<?xml version="1.0" encoding="latin1" ?>
<!DOCTYPE chapter SYSTEM "chapter.dtd">
<chapter>
<header>
<copyright>
<year>2003</year><year>2009</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>Running Test Suites</title>
<prepared>Peter Andersson, Kenneth Lundin</prepared>
<docno></docno>
<date></date>
<rev></rev>
<file>run_test_chapter.xml</file>
</header>
<section>
<title>Using the Common Test Framework</title>
<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>
<list>
<item>Automatic compilation of test suites (and help modules).</item>
<item>Creation of additional HTML pages for better overview.</item>
<item>Single command interface for running all available tests.</item>
<item>Handling of configuration files specifying data related to
the System Under Test (and any other variable data).</item>
<item>Mode for running multiple independent test sessions in parallel with
central control and configuration.</item>
</list>
</section>
<section>
<title>Automatic compilation of test suites and help modules</title>
<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 <c><![CDATA[-include]]></c> flag with <c><![CDATA[run_test]]></c>,
or the <c><![CDATA[include]]></c> option with <c><![CDATA[ct:run_test/1]]></c>.
In addition to this, an include path may be specified with an OS
environment variable; <c><![CDATA[CT_INCLUDE_PATH]]></c>. Example (bash):</p>
<p><c>$ export CT_INCLUDE_PATH=~testuser/common_suite_files/include:~testuser/common_lib_files/include</c></p>
<p>Common Test will pass all include directories (specified either with the
<c><![CDATA[include]]></c> flag/option, or the <c><![CDATA[CT_INCLUDE_PATH]]></c>
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 <c>dir</c> start flag/option),
Common Test will primarily look for test suite modules in a subdirectory named
<c>test</c>. 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
<c><![CDATA[-no_auto_compile]]></c> flag with <c><![CDATA[run_test]]></c>, or
the <c><![CDATA[{auto_compile,false}]]></c> option with
<c><![CDATA[ct:run_test/1]]></c>. 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>
</section>
<section>
<title>Running tests from the UNIX command line</title>
<p>The script <c>run_test</c> can be used for running tests from
the Unix/Linux command line, e.g.
</p>
<list>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -config <configfilenames> -dir <dirs>]]></c></item>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -config <configfilenames> -suite <suiteswithfullpath>]]></c>
</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -userconfig <callbackmodulename> <configfilenames> -suite <suiteswithfullpath>]]></c>
</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -config <configfilenames> -suite <suitewithfullpath>
-group <groupnames> -case <casenames>]]></c></item>
</list>
<p>Examples:</p>
<p><c>$ run_test -config $CFGS/sys1.cfg $CFGS/sys2.cfg -dir $SYS1_TEST $SYS2_TEST</c></p>
<p><c>$ run_test -userconfig ct_config_xml $CFGS/sys1.xml $CFGS/sys2.xml -dir $SYS1_TEST $SYS2_TEST</c></p>
<p><c>$ run_test -suite $SYS1_TEST/setup_SUITE $SYS2_TEST/config_SUITE</c></p>
<p><c>$ run_test -suite $SYS1_TEST/setup_SUITE -case start stop</c></p>
<p><c>$ run_test -suite $SYS1_TEST/setup_SUITE -group installation -case start stop</c></p>
<p>Other flags that may be used with <c>run_test</c>:</p>
<list>
<item><c><![CDATA[-logdir <dir>]]></c>, specifies where the HTML log files are to be written.</item>
<item><c>-refresh_logs</c>, refreshes the top level HTML index files.</item>
<item><c>-vts</c>, start web based GUI (see below).</item>
<item><c>-shell</c>, start interactive shell mode (see below).</item>
<item><c>-step [step_opts]</c>, step through test cases using the Erlang Debugger (see below).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-spec <testspecs>]]></c>, use test specification as input (see below).</item>
