<?xml version="1.0" encoding="latin1" ?>
<!DOCTYPE chapter SYSTEM "chapter.dtd">
<chapter>
<header>
<copyright>
<year>2004</year><year>2011</year>
<holder>Ericsson AB. All Rights Reserved.</holder>
</copyright>
<legalnotice>
The contents of this file are subject to the Erlang Public License,
Version 1.1, (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
compliance with the License. You should have received a copy of the
Erlang Public License along with this software. If not, it can be
retrieved online at http://www.erlang.org/.
Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS"
basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See
the License for the specific language governing rights and limitations
under the License.
</legalnotice>
<title>Common Test Release Notes</title>
<prepared>Peter Andersson</prepared>
<responsible>Peter Andersson</responsible>
<docno></docno>
<approved></approved>
<checked></checked>
<date>2007-12-01</date>
<rev>A</rev>
<file>notes.xml</file>
</header>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.6.1</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Common Test adds the test suite directories to the code
path before executing the tests. These directories should
also be removed from the code path at the end of the test
run, which, prior to this fix, was not performed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9595</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
An entry is now created in the index.html file (i.e. the
overview file for the test run) for each repeated test
during a test run. This was previously not the case. Note
that in the top level (logdir) index file, however, only
the last test result is listed. For example, given the
test spec:
[{merge_tests,false},{dirs,"test1"},{dirs,"test1"}]. In
the index file for the test run (under
Logdir/ct_run.Node.Date.Time), both tests are listed. In
the top level index file (under Logdir), only the last
test is listed (one has to find the previous results
through the all_runs.html file).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9634 Aux Id: seq11924 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
After a test case timeout or abortion, the
end_per_testcase function executes on a new dedicated
process. The group leader for this process should be set
to the IO server for the test case, which was not done
properly. The result of this error was that no warnings
about end_per_testcase failing or timing out were ever
printed in the test case log. Also, help functions such
as e.g. test_server:stop_node/1, attempting to
synchronize with the IO server, would hang. The fault has
been corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9666</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The ct:get_status/0 function would cause the calling
process to receive 'DOWN' messages if no tests were
running at the time of the call. This bug has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9830 Aux Id: seq11975 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A deadlock situation could occur if Common Test is
forwarding error_handler printouts to Test Server at the
same time a new test case is starting. This error has
been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9894</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A link to the ct_run program is now created, as expected,
in the installation bin directory (default
/usr/local/bin) during 'make install'.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9898</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Using the repeat, duration or until option with
ct:run_test/1, would cause an infinite loop. This has
been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9899</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Two or more test cases executing in parallel and printing
to screen at the same time with ct:pal/2/3 or
ct:print/2/3 could write into each other's "slots" and
create a mess of mixed strings. In order to avoid this,
only a single IO message is now ever sent per printout
call.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9900 Aux Id: OTP-9904 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
When a test case was killed because of a timetrap
timeout, the current location (suite, case and line) was
not printed correctly in the log files. This has been
corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9930 Aux Id: seq12002 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The wrong exit location was printed in the log file when
ct:fail/1 or ct_fail/2 was called.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9933 Aux Id: seq12002 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Test Server and Common Test would add new error handlers
with each test run and fail to remove previously added
ones. In the case of Test Server, this would only happen
if SASL was not running on the test node. This has been
fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9941 Aux Id: seq12009 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If a test case process was terminated due to an exit
signal from a linked process, Test Server failed to
report the correct name of the suite and case to the
framework. This has been corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9958 Aux Id: OTP-9855 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
When starting a test with ct_run and adding a directory
to the code path using -pa or -pz (preceding -erl_args),
Common Test would delete any existing directory in the
code path with the same base name (see
filename:basename/1) as the directory being added. This
has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9964</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If passing two or more directories with the same base
name (see filename:basename/1) to Common Test with ct_run
-pa, only one of the directories would actually be added.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9975 Aux Id: seq12019 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Configuration data required by the group info function
was deleted before the call to post_end_per_group, which
made it impossible for the hook function to read and use
the data in question. This has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9989</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Disabling built-in hooks in a test specification was
ignored, this has now been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-10009</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Various typographical errors corrected in documentation
