<p>It is also possible to specify include directories in test specifications
(see below).</p>
<p>If the user wants to run all test suites for a test object (or OTP application)
by specifying only the top directory (e.g. with the <span class="code">dir</span> start flag/option),
Common Test will primarily look for test suite modules in a subdirectory named
<span class="code">test</span>. If this subdirectory doesn't exist, the specified top directory
is assumed to be the actual test directory, and test suites will be read from
there instead.</p>
<p>It is possible to disable the automatic compilation feature by using the
<span class="code">-no_auto_compile</span> flag with <span class="code">run_test</span>, or
the <span class="code">{auto_compile,false}</span> option with
<span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span>. With automatic compilation
disabled, the user is responsible for compiling the test suite modules
(and any help modules) before the test run. Common Test will only verify
that the specified test suites exist before starting the tests.</p>
<h3><a name="id2266741">6.3
Running tests from the UNIX command line</a></h3>
<p>The script <span class="code">run_test</span> can be used for running tests from
the Unix/Linux command line, e.g.
</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="code">run_test -config <configfilenames> -dir <dirs></span></li>
<li>
<span class="code">run_test -config <configfilenames> -suite <suiteswithfullpath></span>
</li>
<li><span class="code">run_test -config <configfilenames> -suite <suitewithfullpath>
-group <groupnames> -case <casenames></span></li>
</ul>
<p>Examples:</p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -config $CFGS/sys1.cfg $CFGS/sys2.cfg -dir $SYS1_TEST $SYS2_TEST</span></p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -suite $SYS1_TEST/setup_SUITE $SYS2_TEST/config_SUITE</span></p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -suite $SYS1_TEST/setup_SUITE -case start stop</span></p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -suite $SYS1_TEST/setup_SUITE -group installation -case start stop</span></p>
<p>Other flags that may be used with <span class="code">run_test</span>:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<span class="code">-logdir <dir></span>, specifies where the HTML log files are to be written.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-refresh_logs</span>, refreshes the top level HTML index files.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-vts</span>, start web based GUI (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-shell</span>, start interactive shell mode (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-step [step_opts]</span>, step through test cases using the Erlang Debugger (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-spec <testspecs></span>, use test specification as input (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-allow_user_terms</span>, allows user specific terms in a test specification (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-silent_connections [conn_types]</span>, tells Common Test to suppress printouts for
specified connections (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-stylesheet <css_file></span>, points out a user HTML style sheet (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-cover <cover_cfg_file></span>, to perform code coverage test (see
<span class="bold_code"><a href="cover_chapter.html#cover">Code Coverage Analysis</a></span>).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-event_handler <event_handlers></span>, to install
<span class="bold_code"><a href="event_handler_chapter.html#event_handling">event handlers</a></span>.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-include</span>, specifies include directories (see above).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-no_auto_compile</span>, disables the automatic test suite compilation feature (see above).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-repeat <n></span>, tells Common Test to repeat the tests n times (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-duration <time></span>, tells Common Test to repeat the tests for duration of time (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-until <stop_time></span>, tells Common Test to repeat the tests until stop_time (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-force_stop</span>, on timeout, the test run will be aborted when current test job is finished (see below).</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-decrypt_key <key></span>, provides a decryption key for
<span class="bold_code"><a href="config_file_chapter.html#encrypted_config_files">encrypted configuration files</a></span>.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-decrypt_file <key_file></span>, points out a file containing a decryption key for
<span class="bold_code"><a href="config_file_chapter.html#encrypted_config_files">encrypted configuration files</a></span>.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-basic_html</span>, switches off html enhancements that might not be compatible with older browsers.</li>
</ul>
<div class="note">
<div class="label">Note</div>
<div class="content"><p><p>Directories passed to Common Test may have either relative or absolute paths.</p></p></div>
</div>
<div class="note">
<div class="label">Note</div>
<div class="content"><p><p>Arbitrary start flags to the Erlang Runtime System may also be passed as
parameters to <span class="code">run_test</span>. It is, for example, useful to be able to
pass directories that should be added to the Erlang code server search path
with the <span class="code">-pa</span> or <span class="code">-pz</span> flag. If you have common help- or library
modules for test suites (separately compiled), stored in other directories
than the test suite directories, these help/lib directories are preferrably
added to the code path this way. Example:</p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -dir ./chat_server -logdir ./chat_server/testlogs -pa $PWD/chat_server/ebin</span></p>
<p>Note how in this example, the absolute path of the <span class="code">chat_server/ebin</span>
directory is passed to the code server. This is essential since relative
paths are stored by the code server as relative, and Common Test changes
the current working directory of the Erlang Runtime System during the test run!</p>
</p></div>
</div>
<p>For details on how to generate the <span class="code">run_test</span> script, see the
<span class="bold_code"><a href="install_chapter.html#general">Installation</a></span> chapter.