<item><c>-allow_user_terms</c>, allows user specific terms in a test specification (see below).</item>
<item><c>-silent_connections [conn_types]</c>, tells Common Test to suppress printouts for
specified connections (see below).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-stylesheet <css_file>]]></c>, points out a user HTML style sheet (see below).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-cover <cover_cfg_file>]]></c>, to perform code coverage test (see
<seealso marker="cover_chapter#cover">Code Coverage Analysis</seealso>).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-event_handler <event_handlers>]]></c>, to install
<seealso marker="event_handler_chapter#event_handling">event handlers</seealso>.</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-include]]></c>, specifies include directories (see above).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-no_auto_compile]]></c>, disables the automatic test suite compilation feature (see above).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-repeat <n>]]></c>, tells Common Test to repeat the tests n times (see below).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-duration <time>]]></c>, tells Common Test to repeat the tests for duration of time (see below).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-until <stop_time>]]></c>, tells Common Test to repeat the tests until stop_time (see below).</item>
<item><c>-force_stop</c>, on timeout, the test run will be aborted when current test job is finished (see below).</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-decrypt_key <key>]]></c>, provides a decryption key for
<seealso marker="config_file_chapter#encrypted_config_files">encrypted configuration files</seealso>.</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-decrypt_file <key_file>]]></c>, points out a file containing a decryption key for
<seealso marker="config_file_chapter#encrypted_config_files">encrypted configuration files</seealso>.</item>
<item><c><![CDATA[-basic_html]]></c>, switches off html enhancements that might not be compatible with older browsers.</item>
</list>
<note><p>Directories passed to Common Test may have either relative or absolute paths.</p></note>
<note><p>Arbitrary start flags to the Erlang Runtime System may also be passed as
parameters to <c>run_test</c>. It is, for example, useful to be able to
pass directories that should be added to the Erlang code server search path
with the <c>-pa</c> or <c>-pz</c> 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><c>$ run_test -dir ./chat_server -logdir ./chat_server/testlogs -pa $PWD/chat_server/ebin</c></p>
<p>Note how in this example, the absolute path of the <c>chat_server/ebin</c>
directory is passed to the code server. This is essential since relative
paths are stored by the code server as relative, and Common Test changes
the current working directory of the Erlang Runtime System during the test run!</p>
</note>
<p>For details on how to generate the <c>run_test</c> script, see the
<seealso marker="install_chapter#general">Installation</seealso> chapter.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Running tests from the Web based GUI</title>
<p>The web based GUI, VTS, is started with the <c>run_test</c>
script. From the GUI you can load config files, and select
directories, suites and cases to run. You can also state the
config files, directories, suites and cases on the command line
when starting the web based GUI.
</p>
<list>
<item><c>run_test -vts</c></item>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -vts -config <configfilename>]]></c></item>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -vts -config <configfilename> -suite <suitewithfullpath>
-case <casename>]]></c></item>
</list>
<p>From the GUI you can run tests and view the result and the logs.
