path: root/lib/common_test/doc/src/ct_hooks_chapter.xml

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<!DOCTYPE chapter SYSTEM "chapter.dtd">

<chapter>
  <header>
    <copyright>
      <year>2011</year><year>2018</year>
      <holder>Ericsson AB. All Rights Reserved.</holder>
    </copyright>
    <legalnotice>
      Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
      you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
      You may obtain a copy of the License at
 
          http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

      Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
      distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
      WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
      See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
      limitations under the License.

    </legalnotice>

    <title>Common Test Hooks</title>
    <prepared>Lukas Larsson</prepared>
    <docno></docno>
    <date></date>
    <rev></rev>
    <file>ct_hooks_chapter.xml</file>
  </header>

  <section>
    <marker id="general"></marker>
    <title>General</title>
    <p>
      The <em>Common Test Hook (CTH)</em> framework allows 
      extensions of the default behavior of <c>Common Test</c> using hooks 
      before and after all test suite calls. CTHs allow advanced <c>Common Test</c>
      users to abstract out behavior that is common to multiple test suites
      without littering all test suites with library calls. This can be used
      for logging, starting, and monitoring external systems, 
      building C files needed by the tests, and so on.</p>

    <p>In brief, CTH allows you to do the following:</p>

    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>Manipulate the runtime configuration before each suite 
      configuration call.</item>
      <item>Manipulate the return of all suite configuration calls, and in 
      extension, the result of the tests themselves.</item>
    </list>
    
    <p>The following sections describe how to use CTHs, when they are run,
      and how to manipulate the test results in a CTH.</p>

    <warning><p>When executing within a CTH, all timetraps are shut off. So
	if your CTH never returns, the entire test run is stalled.</p>
    </warning>

  </section>
  
  <section>
    <marker id="installing"></marker>
    <title>Installing a CTH</title>
    <p>A CTH can be installed in multiple ways in your test run. You can do it
      for all tests in a run, for specific test suites, and for specific groups 
      within a test suite. If you want a CTH to be present in all test suites 
      within your test run, there are three ways to accomplish that, as follows:
    </p>

    <list type="bulleted">
      <item>Add <c>-ct_hooks</c> as an argument to 
      <seealso marker="run_test_chapter#ct_run">ct_run</seealso>. 
      To add multiple CTHs using this method, append them to each other
      using the keyword <c>and</c>, that is, 
      <c>ct_run -ct_hooks cth1 [{debug,true}] and cth2 ...</c>.</item>
      <item>Add tag <c>ct_hooks</c> to your 
      <seealso marker="run_test_chapter#test_specifications">
      Test Specification</seealso>.</item>
      <item>Add tag <c>ct_hooks</c> to your call to 
      <seealso marker="ct#run_test-1">ct:run_test/1</seealso>.</item>
    </list>

    <p>CTHs can also be added within a test suite. This is done by returning
    <c>{ct_hooks,[CTH]}</c> in the configuration list from 
    <seealso marker="common_test#Module:suite-0">suite/0</seealso>,
    <seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_suite-1">
      init_per_suite/1</seealso>, or
      <seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_group-2">
    init_per_group/2</seealso>.</p>

    <p>In this case, <c>CTH</c> can either be only the module name of the CTH 
    or a tuple with the module name and the initial arguments, and optionally 
    the hook priority of the CTH. For example, one of the following:</p>
    <list type="bulleted">
    <item><c>{ct_hooks,[my_cth_module]}</c></item> 
    <item><c>{ct_hooks,[{my_cth_module,[{debug,true}]}]}</c></item>
    <item><c>{ct_hooks,[{my_cth_module,[{debug,true}],500}]}</c></item>
    </list>

    <section>
      <title>Overriding CTHs</title>
      <p>By default, each installation of a CTH causes a new instance of it
	to be activated. This can cause problems if you want to override 
	CTHs in test specifications while still having them in the
	suite information function. The 
	<seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:id-1">id/1</seealso>
	callback exists to address this problem. By returning the same
	<c>id</c> in both places, <c>Common Test</c> knows that this CTH
	is already installed and does not try to install it again.</p>
    </section>
   