</p>
<h3><a name="id2267056">6.4
Running tests from the Web based GUI</a></h3>
<p>The web based GUI, VTS, is started with the <span class="code">run_test</span>
script. From the GUI you can load config files, and select
directories, suites and cases to run. You can also state the
config files, directories, suites and cases on the command line
when starting the web based GUI.
</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="code">run_test -vts</span></li>
<li><span class="code">run_test -vts -config <configfilename></span></li>
<li><span class="code">run_test -vts -config <configfilename> -suite <suitewithfullpath>
-case <casename></span></li>
</ul>
<p>From the GUI you can run tests and view the result and the logs.
</p>
<p>Note that <span class="code">run_test -vts</span> will try to open the Common Test start
page in an existing web browser window or start the browser if it is
not running. Which browser should be started may be specified with
the browser start command option:</p>
<p><span class="code">run_test -vts -browser <browser_start_cmd></span></p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -vts -browser 'firefox&'</span></p>
<p>Note that the browser must run as a separate OS process or VTS will hang!</p>
<p>If no specific browser start command is specified, netscape will
be the default browser on Unix platforms and Internet Explorer on Windows.
If Common Test fails to start a browser automatically, start your
favourite browser manually instead and type in the URL that Common Test
displays in the shell.</p>
<h3><a name="id2267143">6.5
Running tests from the Erlang shell or from an Erlang program</a></h3>
<p>Common Test provides an Erlang API for running tests. The main (and most
flexible) function for specifying and executing tests is called
<span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span>. This function takes the same start parameters as
the <span class="code">run_test</span> script described above, only the flags are instead
given as options in a list of key-value tuples. E.g. a test specified
with <span class="code">run_test</span> like:</p>
<p><span class="code">$ run_test -suite ./my_SUITE -logdir ./results</span></p>
<p>is with <span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span> specified as:</p>
<p><span class="code">1> ct:run_test([{suite,"./my_SUITE"},{logdir,"./results"}]).</span></p>
<p>For detailed documentation, please see the <span class="code">ct</span> manual page.</p>
<h3><a name="id2267199">6.6
Running the interactive shell mode</a></h3>
<p>You can start Common Test in an interactive shell mode where no
automatic testing is performed. Instead, in this mode, Common Test
starts its utility processes, installs configuration data (if any),
and waits for the user to call functions (typically test case support
functions) from the Erlang shell.</p>
<p>The shell mode is useful e.g. for debugging test suites, for analysing
and debugging the SUT during "simulated" test case execution, and
for trying out various operations during test suite development.</p>
<p>To invoke the interactive shell mode, you can start an Erlang shell
manually and call <span class="code">ct:install/1</span> to install any configuration
data you might need (use <span class="code">[]</span> as argument otherwise), then
call <span class="code">ct:start_interactive/0</span> to start Common Test. If you use
the <span class="code">run_test</span> script, you may start the Erlang shell and Common Test
in the same go by using the <span class="code">-shell</span> and, optionally, the <span class="code">-config</span>
flag:
</p>
<ul>
<li><span class="code">run_test -shell</span></li>
<li><span class="code">run_test -shell -config <configfilename></span></li>
</ul>
<p>If no config file is given with the <span class="code">run_test</span> command,
a warning will be displayed. If Common Test has been run from the same
directory earlier, the same config file(s) will be used
again. If Common Test has not been run from this directory before, no
config files will be available.</p>
<p>If any functions using "required config data" (e.g. ct_telnet or
ct_ftp functions) are to be called from the erlang shell, config
data must first be required with <span class="code">ct:require/[1,2]</span>. This is
equivalent to a <span class="code">require</span> statement in the <span class="bold_code"><a href="write_test_chapter.html#suite">Test Suite Info
Function</a></span> or in the <span class="bold_code"><a href="write_test_chapter.html#info_function">Test Case Info
Function</a></span>.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
1> ct:require(unix_telnet, unix).
