1 | <sect1 id="ch02-abouttestsuites">
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2 | <title>About the test suites</title>
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3 | <?dbhtml filename="abouttestsuites.html" dir="chapter02"?>
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4 |
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5 | <para>Most packages provide a test suite. Running the test suite for a newly
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6 | built package is generally a good idea as it can provide a nice sanity check
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7 | that everything compiled correctly. A test suite that passes its set of
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8 | checks usually proves that the package is functioning mostly as the developer
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9 | intended. It does not, however, guarantee that the package is totally bug
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10 | free.</para>
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11 |
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12 | <para>Some test suites are more important than others. For example, the test
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13 | suites for the core toolchain packages -- GCC, Binutils, and Glibc (the C
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14 | library) -- are of the utmost importance due to their central role in a
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15 | properly functioning system. But be warned, the test suites for GCC and Glibc
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16 | can take a very long period of time to complete, especially on slower
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17 | hardware.</para>
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18 |
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19 | <para>Experience has shown us that there is little to be gained from running
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20 | the test suites in Chapter 5. There can be no escaping the fact that the host
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21 | system always exerts influence on the Chapter 5 tests, often causing weird and
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22 | inexplicable failures. Not only that, the tools built in Chapter 5 are
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23 | temporary and eventually discarded. For the average reader of this book we
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24 | recommend not to run the Chapter 5 test suites. The instructions for running
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25 | the Chapter 5 test suites are still provided for the benefit of testers and
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26 | developers but they are strictly optional for everyone else.</para>
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27 |
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28 | <para>As you progress through the book and encounter the build commands to
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29 | run the various test suites, we'll guide you on the relative importance of
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30 | the test suite in question so that you can decide for yourself whether to
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31 | run it or not.</para>
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32 |
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33 | <note><para>A common problem when running the test suites for Binutils and GCC
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34 | is running out of pseudo terminals (PTYs for short). The symptom is an unusually
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35 | high number of failing tests. This can happen for any number of reasons. Most
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36 | likely is that the host system doesn't have the <emphasis>devpts</emphasis> file
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37 | system set up correctly. We'll discuss this in more detail later on in Chapter
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38 | 5.</para></note>
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39 |
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40 | </sect1>
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41 |
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