    <section>
      <title>CTH Execution Order</title>
      <p>By default, each CTH installed is executed in the order that
      they are installed for init calls, and then reversed for end calls.
      This is not always desired, so <c>Common Test</c> allows
      the user to specify a priority for each hook. The priority can either
      be specified in the CTH function 
      <seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:init-2">init/2</seealso> or when 
      installing the hook. The priority specified at installation overrides the 
      priority returned by the CTH.</p>
    </section>
  </section>

  <section>
    <marker id="scope"/>
    <title>CTH Scope</title>
    <p>Once the CTH is installed into a certain test run it remains there until
      its scope is expired. The scope of a CTH depends on when it is 
      installed, see the following table.
      Function <seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:init-2">init/2</seealso> is 
      called at the beginning of the scope and function
      <seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:terminate-1">terminate/1</seealso> 
      is called when the scope ends.</p>
    <table>
      <row>
	<cell><em>CTH installed in</em></cell>
	<cell><em>CTH scope begins before</em></cell>
	<cell><em>CTH scope ends after</em></cell>
      </row>
      <row>
	<cell><seealso marker="run_test_chapter#ct_run">ct_run</seealso></cell>
	<cell>the first test suite is to be run</cell>
	<cell>the last test suite has been run</cell>
      </row>
      <row>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct#run_test-1">ct:run_test</seealso></cell>
	<cell>the first test suite is run</cell>
	<cell>the last test suite has been run</cell>
      </row>
      <row>
	<cell><seealso marker="run_test_chapter#test_specifications">
	  Test Specification</seealso></cell>
	<cell>the first test suite is run</cell>
	<cell>the last test suite has been run</cell>
      </row>
      <row>
	<cell><seealso marker="common_test#Module:suite-0">suite/0
	</seealso></cell>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:pre_init_per_suite-3">
	    pre_init_per_suite/3</seealso> is called</cell>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:post_end_per_suite-4">
	  post_end_per_suite/4</seealso> has been called for that test suite</cell>
      </row>
      <row>
	<cell><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_suite-1">
	  init_per_suite/1</seealso></cell>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:post_init_per_suite-4">
	    post_init_per_suite/4</seealso> is called</cell>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:post_end_per_suite-4">
	  post_end_per_suite/4</seealso> has been called for that test suite</cell>
      </row>
      <row>
	<cell><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_group-2">
	  init_per_group/2</seealso></cell>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:post_init_per_group-5">
	    post_init_per_group/5</seealso> is called</cell>
	<cell><seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:post_end_per_group-5">
	  post_end_per_group/5</seealso> has been called for that group</cell>
      </row>
    <tcaption>Scope of a CTH</tcaption>
    </table>
    
    <section>
      <title>CTH Processes and Tables</title>
      <p>CTHs are run with the same process scoping as normal test suites,
	that is, a different process executes the <c>init_per_suite</c> hooks then the
	<c>init_per_group</c> or <c>per_testcase</c> hooks. So if you want to spawn a 
	process in the CTH, you cannot link with the CTH process, as it exits 
	after the post hook ends. Also, if you for some reason need an ETS 
	table with your CTH, you must spawn a process that handles it.</p>
    </section>
    
    <section>
      <title>External Configuration Data and Logging</title>
      <p>Configuration data values in the CTH can be read
	by calling 
	<seealso marker="ct#get_config-1"><c>ct:get_config/1,2,3</c></seealso> 
	(as explained in section
	<seealso marker="config_file_chapter#require_config_data">Requiring and Reading Configuration Data</seealso>).
	The configuration variables in question must, as always, first have been
	required by a suite-, group-, or test case information function,
	or by function <seealso marker="ct#require-1"><c>ct:require/1/2</c></seealso>.
	The latter can also be used in CT hook functions.</p>
      <p>The CT hook functions can call any logging function
	in the <c>ct</c> interface to print information to the log files, or to
	add comments in the suite overview page.
      </p>
    </section>    

  </section>

  <section>
     <marker id="manipulating"/>
    <title>Manipulating Tests</title>
    <p>Through CTHs the results of tests and configuration functions can be manipulated. 
    The main purpose to do this with CTHs is to allow common 
    patterns to be abstracted out from test suites and applied to
    multiple test suites without duplicating any code. All the callback
    functions for a CTH follow a common interface described hereafter.</p>