ok
2> ct_telnet:open(unix_telnet).
{ok,<0.105.0>}
4> ct_telnet:cmd(unix_telnet, "ls .").
{ok,["ls .","file1 ...",...]}</pre></div>
<p>Everything that Common Test normally prints in the test case logs,
will in the interactive mode be written to a log named
<span class="code">ctlog.html</span> in the <span class="code">ct_run.<timestamp></span>
directory. A link to this file will be available in the file
named <span class="code">last_interactive.html</span> in the directory from which
you executed <span class="code">run_test</span>. Currently, specifying a different
root directory for the logs than the current working directory,
is not supported.</p>
<p>If you wish to exit the interactive mode (e.g. to start an
automated test run with <span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span>), call the function
<span class="code">ct:stop_interactive/0</span>. This shuts down the
running <span class="code">ct</span> application. Associations between
configuration names and data created with <span class="code">require</span> are
consequently deleted. <span class="code">ct:start_interactive/0</span> will get you
back into interactive mode, but the previous state is not restored.</p>
<h3><a name="id2267375">6.7
Step by step execution of test cases with the Erlang Debugger</a></h3>
<p>By means of <span class="code">run_test -step [opts]</span>, or by passing the
<span class="code">{step,Opts}</span> option to <span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span>, it is possible
to get the Erlang Debugger started automatically and use its
graphical interface to investigate the state of the current test
case and to execute it step by step and/or set execution breakpoints.</p>
<p>If no extra options are given with the <span class="code">step</span> flag/option,
breakpoints will be set automatically on the test cases that
are to be executed by Common Test, and those functions only. If
the step option <span class="code">config</span> is specified, breakpoints will
also be initially set on the configuration functions in the suite, i.e.
<span class="code">init_per_suite/1</span>, <span class="code">end_per_suite/1</span>, <span class="code">init_per_testcase/2</span>
and <span class="code">end_per_testcase/2</span>.</p>
<p>Common Test enables the Debugger auto attach feature, which means
that for every new interpreted test case function that starts to execute,
a new trace window will automatically pop up. (This is because each test
case executes on a dedicated Erlang process). Whenever a new test case starts,
Common Test will attempt to close the inactive trace window of the previous
test case. However, if you prefer that Common Test leaves inactive trace
windows, use the <span class="code">keep_inactive</span> option.</p>
<p>The step functionality can be used together with the <span class="code">suite</span> and
the <span class="code">suite</span> + <span class="code">case/testcase</span> flag/option, but not together
with <span class="code">dir</span>.</p>
<h3><a name="id2267476">6.8
Using test specifications</a></h3>
<a name="test_specifications"></a>
<p>The most expressive way to specify what to test is to use a so
called test specification. A test specification is a sequence of
Erlang terms. The terms may be declared in a text file or passed
to the test server at runtime as a list (see <span class="code">run_testspec/1</span>
in the manual page for <span class="code">ct</span>). There are two general types
of terms: configuration terms and test specification terms.</p>
<p>With configuration terms it is possible to import configuration
data (similar to <span class="code">run_test -config</span>), specify HTML log
directories (similar to <span class="code">run_test -logdir</span>), give aliases
to test nodes and test directories (to make a specification
easier to read and maintain), enable code coverage analysis
(see the <span class="bold_code"><a href="cover_chapter.html#cover">Code Coverage
Analysis</a></span> chapter) and specify event_handler plugins
(see the <span class="bold_code"><a href="event_handler_chapter.html#event_handling">
Event Handling</a></span> chapter). There is also a term
for specifying include directories that should be passed on
to the compiler when automatic compilation is performed
(similar to <span class="code">run_test -include</span>, see above).</p>
<p>With test specification terms it is possible to state exactly which
tests should run and in which order. A test term specifies either
one or more suites or one or more test cases. An arbitrary number of test
terms may be declared in sequence. A test term can also specify one or
more test suites or test cases to be skipped. Skipped suites and cases
are not executed and show up in the HTML test log as SKIPPED.</p>
<div class="note">
<div class="label">Note</div>
<div class="content"><p><p>It is not yet possible to specify test case groups in
test specifications. This will be supported in a soon upcoming
release.</p></p></div>
</div>
<p>Below is the test specification syntax. Test specifications can
be used to run tests both in a single test host environment and in
a distributed Common Test environment. Node parameters are only relevant in the
latter (see the chapter about running Common Test in distributed mode for information).