</p>
<p>Note that <c>run_test -vts</c> will try to open the Common Test start
page in an existing web browser window or start the browser if it is
not running. Which browser should be started may be specified with
the browser start command option:</p>
<p><c><![CDATA[run_test -vts -browser <browser_start_cmd>]]></c></p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p><c><![CDATA[$ run_test -vts -browser 'firefox&']]></c></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>
</section>
<section>
<title>Running tests from the Erlang shell or from an Erlang program</title>
<p>Common Test provides an Erlang API for running tests. The main (and most
flexible) function for specifying and executing tests is called
<c>ct:run_test/1</c>. This function takes the same start parameters as
the <c>run_test</c> script described above, only the flags are instead
given as options in a list of key-value tuples. E.g. a test specified
with <c>run_test</c> like:</p>
<p><c>$ run_test -suite ./my_SUITE -logdir ./results</c></p>
<p>is with <c>ct:run_test/1</c> specified as:</p>
<p><c>1> ct:run_test([{suite,"./my_SUITE"},{logdir,"./results"}]).</c></p>
<p>For detailed documentation, please see the <c>ct</c> manual page.</p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Running the interactive shell mode</title>
<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 <c>ct:install/1</c> to install any configuration
data you might need (use <c>[]</c> as argument otherwise), then
call <c>ct:start_interactive/0</c> to start Common Test. If you use
the <c>run_test</c> script, you may start the Erlang shell and Common Test
in the same go by using the <c>-shell</c> and, optionally, the <c>-config</c>
flag:
</p>
<list>
<item><c>run_test -shell</c></item>
<item><c><![CDATA[run_test -shell -config <configfilename>]]></c></item>
</list>
<p>If no config file is given with the <c>run_test</c> 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 <c>ct:require/[1,2]</c>. This is
equivalent to a <c>require</c> statement in the <seealso
marker="write_test_chapter#suite">Test Suite Info
Function</seealso> or in the <seealso
marker="write_test_chapter#info_function">Test Case Info
Function</seealso>.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<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>
<p>Everything that Common Test normally prints in the test case logs,
will in the interactive mode be written to a log named
<c>ctlog.html</c> in the <c><![CDATA[ct_run.<timestamp>]]></c>
directory. A link to this file will be available in the file
named <c>last_interactive.html</c> in the directory from which
you executed <c>run_test</c>. 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 <c>ct:run_test/1</c>), call the function
<c>ct:stop_interactive/0</c>. This shuts down the
running <c>ct</c> application. Associations between
configuration names and data created with <c>require</c> are
consequently deleted. <c>ct:start_interactive/0</c> will get you
back into interactive mode, but the previous state is not restored.</p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Step by step execution of test cases with the Erlang Debugger</title>
<p>By means of <c>run_test -step [opts]</c>, or by passing the
<c>{step,Opts}</c> option to <c>ct:run_test/1</c>, 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 <c>step</c> 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 <c>config</c> is specified, breakpoints will
also be initially set on the configuration functions in the suite, i.e.
<c>init_per_suite/1</c>, <c>end_per_suite/1</c>, <c>init_per_testcase/2</c>
and <c>end_per_testcase/2</c>.</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 <c>keep_inactive</c> option.</p>
<p>The step functionality can be used together with the <c>suite</c> and
the <c>suite</c> + <c>case/testcase</c> flag/option, but not together
with <c>dir</c>.</p>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="test_specifications"></marker>
<title>Using test specifications</title>
<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 <c>run_testspec/1</c>
in the manual page for <c>ct</c>). 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 <c>run_test -config</c>), specify HTML log
directories (similar to <c>run_test -logdir</c>), give aliases
to test nodes and test directories (to make a specification
easier to read and maintain), enable code coverage analysis
(see the <seealso marker="cover_chapter#cover">Code Coverage
Analysis</seealso> chapter) and specify event_handler plugins
(see the <seealso marker="event_handler_chapter#event_handling">
Event Handling</seealso> 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 <c>run_test -include</c>, 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>
<note><p>It is not yet possible to specify test case groups in
test specifications. This will be supported in a soon upcoming
release.</p></note>
<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
<seealso marker="event_handler_chapter#event_handling">Event Handling</seealso>
chapter.</p>
<p>Config terms:</p>
<pre>
{node, NodeAlias, Node}.
{cover, CoverSpecFile}.
{cover, NodeRef, CoverSpecFile}.
{include, IncludeDirs}.
{include, NodeRefs, IncludeDirs}.
{config, ConfigFiles}.
{config, NodeRefs, ConfigFiles}.
{userconfig, {CallbackModule, ConfigStrings}}.
{userconfig, NodeRefs, {CallbackModule, ConfigStrings}}.