for common_test, driver, erl_driver and windows
installation instructions. (Thanks to Tuncer Ayaz)</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-10037</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
A new optional feature has been introduced that enables
Common Test to generate priv_dir directory names that are
unique for each test case or config function. The name of
the option/flag is 'create_priv_dir' and it can be set to
value 'auto_per_run' (which is the default, existing,
behaviour), or 'auto_per_tc' or 'manual_per_tc'. If
'auto_per_tc' is used, Test Server creates a dedicated
priv_dir automatically for each test case (which can be
very expensive in case of many and/or repeated cases). If
'manual_per_tc' is used, the user needs to create the
priv_dir explicitly by calling the new function
ct:make_priv_dir/0.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9659 Aux Id: seq11930 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A column for test case group name has been added to the
suite overview HTML log file.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9730 Aux Id: seq11952 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to use the post_end_per_testcase CT
hook function to print a comment for a test case in the
overview log file, even if the test case gets killed by a
timetrap or unknown exit signal, or if the
end_per_testcase function times out.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9855 Aux Id: seq11979 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The pre- and post CT hook functions are now always called
for all configuration functions, even for configuration
functions that are not implemented in the test suite.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9880 Aux Id: seq11993 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Common Test will now print error information (with a time
stamp) in the test case log file immediately when a test
case fails. This makes it easier to see when, in time,
the fault actually occured, and aid the job of locating
relevant trace and debug printouts in the log.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9904 Aux Id: seq11985, OTP-9900 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Test Server has been modified to check the SASL
errlog_type parameter when receiving an error logger
event, so that it doesn't print reports of type that the
user has disabled.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9955 Aux Id: seq12013 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The test specification term 'skip_groups' was implemented
in Common Test v1.6. It was never documented however,
which has now been attended to. Please see the Test
Specifications chapter in the User's Guide for
information.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9972</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The Common Test Master has been updated to use a CSS
style sheet for the html log files.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9973</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If the init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2 functions are
not implemented in the test suite, Common Test calls it's
own local init- and end functions - previously named
ct_init_per_group/2 and ct_end_per_group/2 - when a group
is executed. These functions have been renamed
init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2 respectively. Note
that this may affect any user event handler identifying
events by the old names.</p>
<p>
*** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9986 Aux Id: OTP-9992 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
By specifying a user defined function ({M,F,A} or fun) as
timetrap value, either by means of an info function or by
calling ct:timetrap/1, it is now possible to set a
timetrap that will be triggered when the user function
returns.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9988 Aux Id: OTP-9501, seq11894 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If the optional configuration functions init_per_suite/1
and end_per_suite/1 are not implemented in the test
suite, local Common Test versions of these functions are
called instead, and will be displayed in the overview log
file. Any printouts made by the pre- or
post_init_per_suite and pre- or post_end_per_suite hook
functions are saved in the log files for these functions.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9992</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A hook has been added to common test which outputs
surefire XML for usage together with CI tools such as
Jenkins. To enable the hook pass '-ct_hooks cth_surefire'
to ct_run. See the CTH documentation for more details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9995</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.6</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
A Getting Started chapter has been added to the Common
Test User's Guide.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9156</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The test case group info function has been implemented in
Common Test. Before execution of a test case group, a
call is now made to <c>TestSuite:group(GroupName)</c>.
The function returns a list of test properties, e.g. to
specify timetrap values, require configuration data, etc
(analogue to the test suite- and test case info
function). The scope of the properties set by
<c>group(GroupName)</c> is all test cases and sub-groups
of group <c>GroupName</c>.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9235</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Common Test hooks are now in a final supported version.
The Common Test hooks allow you to abstract out
initialization behaviour that is common to multiple test
suites into one place and also extend the behaviour of a
suite without changing the suite itself. For more
information see the Common Test user's guide.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9449</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new built-in common test hook has been added which
captures error_logger and SASL event and prints them in
the testcase log. To disable this (and any other built-in
hooks) pass 'enable_builtin_hooks false' to common test.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9543</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Common Test now calls info functions also for the
<c>init/end_per_suite/1</c> and
<c>init/end_per_group/2</c> configuration functions.