For details on the event_handler term, see the
<span class="bold_code"><a href="event_handler_chapter.html#event_handling">Event Handling</a></span>
chapter.</p>
<p>Config terms:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
{node, NodeAlias, Node}.
{cover, CoverSpecFile}.
{cover, NodeRef, CoverSpecFile}.
{include, IncludeDirs}.
{include, NodeRefs, IncludeDirs}.
{config, ConfigFiles}.
{config, NodeRefs, ConfigFiles}.
{alias, DirAlias, Dir}.
{logdir, LogDir}.
{logdir, NodeRefs, LogDir}.
{event_handler, EventHandlers}.
{event_handler, NodeRefs, EventHandlers}.
{event_handler, EventHandlers, InitArgs}.
{event_handler, NodeRefs, EventHandlers, InitArgs}.
</pre></div>
<p>Test terms:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
{suites, DirRef, Suites}.
{suites, NodeRefs, DirRef, Suites}.
{cases, DirRef, Suite, Cases}.
{cases, NodeRefs, DirRef, Suite, Cases}.
{skip_suites, DirRef, Suites, Comment}.
{skip_suites, NodeRefs, DirRef, Suites, Comment}.
{skip_cases, DirRef, Suite, Cases, Comment}.
{skip_cases, NodeRefs, DirRef, Suite, Cases, Comment}.
</pre></div>
<p>Types:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
NodeAlias = atom()
Node = node()
NodeRef = NodeAlias | Node | master
NodeRefs = all_nodes | [NodeRef] | NodeRef
CoverSpecFile = string()
IncludeDirs = string() | [string()]
ConfigFiles = string() | [string()]
DirAlias = atom()
Dir = string()
LogDir = string()
EventHandlers = atom() | [atom()]
InitArgs = [term()]
DirRef = DirAlias | Dir
Suites = atom() | [atom()] | all
Cases = atom() | [atom()] | all
Comment = string() | ""
</pre></div>
<p>Example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
{logdir, "/home/test/logs"}.
{config, "/home/test/t1/cfg/config.cfg"}.
{config, "/home/test/t2/cfg/config.cfg"}.
{config, "/home/test/t3/cfg/config.cfg"}.
{alias, t1, "/home/test/t1"}.
{alias, t2, "/home/test/t2"}.
{alias, t3, "/home/test/t3"}.
{suites, t1, all}.
{skip_suites, t1, [t1B_SUITE,t1D_SUITE], "Not implemented"}.
{skip_cases, t1, t1A_SUITE, [test3,test4], "Irrelevant"}.
{skip_cases, t1, t1C_SUITE, [test1], "Ignore"}.
{suites, t2, [t2B_SUITE,t2C_SUITE]}.
{cases, t2, t2A_SUITE, [test4,test1,test7]}.
{skip_suites, t3, all, "Not implemented"}.
