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<h4 class="subsection">4.11.8 Trial</h4>
<p><a name="index-buildbot_002eprocess_002efactory_002eTrial-77"></a>
Twisted provides a unit test tool named <code>trial</code> which provides a
few improvements over Python's built-in <code>unittest</code> module. Many
python projects which use Twisted for their networking or application
services also use trial for their unit tests. These modules are
usually built and tested with something like the following:
<pre class="example"> % python ./setup.py build
% PYTHONPATH=build/lib.linux-i686-2.3 trial -v PROJECTNAME.test
% python ./setup.py install
</pre>
<p>Unfortunately, the <samp><span class="file">build/lib</span></samp> directory into which the
built/copied .py files are placed is actually architecture-dependent,
and I do not yet know of a simple way to calculate its value. For many
projects it is sufficient to import their libraries “in place” from
the tree's base directory (<code>PYTHONPATH=.</code>).
<p>In addition, the <var>PROJECTNAME</var> value where the test files are
located is project-dependent: it is usually just the project's
top-level library directory, as common practice suggests the unit test
files are put in the <code>test</code> sub-module. This value cannot be
guessed, the <code>Trial</code> class must be told where to find the test
files.
<p>The <code>Trial</code> class provides support for building and testing
projects which use distutils and trial. If the test module name is
specified, trial will be invoked. The library path used for testing
can also be set.
<p>One advantage of trial is that the Buildbot happens to know how to
parse trial output, letting it identify which tests passed and which
ones failed. The Buildbot can then provide fine-grained reports about
how many tests have failed, when individual tests fail when they had
been passing previously, etc.
<p>Another feature of trial is that you can give it a series of source
.py files, and it will search them for special <code>test-case-name</code>
tags that indicate which test cases provide coverage for that file.
Trial can then run just the appropriate tests. This is useful for
quick builds, where you want to only run the test cases that cover the
changed functionality.
<p>Arguments:
<dl>
<dt><code>testpath</code><dd>Provides a directory to add to <code>PYTHONPATH</code> when running the unit
tests, if tests are being run. Defaults to <code>.</code> to include the
project files in-place. The generated build library is frequently
architecture-dependent, but may simply be <samp><span class="file">build/lib</span></samp> for
pure-python modules.
<br><dt><code>python</code><dd>which python executable to use. This list will form the start of
the argv array that will launch trial. If you use this,
you should set <code>trial</code> to an explicit path (like
<code>/usr/bin/trial</code> or <code>./bin/trial</code>). The parameter defaults to <code>None</code>, which
leaves it out entirely (running <code>trial args</code> instead of
<code>python ./bin/trial args</code>). Likely values are <code>['python']</code>,
<code>['python2.2']</code>, or <code>['python', '-Wall']</code>.
<br><dt><code>trial</code><dd>provides the name of the <code>trial</code> command. It is occasionally
useful to use an alternate executable, such as <code>trial2.2</code> which
might run the tests under an older version of Python. Defaults to
<code>trial</code>.
<br><dt><code>trialMode</code><dd>a list of arguments to pass to trial, specifically to set the reporting mode.
This defaults to <code>['--reporter=bwverbose']</code>, which only works for
Twisted-2.1.0 and later.
<br><dt><code>trialArgs</code><dd>a list of arguments to pass to trial, available to turn on any extra flags you
like. Defaults to <code>[]</code>.
<br><dt><code>tests</code><dd>Provides a module name or names which contain the unit tests for this
project. Accepts a string, typically <code>PROJECTNAME.test</code>, or a
list of strings. Defaults to None, indicating that no tests should be
run. You must either set this or <code>testChanges</code>.
<br><dt><code>testChanges</code><dd>if True, ignore the <code>tests</code> parameter and instead ask the Build for all
the files that make up the Changes going into this build. Pass these filenames
to trial and ask it to look for test-case-name tags, running just the tests
necessary to cover the changes.
<br><dt><code>recurse</code><dd>If <code>True</code>, tells Trial (with the <code>--recurse</code> argument) to look in all
subdirectories for additional test cases.
<br><dt><code>reactor</code><dd>which reactor to use, like 'gtk' or 'java'. If not provided, the Twisted's
usual platform-dependent default is used.
<br><dt><code>randomly</code><dd>If <code>True</code>, tells Trial (with the <code>--random=0</code> argument) to
run the test cases in random order, which sometimes catches subtle
inter-test dependency bugs. Defaults to <code>False</code>.
</dl>
<p>The step can also take any of the <code>ShellCommand</code> arguments, e.g.,
<code>haltOnFailure</code>.
<p>Unless one of <code>tests</code> or <code>testChanges</code> are set, the step will
generate an exception.
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