These can be used e.g. to set timetraps and require
external configuration data relevant only for the
configuration functions in question (without affecting
properties set for groups and test cases in the suite).
The info function for <c>init/end_per_suite(Config)</c>
is <c>init/end_per_suite()</c>, and for
<c>init/end_per_group(GroupName,Config)</c> it's
<c>init/end_per_group(GroupName)</c>. Info functions can
not be used with <c>init/end_per_testcase(TestCase,
Config)</c>, since these configuration functions execute
on the test case process and will use the same properties
as the test case (i.e. properties set by the test case
info function, <c>TestCase()</c>).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9569</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It's now possible to read the full name of the test case
log file during execution. One way to do this is to
lookup it up as value of the key <c>tc_logfile</c> in the
test case <c>Config</c> list (which means it can also be
read by a pre- or post Common Test hook function). The
data is also sent with the event
<c>#event{name=tc_logfile,data={{Suite,Func},LogFileName}}</c>,
and can be read by any installed event handler.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9676 Aux Id: seq11941 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The look of the HTML log files generated by Common Test
and Test Server has been improved (and made easier to
customize) by means of a CSS file.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9706</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Functions ct:fail(Format, Args) and ct:comment(Format,
Args) have been added in order to make printouts of
formatted error and comment strings easier (no need for
the user to call io_lib:format/2 explicitly).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9709 Aux Id: seq11951 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The order in which ct hooks are executed for cleanup
hooks (i.e. *_end_per_* hooks) has been reversed.</p>
<p>
*** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9774 Aux Id: seq11913 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Printouts to stdout may be captured during test case
execution. This is useful in order to e.g. read and parse
tty printouts from the SUT during test case execution (if
necessary, say, to determine the outcome of the test).
The capturing session is started with
<c>ct:capture_start/0</c>, and stopped with
<c>ct:capture_stop/0</c>. The list of buffered strings is
read and purged with <c>ct:capture_get/0/1</c>. It's
possible to filter out printouts made with
<c>ct:log/2/3</c> and <c>ct:pal/2/3</c> from the captured
list of strings. This is done by calling
<c>capture_get/1</c> with a list of log categories to
exclude.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9775</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The syntax for specifying test case groups in the all/0
list has been extended to include execution properties
for both groups and sub-groups. The properties specified
in all/0 for a group overrides the properties specified
in the group declaration (in groups/0). The main purpose
of this extension is to make it possible to run the same
set of tests, but with different properties, without
having to declare copies of the group in question. Also,
the same syntax may be used in test specifications in
order to change properties of groups at the time of
execution, without having to edit the test suite. Please
see the User's Guide for details and examples.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9809 Aux Id: OTP-9235 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Known Bugs and Problems</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Fix problems in CT/TS due to line numbers in exceptions.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9203</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.5.5</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
An error in how comments are colored in the test suite
overview html log file has been corrected. As result, a
new framework callback function, format_comment/1, has
been introduced.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9237</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Automatically generated init- and end-configuration
functions for test case groups caused incorrect execution
order of test cases. This has been corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9369</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If multiple directories were specified with the 'logdir'
flag/option, Common Test would crash. This has been fixed
so that an error is properly reported instead.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9370</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If ct:log/2 was called with bad arguments, this could
cause the Common Test IO handling process to crash. This
fault has been corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9371 Aux Id: OTP-8933 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A bug has been fixed that made Test Server call the
end_tc/3 framework function with an incorrect module name
as first argument.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9379 Aux Id: seq11863 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If a timetrap timeout occured during execution of of a
function in a lib module (i.e. a function called directly
or indirectly from a test case), the Suite argument in
the end_tc/3 framework callback function would not
correctly contain the name of the test suite, but the lib
module. (This would only happen if the lib module was
compiled with ct.hrl included). This error has been
solved.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9398</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Corrections of the vts mode. It will now report errors
(about e.g. incorrect config files) instead of crashing
or hanging. Furthermore, the requirement that the test
directory name must have a "_test" suffix has been
removed. Also, a workaround has been implemented for the
limitation that the file browser (in many web browsers)
will only return the basic file name, not the full
directory path (which made it impossible to have config
files in other directories than the main test directory).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9429</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Add a proplist() type</p>
<p>
Recently I was adding specs to an API and found that
there is no canonical proplist() type defined. (Thanks to
Ryan Zezeski)</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9499</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to use the 'step' flag/option to run
the debugger for test suites that contain test case
groups. This previously caused Common Test to crash. If
'step config' is specified, breakpoints are now also
automatically set on init_per_group and end_per_group.