</pre></div>
<p>The example specifies the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>The specified logdir directory will be used for storing
the HTML log files (in subdirectories tagged with node name,
date and time).</li>
<li>The variables in the specified test system config files will be
imported for the test.</li>
<li>Aliases are given for three test system directories. The suites in
this example are stored in "/home/test/tX/test".</li>
<li>The first test to run includes all suites for system t1. Excluded from
the test are however the t1B and t1D suites. Also test cases test3 and
test4 in t1A as well as the test1 case in t1C are excluded from
the test.</li>
<li>Secondly, the test for system t2 should run. The included suites are
t2B and t2C. Included are also test cases test4, test1 and test7 in suite
t2A. Note that the test cases will be executed in the specified order.</li>
<li>Lastly, all suites for systems t3 are to be completely skipped and this
should be explicitly noted in the log files.</li>
</ul>
<p>It is possible for the user to provide a test specification that
includes (for Common Test) unrecognizable terms. If this is desired,
the <span class="code">-allow_user_terms</span> flag should be used when starting tests with
<span class="code">run_test</span>. This forces Common Test to ignore unrecognizable terms.
Note that in this mode, Common Test is not able to check the specification
for errors as efficiently as if the scanner runs in default mode.
If <span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span> is used for starting the tests, the relaxed scanner
mode is enabled by means of the tuple: <span class="code">{allow_user_terms,true}</span></p>
<h3><a name="id2267715">6.9
Log files</a></h3>
<p>As the execution of the test suites proceed, events are logged in
four different ways:</p>
<ul>
<li>Text to the operator's console.</li>
<li>Suite related information is sent to the major log file.</li>
<li>Case related information is sent to the minor log file.</li>
<li>The HTML overview log file gets updated with test results.</li>
<li>A link to all runs executed from a certain directory is written in
the log named "all_runs.html" and direct links to all tests (the
latest results) are written to the top level "index.html".</li>
</ul>
<p>Typically the operator, who may run hundreds or thousands of
test cases, doesn't want to fill the console with details
about, or printouts from, the specific test cases. By default, the
operator will only see:</p>
<ul>
<li>A confirmation that the test has started and information about how
many test cases will be executed totally.</li>
<li>A small note about each failed test case.</li>
<li>A summary of all the run test cases.</li>
<li>A confirmation that the test run is complete.</li>
<li>Some special information like error reports and progress
reports, printouts written with erlang:display/1, or io:format/3
specifically addressed to a receiver other than <span class="code">standard_io</span>
(e.g. the default group leader process 'user').</li>
</ul>
<p>If/when the operator wants to dig deeper into the general results, or
the result of a specific test case, he should do so by
following the links in the HTML presentation and take a look in the
major or minor log files. The "all_runs.html" page is a practical
starting point usually. It's located in <span class="code">logdir</span> and contains
a link to each test run including a quick overview (date and time,
node name, number of tests, test names and test result totals).</p>
<p>An "index.html" page is written for each test run (i.e. stored in
the "ct_run" directory tagged with node name, date and time). This
file gives a short overview of all individual tests performed in the
same test run. The test names follow this convention:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<strong>TopLevelDir.TestDir</strong> (all suites in TestDir executed)</li>
<li>
<strong>TopLevelDir.TestDir:suites</strong> (specific suites were executed)</li>
<li>
<strong>TopLevelDir.TestDir.Suite</strong> (all cases in Suite executed)</li>
<li>
<strong>TopLevelDir.TestDir.Suite:cases</strong> (specific test cases were executed)</li>
<li>
<strong>TopLevelDir.TestDir.Suite.Case</strong> (only Case was executed)</li>
</ul>
<p>On the test run index page there is a link to the Common Test
Framework log file in which information about imported
configuration data and general test progress is written. This
log file is useful to get snapshot information about the test
run during execution. It can also be very helpful when
analyzing test results or debugging test suites.</p>
<p>On the test run index page it is noted if a test has missing
suites (i.e. suites that Common Test has failed to
compile). Names of the missing suites can be found in the
Common Test Framework log file.</p>
<p>The major logfile shows a detailed report of the test run. It
includes test suite and test case names, execution time, the
exact reason for failures etc. The information is available in both
a file with textual and with HTML representation. The HTML file shows a
summary which gives a good overview of the test run. It also has links
to each individual test case log file for quick viewing with an HTML
browser.</p>
<p>The minor log file contain full details of every single test
case, each one in a separate file. This way the files should
be easy to compare with previous test runs, even if the set of
test cases change.</p>
<p>Which information goes where is user configurable via the
test server controller. Three threshold values determine what
comes out on screen, and in the major or minor log files. See
the OTP Test Server manual for information. The contents that
goes to the HTML log file is fixed however and cannot be altered.</p>
<p>The log files are written continously during a test run and links are
always created initially when a test starts. This makes it possible
to follow test progress simply by refreshing pages in the HTML browser.