    <p><c>Common Test</c> always calls all available hook functions, even pre- 
      and post hooks for configuration functions that are not implemented in the suite.
      For example, <c>pre_init_per_suite(x_SUITE, ...)</c> and
      <c>post_init_per_suite(x_SUITE, ...)</c> are called for test suite
      <c>x_SUITE</c>, even if it does not export <c>init_per_suite/1</c>. 
      With this feature hooks can be used as configuration fallbacks, and all
      configuration functions can be replaced with hook functions.</p>

    <section>
      <marker id="pre"/>
      <title>Pre Hooks</title>
      <p>
	In a CTH, the behavior can be hooked in before the following functions:</p>

     <list type="bulleted">
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_suite-1"><c>init_per_suite</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_group-2"><c>init_per_group</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_testcase-2"><c>init_per_testcase</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:end_per_testcase-2"><c>end_per_testcase</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:end_per_group-2"><c>end_per_group</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:end_per_suite-1"><c>end_per_suite</c></seealso></item>
     </list>

        <p>
	This is done in the CTH functions called <c>pre_&lt;name of function&gt;</c>.
	These functions take the arguments <c>SuiteName</c>, <c>Name</c> (group or test case name, if applicable), 
	<c>Config</c>, and <c>CTHState</c>. The return value of the CTH function
	is always a combination of a result for the suite/group/test and an 
	updated <c>CTHState</c>.</p>

	<p>To let the test suite continue on executing, return the configuration 
	list that you want the test to use as the result.</p>

        <p>All pre hooks, except <c>pre_end_per_testcase/4</c>, can
        skip or fail the test by returning a tuple with <c>skip</c> or
        <c>fail</c>, and a reason as the result.</p>

	<p><em>Example:</em></p>
	<code>
 pre_init_per_suite(SuiteName, Config, CTHState) -&gt;
   case db:connect() of
     {error,_Reason} -&gt;
       {{fail, "Could not connect to DB"}, CTHState};
     {ok, Handle} -&gt;
       {[{db_handle, Handle} | Config], CTHState#state{ handle = Handle }}
   end.</code>

  <note><p>If you use multiple CTHs, the first part of the return tuple is
  used as input for the next CTH. So in the previous example the next CTH can
  get <c>{fail,Reason}</c> as the second parameter. If you have many CTHs
  interacting, do not let each CTH return <c>fail</c> or <c>skip</c>. 
  Instead, return that an action is to be taken through the <c>Config</c> 
  list and implement a CTH that, at the end, takes the correct action.</p></note>
	
    </section>
    
    <section>
      <marker id="post"/>
      <title>Post Hooks</title>
      <p>In a CTH, behavior can be hooked in after the following functions:</p>
      <list type="bulleted">
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_suite-1"><c>init_per_suite</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_group-2"><c>init_per_group</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:init_per_testcase-2"><c>init_per_testcase</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:end_per_testcase-2"><c>end_per_testcase</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:end_per_group-2"><c>end_per_group</c></seealso></item>
       <item><seealso marker="common_test#Module:end_per_suite-1"><c>end_per_suite</c></seealso></item>
     </list>

     <p>
      This is done in the CTH functions called <c>post_&lt;name of function&gt;</c>. 
      These functions take the arguments <c>SuiteName</c>, <c>Name</c> (group or test case name, if applicable),
      <c>Config</c>, <c>Return</c>, and <c>CTHState</c>. <c>Config</c> in this
      case is the same <c>Config</c> as the testcase is called with. 
      <c>Return</c> is the value returned by the testcase. If the testcase 
      fails by crashing, <c>Return</c> is
      <c>{'EXIT',{{Error,Reason},Stacktrace}}</c>.</p>
      
      <p>The return value of the CTH function is always a combination of a
	result for the suite/group/test and an updated <c>CTHState</c>. If
	you do not want the callback to affect the outcome of the test,
	return the <c>Return</c> data as it is given to the CTH. You can also
	modify the test result. By returning the <c>Config</c> list
	with element <c>tc_status</c> removed, you can recover from a test 
	failure. As in all the pre hooks, it is also possible to fail/skip
	the test case in the post hook.</p>
	
	<p><em>Example:</em></p>
	<code>
 post_end_per_testcase(_Suite, _TC, Config, {'EXIT',{_,_}}, CTHState) -&gt;
   case db:check_consistency() of
     true ->
       %% DB is good, pass the test.
       {proplists:delete(tc_status, Config), CTHState};
     false ->
       %% DB is not good, mark as skipped instead of failing
       {{skip, "DB is inconsisten!"}, CTHState}
   end;
 post_end_per_testcase(_Suite, _TC, Config, Return, CTHState) -&gt;
   %% Do nothing if tc does not crash.
   {Return, CTHState}.</code>