Note that breakpoints are always set automatically on
test case functions and this is true also for grouped
cases.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9518 Aux Id: OTP-8933 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The test index page was not refreshed at the start of
each test suite which made it impossible to follow test
execution by means of refreshing the browser window (no
links to follow). This has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9520 Aux Id: OTP-8933 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
If a test suite would start with a test case group
defined without the init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2
function, init_per_suite/1 would not execute initially
and logging of the test run would fail. This error has
been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9584</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The "Missing Suites" link from the top level index page
was incorrect and has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9592</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Various corrections and updates to improve the handling
and reporting of errors.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8933</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The dir and suite start option can now be used in
combination. E.g. executing my_SUITE in directory
my_tests can either be specified as "ct_run -suite
my_tests/my_SUITE" or as "ct_run -dir my_tests -suite
my_SUITE". Furthermore, the specification:
ct:run_test([{suite,["./my_SUITE"]},{testcase,t1}]) is
now interpreted as
ct:run_test([{suite,"./my_SUITE"},{testcase,t1}]), i.e.
only testcase t1 in test suite my_SUITE - not all cases -
will be executed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9155</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new option, 'logopts', has been introduced, to make it
possible to modify some aspects of the logging behaviour
in Common Test (or Test Server). For example, whenever an
io printout is made, test_server adds newline (\n) to the
end of the output string. This may not always be a
preferred action and can therefore be disabled by means
of "ct_run ... -logopts no_nl" (or ct:run_test([...,
{logopts,[no_nl]}])). A new framework callback function,
get_logopts/0, has been introduced (see the ct_framework
module for details).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9372 Aux Id: OTP-9396 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new option, 'logopts', has been introduced, to make it
possible to modify some aspects of the logging behaviour
in Common Test (or Test Server). For example, if the html
version of the test suite source code should not be
generated during the test run (and consequently be
unavailable in the log file system), the feature may be
disabled by means of "ct_run ... -logopts no_src" (or
ct:run_test([..., {logopts,[no_src]}])). A new framework
callback function, get_logopts/0, has been introduced
(see the ct_framework module for details).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9396 Aux Id: seq11869, OTP-9372 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
CT Hooks can now be assigned a priority. The priority of
a CTH determines when it should execute in relation to
other CTHs. The CTH with the lowest priority will be
executed first, CTHs with equal priority will be executed
in the order which they were installed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9445</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to use a tuple {M,F,A}, or a fun, as
timetrap specification in the suite info function or test
case info functions. The function must return a valid
timeout value, as documented in the common_test man page
and in the User's Guide.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9501 Aux Id: seq11894 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new built-in common test hook has been added which
captures error_logger and SASL event and prints them in
the testcase log. To disable this (and any other built-in
hooks) pass 'enable_builtin_hooks false' to common test.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9543</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Common Test now has the possibility to have built-in
hooks which are started by default when any test is run.