Statistics totals are not presented until a test is complete however.</p>
<h3><a name="id2267921">6.10
HTML Style Sheets</a></h3>
<a name="html_stylesheet"></a>
<p>Common Test includes the <strong>optional</strong> feature to use
HTML style sheets (CSS) for customizing user printouts. The
functions in <span class="code">ct</span> that print to a test case HTML log
file (<span class="code">log/3</span> and <span class="code">pal/3</span>) accept <span class="code">Category</span>
as first argument. With this argument it's possible to
specify a category that can be mapped to a selector in a CSS
definition. This is useful especially for coloring text
differently depending on the type of (or reason for) the
printout. Say you want one color for test system
configuration information, a different one for test system
state information and finally one for errors detected by the
test case functions. The corresponding style sheet may
look like this:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<style>
div.ct_internal { background:lightgrey; color:black }
div.default { background:lightgreen; color:black }
div.sys_config { background:blue; color:white }
div.sys_state { background:yellow; color:black }
div.error { background:red; color:white }
</style>
</pre></div>
<p>To install the CSS file (Common Test inlines the definition in the
HTML code), the name may be provided when executing <span class="code">run_test</span>.
Example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
$ run_test -dir $TEST/prog -stylesheet $TEST/styles/test_categories.css
</pre></div>
<p>Categories in a CSS file installed with the <span class="code">-stylesheet</span> flag
are on a global test level in the sense that they can be used in any
suite which is part of the test run.</p>
<p>It is also possible to install style sheets on a per suite and
per test case basis. Example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
-module(my_SUITE).
...
suite() -> [..., {stylesheet,"suite_categories.css"}, ...].
...
my_testcase(_) ->
...
ct:log(sys_config, "Test node version: ~p", [VersionInfo]),
...
ct:log(sys_state, "Connections: ~p", [ConnectionInfo]),
...
ct:pal(error, "Error ~p detected! Info: ~p", [SomeFault,ErrorInfo]),
ct:fail(SomeFault).
</pre></div>
<p>If the style sheet is installed as in this example, the categories are
private to the suite in question. They can be used by all test cases in the
suite, but can not be used by other suites. A suite private style sheet,
if specified, will be used in favour of a global style sheet (one specified
with the <span class="code">-stylesheet</span> flag). A stylesheet tuple (as returned by <span class="code">suite/0</span>
above) can also be returned from a test case info function. In this case the
categories specified in the style sheet can only be used in that particular
test case. A test case private style sheet is used in favour of a suite or
global level style sheet.