      <note><p>Do recover from a testcase failure using CTHs only a last resort. 
      If used wrongly, it can be very difficult to determine which tests that 
      pass or fail in a test run.</p></note>
  
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Skip and Fail Hooks</title>
      <p>
	After any post hook has been executed for all installed CTHs, 
	<seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:on_tc_fail-4">on_tc_fail</seealso>
	or <seealso marker="ct_hooks#Module:on_tc_skip-4">on_tc_skip</seealso>
	is called if the testcase failed or was skipped, respectively. 
	You cannot affect the outcome of the tests any further at this point. 
      </p>
    </section>

  </section>

  <section>
     <marker id="synchronizing"/>
    <title>Synchronizing External User Applications with Common Test</title>
    <p>CTHs can be used to synchronize test runs with external user applications.
    The init function can, for example, start and/or communicate with an application that
    has the purpose of preparing the SUT for an upcoming test run, or 
    initialize a database for saving test data to during the test run. The
    terminate function can similarly order such an application to reset the SUT
    after the test run, and/or tell the application to finish active sessions
    and terminate.
    Any system error- or progress reports generated during the init- or
    termination stage are saved in the 
    <seealso marker="run_test_chapter#pre_post_test_io_log">Pre- and Post Test I/O Log</seealso>. 
    (This is also true for any printouts made
    with <c>ct:log/2</c> and <c>ct:pal/2</c>).</p>

    <p>To ensure that <c>Common Test</c> does not start executing tests, or
    closes its log files and shuts down, before the external application
    is ready for it, <c>Common Test</c> can be synchronized with the application. 
    During startup and shutdown, <c>Common Test</c> can be suspended, simply by
    having a CTH evaluate a <c>receive</c> expression in the init- or terminate
    function. The macros <c>?CT_HOOK_INIT_PROCESS</c> (the process executing the hook
    init function) and <c>?CT_HOOK_TERMINATE_PROCESS</c> (the process executing
    the hook terminate function) each specifies the name of the correct <c>Common Test</c>
    process to send a message to. This is done to return from the <c>receive</c>.
    These macros are defined in <c>ct.hrl</c>.
    </p>
  </section>

  <section>
    <marker id="example"/>
     <title>Example CTH</title>
     <p>The following CTH logs information about a test run into a format 
       parseable by <seealso marker="kernel:file#consult-1">file:consult/1</seealso> 
       (in Kernel):
     </p>
     <code>
 %%% Common Test Example Common Test Hook module.
 -module(example_cth).

 %% Callbacks
 -export([id/1]).
 -export([init/2]).

 -export([pre_init_per_suite/3]).
 -export([post_init_per_suite/4]).
 -export([pre_end_per_suite/3]).
 -export([post_end_per_suite/4]).

 -export([pre_init_per_group/4]).
 -export([post_init_per_group/5]).
 -export([pre_end_per_group/4]).
 -export([post_end_per_group/5]).

 -export([pre_init_per_testcase/4]).
 -export([post_init_per_testcase/5]).
 -export([pre_end_per_testcase/4]).
 -export([post_end_per_testcase/5]).

 -export([on_tc_fail/4]).
 -export([on_tc_skip/4]).

 -export([terminate/1]).

 -record(state, { file_handle, total, suite_total, ts, tcs, data }).

 %% Return a unique id for this CTH.
 id(Opts) ->
   proplists:get_value(filename, Opts, "/tmp/file.log").

 %% Always called before any other callback function. Use this to initiate
 %% any common state. 
 init(Id, Opts) ->
     {ok,D} = file:open(Id,[write]),
     {ok, #state{ file_handle = D, total = 0, data = [] }}.

 %% Called before init_per_suite is called.
 pre_init_per_suite(Suite,Config,State) ->
     {Config, State#state{ suite_total = 0, tcs = [] }}.

 %% Called after init_per_suite.
 post_init_per_suite(Suite,Config,Return,State) ->
     {Return, State}.

 %% Called before end_per_suite.
 pre_end_per_suite(Suite,Config,State) ->
     {Config, State}.