To disable built-in hooks pass 'enable_builtin_hooks
false' to common test. See the common test hooks
documentation for more details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9564</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.5.4</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
It was previously not possible to use timetrap value
'infinity' with ct:timetrap/1. This has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9159</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The Common Test VTS mode has been updated to be able to
report test results of suites that include test case
groups (when it would previously crash).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9195</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Common Test now refreshes the very top level index.html
page at the start of each individual test in a test run,
so that progress of the ongoing test can be tracked by
following the link to its overview page.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9210 Aux Id: OTP-9054 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A bug that made it impossible to cancel the previous
timetrap when calling ct:timetrap/1 has been corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9233 Aux Id: OTP-9159 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Fix bug which would make cth's to not be removed when out
of scope when adding a cth in suite/0 and crashing in
pre_init_per_suite.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9264</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to return a tuple {fail,Reason} from
init_per_testcase/2. The result is that the associated
test case gets logged as failed without ever executing.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9160 Aux Id: seq11502 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Common Test now accepts, but ignores, empty test case
group specifications.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9161</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.5.3</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Added an option to test specs which allow the execution
of tests as is, instead of doing merging of tests on the
same "level". See the merge_tests directive the test
specification documentation.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-9026 Aux Id: seq11768 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Alpha release of Common Test Hooks (CTH). CTHs allow the
users of common test to abtract out common behaviours
from test suites in a much more elegant and flexible way
than was possible before. Note that the addition of this
feature may introduce minor changes in the undocumented
behaviour of the interface inbetween common_test and
test_server.</p>
<p>
*** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8851</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.5.2</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Updated ct:get_status documentation to describe
no_tests_running return value.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8895 Aux Id: seq11701 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Fixed race condition test failures in the test suites
testing common test's parallel groups feature.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8921</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The include directive of testspecs now work when used on
a remote node.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8935 Aux Id: seq11731 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
ct:parse_table can now handle multiline sql rows</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8907 Aux Id: seq11702 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The run_test executable has been renamed to the less
generic ct_run to better work with other applications.
run_test will remain until R16B at which point it will be
removed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8936</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.5.1</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Returning {return_group_result,failed} from end_per_group
in a group that is part of a sequence, did not cause the
proceeding cases (or groups) to get skipped. This has
been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8753 Aux Id: seq11644 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
ct:install now works as the documentation describes.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8818 Aux Id: seq-11666 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Common Test has been updated to handle start options and
test specification terms for test case groups (and test
cases in groups). Also, an option named 'label', has been
added that associates the test run with a name that
Common Test prints in the overview HTML logs.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8725 Aux Id: OTP-8727 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Andrey Pampukha has been added to the AUTHORS file. Thank
you Andrey for your work on configuration data handling,
Large Scale Testing improvements, and other useful
updates and fixes.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8803</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The Configuration Data chapter in the User's Guide has
been updated.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8804</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Milliseconds are now included in timestamps in Common
Test log entries. (Thanks to Tomas Johansson.)</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8808</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.5</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Process calls using monitors in Common Test would not
clear the inbox of remaining DOWN messages. This has been
fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8621 Aux Id: seq11560 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible for the user to provide specific
callback modules that handle test configuration data, so
that data on arbitray form can be accessed (e.g. by
reading files or by communicating with a configuration
server process). Two default callback modules have been
introduced in Common Test: ct_config_plain and
ct_config_xml. The former is used to handle the
traditional Common Test configuration files (with terms
on key-value tuple form) and the latter to handle
configuration data on XML representation.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8485</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to execute test suites that are not
necessarily available on the local file system, but have
been loaded on the test node in advance (e.g. sent as
binaries from a remote node and loaded by RPC). A
requirement is that the no_auto_compile (or
{auto_compile,false}) parameter has been set.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8490 Aux Id: seq11500 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Test Server will now call the end_per_testcase/2 function
even if the test case has been terminated explicitly
(with abort_current_testcase/1), or after a timetrap
timeout. Under these circumstances the return value of
end_per_testcase is completely ignored. Therefore the
function will not be able to change the reason for test
case termination by returning {fail,Reason}, nor will it
be able to save data with {save_config,Data}.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8500 Aux Id: seq11521 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to use the test specification term