</p>
<p>In a tuple <span class="code">{stylesheet,CSSFile}</span>, if <span class="code">CSSFile</span> is specified
with a path, e.g. <span class="code">"$TEST/styles/categories.css"</span>, this full
name will be used to locate the file. If only the file name is specified
however, e.g. "categories.css", then the CSS file is assumed to be located
in the data directory, <span class="code">data_dir</span>, of the suite. The latter usage is
recommended since it is portable compared to hard coding path names in the
suite!</p>
<p>The <span class="code">Category</span> argument in the example above may have the
value (atom) <span class="code">sys_config</span> (white on blue), <span class="code">sys_state</span>
(black on yellow) or <span class="code">error</span> (white on red).</p>
<p>If the <span class="code">Category</span> argument is not specified, Common Test will
use the CSS selector <span class="code">div.default</span> for the
printout. For this reason a user supplied style sheet must
include this selector. Also the selector
<span class="code">div.ct_internal</span> must be included. Hence a minimal
user style sheet should look like this (which is also the
default style sheet Common Test uses if no user CSS file is
provided):</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
<style>
div.ct_internal { background:lightgrey; color:black }
div.default { background:lightgreen; color:black }
</style>
</pre></div>
<h3><a name="id2268107">6.11
Repeating tests</a></h3>
<a name="repeating_tests"></a>
<p>You can order Common Test to repeat the tests you specify. You can choose
to repeat tests a certain number of times, repeat tests for a specific period of time,
or repeat tests until a particular stop time is reached. If repetition is controlled by
means of time, it is also possible to specify what action Common Test should
take upon timeout. Either Common Test performs all tests in the current run before stopping,
or it stops as soon as the current test job is finished. Repetition can be activated by
means of <span class="code">run_test</span> start flags, or tuples in the <span class="code">ct:run:test/1</span>
option list argument. The flags (options in parenthesis) are:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<span class="code">-repeat N ({repeat,N})</span>, where <span class="code">N</span> is a positive integer.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-duration DurTime ({duration,DurTime})</span>, where <span class="code">DurTime</span> is the duration, see below.</li>
<li>
<span class="code">-until StopTime ({until,StopTime})</span>, where <span class="code">StopTime</span> is finish time, see below.</li>
<li><span class="code">-force_stop ({force_stop,true})</span></li>
</ul>
<p>The duration time, <span class="code">DurTime</span>, is specified as <span class="code">HHMMSS</span>. Example:
<span class="code">-duration 012030</span> or <span class="code">{duration,"012030"}</span>, means the tests will
be executed and (if time allows) repeated, until timeout occurs after 1 h, 20 min
and 30 secs.
<span class="code">StopTime</span> can be specified as <span class="code">HHMMSS</span> and is then interpreted as a time today
(or possibly tomorrow). <span class="code">StopTime</span> can also be specified as <span class="code">YYMoMoDDHHMMSS</span>.
Example: <span class="code">-until 071001120000</span> or <span class="code">{until,"071001120000"}</span>, which means the tests
will be executed and (if time allows) repeated, until 12 o'clock on the 1st of Oct 2007.</p>
<p>When timeout occurs, Common Test will never abort the test run immediately, since
this might leave the system under test in an undefined, and possibly bad, state.
Instead Common Test will finish the current test job, or the complete test
run, before stopping. The latter is the default behaviour. The <span class="code">force_stop</span>
flag/option tells Common Test to stop as soon as the current test job is finished.
Note that since Common Test always finishes off the current test job or test session,
the time specified with <span class="code">duration</span> or <span class="code">until</span> is never definitive!</p>
<p>Log files from every single repeated test run is saved in normal Common Test fashion (see above).
Common Test may later support an optional feature to only store the last (and possibly
the first) set of logs of repeated test runs, but for now the user must be careful not
to run out of disk space if tests are repeated during long periods of time.</p>
<p>Note that for each test run that is part of a repeated session, information about the
particular test run is printed in the Common Test Framework Log. There you can read
the repetition number, remaining time, etc.</p>
<p>Example 1:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
$ run_test -dir $TEST_ROOT/to1 $TEST_ROOT/to2 -duration 001000 -force_stop</pre></div>
<p>Here the suites in test directory to1, followed by the suites in to2, will be executed
in one test run. A timeout event will occur after 10 minutes. As long as there is time
left, Common Test will repeat the test run (i.e. starting over with the to1 test).
When the timeout occurs, Common Test will stop as soon as the current job is finished
(because of the <span class="code">force_stop</span> flag). As a result, the specified test run might be
aborted after the to1 test and before the to2 test.</p>
<p>Example 2:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
$ date
Fri Sep 28 15:00:00 MEST 2007
$ run_test -dir $TEST_ROOT/to1 $TEST_ROOT/to2 -until 160000</pre></div>
<p>Here the same test run as in the example above will be executed (and possibly repeated).