 %% Called after end_per_suite.
 post_end_per_suite(Suite,Config,Return,State) ->
     Data = {suites, Suite, State#state.suite_total, lists:reverse(State#state.tcs)},
     {Return, State#state{ data = [Data | State#state.data] ,
                           total = State#state.total + State#state.suite_total } }.

 %% Called before each init_per_group.
 pre_init_per_group(Suite,Group,Config,State) ->
     {Config, State}.

 %% Called after each init_per_group.
 post_init_per_group(Suite,Group,Config,Return,State) ->
     {Return, State}.

 %% Called before each end_per_group.
 pre_end_per_group(Suite,Group,Config,State) ->
     {Config, State}.

 %% Called after each end_per_group.
 post_end_per_group(Suite,Group,Config,Return,State) ->
     {Return, State}.

 %% Called before each init_per_testcase.
 pre_init_per_testcase(Suite,TC,Config,State) ->
     {Config, State#state{ ts = now(), total = State#state.suite_total + 1 } }.

 %% Called after each init_per_testcase (immediately before the test case).
 post_init_per_testcase(Suite,TC,Config,Return,State) ->
     {Return, State}

%% Called before each end_per_testcase (immediately after the test case).
 pre_end_per_testcase(Suite,TC,Config,State) ->
     {Config, State}.

 %% Called after each end_per_testcase.
 post_end_per_testcase(Suite,TC,Config,Return,State) ->
     TCInfo = {testcase, Suite, TC, Return, timer:now_diff(now(), State#state.ts)},
     {Return, State#state{ ts = undefined, tcs = [TCInfo | State#state.tcs] } }.

 %% Called after post_init_per_suite, post_end_per_suite, post_init_per_group,
 %% post_end_per_group and post_end_per_testcase if the suite, group or test case failed.
 on_tc_fail(Suite, TC, Reason, State) ->
     State.

 %% Called when a test case is skipped by either user action
 %% or due to an init function failing.  
 on_tc_skip(Suite, TC, Reason, State) ->
     State.

 %% Called when the scope of the CTH is done
 terminate(State) ->
     io:format(State#state.file_handle, "~p.~n",
                [{test_run, State#state.total, State#state.data}]),
     file:close(State#state.file_handle),
     ok.</code>
  </section>

  <section>
     <marker id="builtin_cths"/>
    <title>Built-In CTHs</title>
    <p><c>Common Test</c> is delivered with some general-purpose CTHs that
    can be enabled by the user to provide generic testing functionality.
    Some of these CTHs are enabled by default when <c>common_test</c> is started to run.
    They can be disabled by setting <c>enable_builtin_hooks</c> to
    <c>false</c> on the command line or in the test specification. The following
    two CTHs are delivered with <c>Common Test</c>:</p>

    <taglist>
       <tag><c>cth_log_redirect</c></tag>
       <item>
       <p>Built-in</p>
       <p>Captures all log events that would normally be printed by the default
        logger handler, and prints them to the current test case log.
	If an event cannot be associated with a test case, it is printed in
	the <c>Common Test</c> framework log.
	This happens for test cases running in parallel and events occuring
	in-between test cases. You can configure the level of
	<seealso marker="sasl:sasl_app">SASL</seealso> reports
	using the normal SASL mechanisms.</p>
       </item>
       <tag><c>cth_surefire</c></tag>
       <item>
       <p>Not built-in</p>
       <p>Captures all test results and outputs them as surefire
	XML into a file. The created file is by default
	called <c>junit_report.xml</c>. The file name can be changed by
	setting option <c>path</c> for this hook, for example:</p>

	<p><c>-ct_hooks cth_surefire [{path,"/tmp/report.xml"}]</c></p>

	<p>If option <c>url_base</c> is set, an extra
	attribute named <c>url</c> is added to each
	<c>testsuite</c> and <c>testcase</c> XML element. The value
	is constructed from <c>url_base</c> and a relative path
	to the test suite or test case log, respectively, for example:</p>

	<p><c>-ct_hooks cth_surefire [{url_base, "http://myserver.com/"}]</c></p>

	<p>gives an URL attribute value similar to</p>

	<p><c>"http://myserver.com/[email protected]_11.19.39/
x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.my_test.logs/run.2012-12-12_11.19.39/suite.log.html"</c></p>

	<p>Surefire XML can, for example, be used by Jenkins to display test
	results.</p>
       </item>
     </taglist>

  </section>

</chapter>