'init' to start Common Test nodes automatically, as well
as have initial function calls evaluated on the nodes. A
default callback module for the 'init' term, ct_slave,
has been introduced to enable Common Test Master to
perform host login and node startup operations over ssh.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8570</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The run_test script has been replaced by a program (with
the same name) which can be executed without explicit
installation. The start flags are the same as for the
legacy start script.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8650</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Previously, a repeat property of a test case group
specified the number of times the group should be
repeated after the main test run. I.e. {repeat,N} would
case the group to execute 1+N times. To be consistent
with the behaviour of the run_test repeat option, this
has been changed. N now specifies the absolute number of
executions instead.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8689 Aux Id: seq11502 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
With the run_test -erl_args option, it's possible to
divide the options on the run_test command line into ones
that Common Test should process (those preceding
-erl_args, and ones it should ignore (those succeeding
-erl_args). Options preceding -erl_args that Common Test
doesn't recognize are also ignored (i.e. the same
behaviour as earlier versions of Common Test).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8690 Aux Id: OTP-8650 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Directories added with -pa or -pz in the pre-erl_args
part of the run_test command line will be converted from
relative to absolute, this to avoid problems loading user
modules when Common Test switches working directory
during the test run.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8691 Aux Id: OTP-8650 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The timetrap handling has been made more user
controllable by means of new start options and new ct
interface functions. With the 'multiply_timetraps' start
option, it's possible to specify a value which all
timetrap timeout values get multiplied by. This is useful
e.g. to extend the timetraps temporarily while running
cover or trace. The 'scale_timetraps' start option
switches on or off the Test Server timetrap scaling
feature (which tries to detect if the tests may benefit
from extended timetraps, e.g. due to running certain test
tools, and performs the scaling automatically).
Furthermore, the ct:timetrap/1 function has been
introduced, which makes it possible to set/reset
timetraps during test execution. Also, a ct:sleep/1
function is now available, which takes the timetrap
parameters into account when calculating the time to
suspend the process.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8693</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new run_test start option, event_handler_init, has been
added that takes a start argument which gets passed to
the init function of the event handler.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8694</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.4.7</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
The auto compilation feature of Common Test did not
recognize if a header file included in a test suite was
modified (if the dir start flag/option was used). This
has been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8396 Aux Id: seq11488, OTP-8311 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
The tc_status value in the Config list for a test case
that has failed because of a timetrap timeout, has
changed from {tc_status,timeout} to
{tc_status,timetrap_timeout}.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8302</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>The documentation is now possible to build in an open
source environment after a number of bugs are fixed and
some features are added in the documentation build
process. </p>
<p>- The arity calculation is updated.</p>
<p>- The module prefix used in the function names for
bif's are removed in the generated links so the links
will look like
"http://www.erlang.org/doc/man/erlang.html#append_element-2"
instead of
"http://www.erlang.org/doc/man/erlang.html#erlang:append_element-2".</p>
<p>- Enhanced the menu positioning in the html
documentation when a new page is loaded.</p>
<p>- A number of corrections in the generation of man
pages (thanks to Sergei Golovan)</p>
<p>- The legal notice is taken from the xml book file so
OTP's build process can be used for non OTP
applications.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8343</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to include the <c>ct.hrl</c> using the
-include_lib directive. (Thanks to Fred Hebert.)</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8379</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The telnet client in Common Test sent [IAC,DO,NOP] to the
server in attempt to keep the connection alive. This is
not a valid sequence according to the standard, and some
telnet servers would terminate the connection because of
it. The client has been changed to send [IAC,NOP] every
10 secs instead, which should be a valid sequence. The
client does not negotiate this type of "keep alive"
message with the server, and if it causes problems, the
user may disable the keep alive feature by adding
{keep_alive,false} to the telnet configuration data for
the server/connection. Please see the ct_telnet and
unix_telnet manual pages for details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8450 Aux Id: OTP-8311 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.4.6</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
If the init_per_testcase/2 function fails, the test case
now gets marked and counted as auto skipped, not user
skipped (which would previously happen).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8289</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
The documentation is now built with open source tools
(xsltproc and fop) that exists on most platforms. One
visible change is that the frames are removed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8201</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
For a failed test case, the tc_done event is supposed to
report info on the form {failed,Error}. Only Error was
reported, however, which has now been fixed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8235 Aux Id: seq-11414 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to fail a test case from the
end_per_testcase/2 function, by returning {fail,Reason}.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8284</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to fail a test case by having the
end_tc/3 framework function return {fail,Reason} for the
test case.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8285</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The test_server framework API (e.g. the end_tc/3
function) has been modified. See the test_server_ctrl
documentation for details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8286 Aux Id: OTP-8285, OTP-8287 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Various updates of the test events have been implemented.