{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>
<p>Test terms:</p>
<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>
<p>Types:</p>
<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>
<p>Example:</p>
<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>
<p>The example specifies the following:</p>
<list>
<item>The specified logdir directory will be used for storing
the HTML log files (in subdirectories tagged with node name,
date and time).</item>
<item>The variables in the specified test system config files will be
imported for the test.</item>
<item>Aliases are given for three test system directories. The suites in
this example are stored in "/home/test/tX/test".</item>
<item>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.</item>
<item>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.</item>
<item>Lastly, all suites for systems t3 are to be completely skipped and this
should be explicitly noted in the log files.</item>
</list>
<p>It is possible for the user to provide a test specification that
includes (for Common Test) unrecognizable terms. If this is desired,
the <c>-allow_user_terms</c> flag should be used when starting tests with
<c>run_test</c>. 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 <c>ct:run_test/1</c> is used for starting the tests, the relaxed scanner
mode is enabled by means of the tuple: <c>{allow_user_terms,true}</c></p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Log files</title>
<p>As the execution of the test suites proceed, events are logged in
four different ways:</p>
<list>
<item>Text to the operator's console.</item>
<item>Suite related information is sent to the major log file.</item>
<item>Case related information is sent to the minor log file.</item>
<item>The HTML overview log file gets updated with test results.</item>
<item>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".</item>
</list>
<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>
<list>
<item>A confirmation that the test has started and information about how
many test cases will be executed totally.</item>
<item>A small note about each failed test case.</item>
<item>A summary of all the run test cases.</item>
<item>A confirmation that the test run is complete.</item>
<item>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 <c>standard_io</c>
(e.g. the default group leader process 'user').</item>
</list>
<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 <c>logdir</c> 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>
<list>
<item><em>TopLevelDir.TestDir</em> (all suites in TestDir executed)</item>
<item><em>TopLevelDir.TestDir:suites</em> (specific suites were executed)</item>
<item><em>TopLevelDir.TestDir.Suite</em> (all cases in Suite executed)</item>
<item><em>TopLevelDir.TestDir.Suite:cases</em> (specific test cases were executed)</item>
<item><em>TopLevelDir.TestDir.Suite.Case</em> (only Case was executed)</item>
</list>
<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>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="html_stylesheet"></marker>
<title>HTML Style Sheets</title>
<p>Common Test includes the <em>optional</em> feature to use
HTML style sheets (CSS) for customizing user printouts. The
functions in <c>ct</c> that print to a test case HTML log
file (<c>log/3</c> and <c>pal/3</c>) accept <c>Category</c>
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>
<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>
<p>To install the CSS file (Common Test inlines the definition in the
HTML code), the name may be provided when executing <c>run_test</c>.
Example:</p>
<pre>
$ run_test -dir $TEST/prog -stylesheet $TEST/styles/test_categories.css
</pre>
<p>Categories in a CSS file installed with the <c>-stylesheet</c> flag
are on a global test level in the sense that they can be used in any
suite which is part of the test run.</p>
<p>It is also possible to install style sheets on a per suite and
per test case basis. Example:</p>
<pre>
-module(my_SUITE).
...
suite() -> [..., {stylesheet,"suite_categories.css"}, ...].
...
my_testcase(_) ->
...
ct:log(sys_config, "Test node version: ~p", [VersionInfo]),
...
ct:log(sys_state, "Connections: ~p", [ConnectionInfo]),
...
ct:pal(error, "Error ~p detected! Info: ~p", [SomeFault,ErrorInfo]),
ct:fail(SomeFault).
</pre>
<p>If the style sheet is installed as in this example, the categories are
private to the suite in question. They can be used by all test cases in the
suite, but can not be used by other suites. A suite private style sheet,
if specified, will be used in favour of a global style sheet (one specified
with the <c>-stylesheet</c> flag). A stylesheet tuple (as returned by <c>suite/0</c>
above) can also be returned from a test case info function. In this case the
categories specified in the style sheet can only be used in that particular
test case. A test case private style sheet is used in favour of a suite or
global level style sheet.