In this example, however, the timeout will occur after 1 hour and when that happens,
Common Test will finish the entire test run before stopping (i.e. the to1 and to2 test
will always both be executed in the same test run).</p>
<p>Example 3:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
$ run_test -dir $TEST_ROOT/to1 $TEST_ROOT/to2 -repeat 5</pre></div>
<p>Here the test run, including both the to1 and the to2 test, will be repeated 5 times.</p>
<div class="note">
<div class="label">Note</div>
<div class="content"><p><p>This feature should not be confused with the <span class="code">repeat</span> property of a test
case group. The options described here are used to repeat execution of entire test runs,
while the <span class="code">repeat</span> property of a test case group makes it possible to repeat
execution of sets of test cases within a suite. For more information about the latter,
see the <span class="bold_code"><a href="write_test_chapter.html#test_case_groups">Writing Test Suites</a></span>
chapter.</p></p></div>
</div>
<h3><a name="id2268354">6.12
Silent Connections</a></h3>
<a name="silent_connections"></a>
<p>The protocol handling processes in Common Test, implemented by ct_telnet, ct_ftp etc,
do verbose printing to the test case logs. This can be switched off by means
of the <span class="code">-silent_connections</span> flag:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
run_test -silent_connections [conn_types]
</pre></div>
<p>where <span class="code">conn_types</span> specifies <span class="code">telnet, ftp, rpc</span> and/or <span class="code">snmp</span>.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
run_test ... -silent_connections telnet ftp</pre></div>
<p>switches off logging for telnet and ftp connections.</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
run_test ... -silent_connections</pre></div>
<p>switches off logging for all connection types.</p>
<p>Basic and important information such as opening and closing a connection,
fatal communication error and reconnection attempts will always be printed even
if logging has been suppressed for the connection type in question. However, operations
such as sending and receiving data may be performed silently.</p>
<p>It is possible to also specify <span class="code">silent_connections</span> in a test suite. This is
accomplished by returning a tuple, <span class="code">{silent_connections,ConnTypes}</span>, in the
<span class="code">suite/0</span> or test case info list. If <span class="code">ConnTypes</span> is a list of atoms
(<span class="code">telnet, ftp, rpc</span> and/or <span class="code">snmp</span>), output for any corresponding connections
will be suppressed. Full logging is per default enabled for any connection of type not
specified in <span class="code">ConnTypes</span>. Hence, if <span class="code">ConnTypes</span> is the empty list, logging
is enabled for all connections.</p>
<p>The <span class="code">silent_connections</span> setting returned from a test case info function overrides,
for the test case in question, any setting made with <span class="code">suite/0</span> (which is the setting
used for all cases in the suite). Example:</p>
<div class="example"><pre>
-module(my_SUITE).
...
suite() -> [..., {silent_connections,[telnet,ftp]}, ...].
...
my_testcase1() ->
[{silent_connections,[ftp]}].
my_testcase1(_) ->
...
my_testcase2(_) ->
...
</pre></div>
<p>In this example, <span class="code">suite/0</span> tells Common Test to suppress
printouts from telnet and ftp connections. This is valid for
all test cases. However, <span class="code">my_testcase1/0</span> specifies that
for this test case, only ftp should be silent. The result is
that <span class="code">my_testcase1</span> will get telnet info (if any) printed
in the log, but not ftp info. <span class="code">my_testcase2</span> will get no
info from either connection printed.</p>
<p>The <span class="code">-silent_connections</span> tag (or
<span class="code">silent_connections</span> tagged tuple in the call to
<span class="code">ct:run_test/1</span>) overrides any settings in the test
suite.</p>
<p>Note that in the current Common Test version, the
<span class="code">silent_connections</span> feature only works for telnet
connections. Support for other connection types will be added
in future Common Test versions.</p>
</div>
<div class="footer">
<hr>
<p>Copyright © 2003-2010 Ericsson AB. All Rights Reserved.</p>
</div>
</div>
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