The data field for some events, such as tc_done and
tc_auto_skip has been modified to make pattern matching
on the data easier and more consistent. Also the order in
which some events are received has been altered. E.g. the
tc_auto_skip event for a test case now comes after the
tc_done for the failed configuration function (not
before) which makes more sense. Note that no new events
have been added and that the event record remains
unchanged.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8287 Aux Id: OTP-8235 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The marquee used for test names on the all_runs.html page
has been removed on request. Note that the test name
field has the full text string in a title tag, which is
displayed when hovering the mouse pointer over it (i.e.
if the web browser supports title tags).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8288</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to refresh the top level index files
in an arbitrary log directory by specifying a
{refresh_logs,LogDir} tuple in the ct:run_test/1 options
list. Also the -refresh_logs flag for the run_test script
has been extended to take an optional LogDir argument,
i.e. -refresh_logs [LogDir]. If no LogDir is specified,
current working directory is assumed, unless the log
directory is set with the -logdir flag.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8290</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It was previously required that test suites were located
under a test object (or OTP application) sub-directory
named "test" (or under a directory named
"<testobject>_test"). This has been changed so that
Common Test now looks for suites primarily in a test
sub-directory only if the directory exists. Otherwise it
will assume the suites are stored in the same directory
the user specifies with e.g. the 'dir' start flag/option.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8294</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.4.5</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
The Common Test logger process crashed if a test case in
a sequence (declared with sequences/0) failed. This fault
has been corrected.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8089 Aux Id: seq11334 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Various updates and fixes in Common Test and Test Server.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8045 Aux Id: OTP-8089,OTP-8105,OTP-8163 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Errors in coverage data collection and analysis were
difficult to detect. The logging has been improved so
that more information about e.g. imported and missing
modules is printed to the html log files.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8163 Aux Id: seq11374 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The Common Test HTML overview pages have been improved.
It is now possible to see if a test case has been skipped
explicitly or because a configuration function has
failed. Also, the history page (all_runs.html) now has
scrolling text displaying the test names. The old format
(showing names as a truncated string) can still be
generated by means of the flag/option 'basic_html'.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-8177</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.4.2</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Various corrections and improvements of Common Test and
Test Server.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7981</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.4.1</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Minor updates and corrections.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7897</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.4</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
A support client module for SSH and SFTP, ct_ssh, has
been introduced in Common Test.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7838</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Test case groups have been introduced. With this feature
it's possible to execute groups (possibly nested) of test
cases, each group wrapped with a call to function
init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2. Group definitions
are done by means of the new call-back function groups/0,
which should return a list of definitions. A group
definition contains a name tag, a list of properties and
a list of test cases (including possible nested group
definitions). The properties make it possible to execute
test cases in parallel, in sequence and in shuffled
order. It is also possible to repeat test cases according
to different criterias. The properties can be combined,
making it possible to e.g. repeat a conf case a certain
number of times and execute the test cases in different
(random) order every time. Available properties are:
parallel, sequence, shuffle, repeat, repeat_until_all_ok,
repeat_until_any_ok, repeat_until_any_fail and
repeat_until_all_fail. Please see the Common Test User's
Guide for details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7839 Aux Id: OTP-7511 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible to use DES3 encrypted configuration
files with Common Test.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7842 Aux Id: OTP-7838 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
In previous versions of Common Test, only one FTP
connection could be opened per configuration target name.
This has been updated so that multiple connections may be
opened. The possibility to use named connections is still
supported.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7853 Aux Id: OTP-7838 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The Erlang mode for Emacs has been updated with new and
modified skeletons for Common Test and TS. Syntax for
test case groups in Common Test (and conf cases with
properties in TS) has been added and a new minimal Common
Test suite skeleton has been introduced.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7856</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.3.6</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
When running a test which includes all suites in a test
directory, if the auto compilation would fail for one
suite, all following suites would be excluded from the
test. This was an unwanted behaviour and has been
corrected. Now all suites will always be compiled and
only the failing ones excluded from the test (and logged
as missing).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7750 Aux Id: OTP-7803 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
The step functionality in Common Test (based on
interaction with Debugger) was broken. This has been
fixed, and some new step features have also been added.
Please see the Common Test User's Guide for details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7800 Aux Id: seq11106 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible for the user to specify include
directories that Common Test will pass along to the
compiler when suite and help modules are being compiled
(which Common Test performs automatically before running
tests).</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7803 Aux Id: OTP-7750 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.3.5</title>
<section><title>Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
If the Erlang runtime system was started without access
to an erlang shell (e.g. -noshell), compilation errors
would cause a crash in the Common Test application.
Without access to a shell, Common Test can not prompt the
user to choose to continue or abort the test session, but
must assume that the session should proceed.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7749 Aux Id: seq11175, seq11180 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible for the Common Test user to disable
the auto-compile feature. This is done by specifying the
run_test flag -no_auto_compile, or the ct:run_test/1
option {auto_compile,false}.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7663</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new function, ct:get_config/3, has been added to Common
Test that makes it possible to - if a particular config
variable has been defined in multiple config files -
return all matching values for the variable. The order of
the elements in the returned list is the same as the
specified order of the config files.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7758 Aux Id: seq11158 </p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
Because a telnet connection was always identified by a
config variable alias, it was impossible to open multiple
connections using the same telnet host data entry in the
config file. This limitation has been removed by making
it possible to associate a connection with handle value
only (i.e. multiple connections may be opened using the
same config variable). See ct_telnet:open/4 for details.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7781</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
A new syntax for defining default config data values has
been introduced. In previous versions of Common Test, to
define and access a default value for a config variable
(in the suite info- or test case info function), an alias
name had to be used. With the new syntax you may define
default values without reference to aliases, like this:
{default_config,VarName,DefaultValue}. Please see the
User's Guide for more info.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7782</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
In previous versions of Common Test, whenever a config
variable got associated with a name (by means of a
require statement), the config variable name was replaced
with the new name. This introduced unwanted dependencies
between test cases (e.g. if one test case would introduce
a new name, the following test cases could no longer
access the config data by means of the original
variable). This functionality has now been updated so
that when new names are introduced with require, they
become aliases (references) instead of replacements.
Hence, config data elements can always, at any time, be
accessed by means of the original config variable names.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7783</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.3.4</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Common Test now uses the re application instead of the
previous rx driver to perform regular expression matching
on telnet strings. Since re works on all supported
operating systems, it is now possible to run telnet
sessions also on platforms such as e.g. Windows (which
was not the case with the previous rx driver). Note that
the rx driver is obsolete from now on, and will be
removed from Common Test after OTP R12B.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7528</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.3.3</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
Various updates and improvements, plus some minor bug
fixes, have been implemented in Common Test and Test
Server.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7112</p>
</item>
<item>
<p>
It is now possible, by means of the new function
ct:abort_current_testcase/1 or
test_server_ctrl:abort_current_testcase/1, to abort the
currently executing test case.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7518 Aux Id: OTP-7112 </p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.3.2</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
The configure test of the rx lib in Common Test was not
performed during the general OTP application
configuration phase. This made e.g. autoconf impossible.
This has been changed to correspond with the normal OTP
build procedure.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7379</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>Common_Test 1.3.1</title>
<section><title>Improvements and New Features</title>
<list>
<item>
<p>
The rx library, included with common_test, failed to
build on on some architectures because the -fPIC compiler
option was missing.</p>
<p>
Own Id: OTP-7111</p>
</item>
</list>
</section>
</section>
<section><title>common_test 1.3.0</title>
</section>
</chapter>