</p>
<p>In a tuple <c>{stylesheet,CSSFile}</c>, if <c>CSSFile</c> is specified
with a path, e.g. <c>"$TEST/styles/categories.css"</c>, 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, <c>data_dir</c>, of the suite. The latter usage is
recommended since it is portable compared to hard coding path names in the
suite!</p>
<p>The <c>Category</c> argument in the example above may have the
value (atom) <c>sys_config</c> (white on blue), <c>sys_state</c>
(black on yellow) or <c>error</c> (white on red).</p>
<p>If the <c>Category</c> argument is not specified, Common Test will
use the CSS selector <c>div.default</c> for the
printout. For this reason a user supplied style sheet must
include this selector. Also the selector
<c>div.ct_internal</c> 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>
<pre>
<style>
div.ct_internal { background:lightgrey; color:black }
div.default { background:lightgreen; color:black }
</style>
</pre>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="repeating_tests"></marker>
<title>Repeating tests</title>
<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 <c>run_test</c> start flags, or tuples in the <c>ct:run:test/1</c>
option list argument. The flags (options in parenthesis) are:</p>
<list>
<item><c>-repeat N ({repeat,N})</c>, where <c>N</c> is a positive integer.</item>
<item><c>-duration DurTime ({duration,DurTime})</c>, where <c>DurTime</c> is the duration, see below.</item>
<item><c>-until StopTime ({until,StopTime})</c>, where <c>StopTime</c> is finish time, see below.</item>
<item><c>-force_stop ({force_stop,true})</c></item>
</list>
<p>The duration time, <c>DurTime</c>, is specified as <c>HHMMSS</c>. Example:
<c>-duration 012030</c> or <c>{duration,"012030"}</c>, means the tests will
be executed and (if time allows) repeated, until timeout occurs after 1 h, 20 min
and 30 secs.
<c>StopTime</c> can be specified as <c>HHMMSS</c> and is then interpreted as a time today
(or possibly tomorrow). <c>StopTime</c> can also be specified as <c>YYMoMoDDHHMMSS</c>.
Example: <c>-until 071001120000</c> or <c>{until,"071001120000"}</c>, 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 <c>force_stop</c>
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 <c>duration</c> or <c>until</c> 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>
<pre>
$ run_test -dir $TEST_ROOT/to1 $TEST_ROOT/to2 -duration 001000 -force_stop</pre>
<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 <c>force_stop</c> 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>
<pre>
$ date
Fri Sep 28 15:00:00 MEST 2007
$ run_test -dir $TEST_ROOT/to1 $TEST_ROOT/to2 -until 160000</pre>
<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>
<pre>
$ run_test -dir $TEST_ROOT/to1 $TEST_ROOT/to2 -repeat 5</pre>
<p>Here the test run, including both the to1 and the to2 test, will be repeated 5 times.</p>
<note><p>This feature should not be confused with the <c>repeat</c> property of a test
case group. The options described here are used to repeat execution of entire test runs,
while the <c>repeat</c> 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 <seealso marker="write_test_chapter#test_case_groups">Writing Test Suites</seealso>
chapter.</p></note>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="silent_connections"></marker>
<title>Silent Connections</title>
<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 <c>-silent_connections</c> flag:</p>
<pre>
run_test -silent_connections [conn_types]
</pre>
<p>where <c>conn_types</c> specifies <c>telnet, ftp, rpc</c> and/or <c>snmp</c>.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<pre>
run_test ... -silent_connections telnet ftp</pre>
<p>switches off logging for telnet and ftp connections.</p>
<pre>
run_test ... -silent_connections</pre>
<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 <c>silent_connections</c> in a test suite. This is
accomplished by returning a tuple, <c>{silent_connections,ConnTypes}</c>, in the
<c>suite/0</c> or test case info list. If <c>ConnTypes</c> is a list of atoms
(<c>telnet, ftp, rpc</c> and/or <c>snmp</c>), output for any corresponding connections
will be suppressed. Full logging is per default enabled for any connection of type not
specified in <c>ConnTypes</c>. Hence, if <c>ConnTypes</c> is the empty list, logging
is enabled for all connections.</p>
<p>The <c>silent_connections</c> setting returned from a test case info function overrides,
for the test case in question, any setting made with <c>suite/0</c> (which is the setting
used for all cases in the suite). Example:</p>
<pre>
-module(my_SUITE).
...
suite() -> [..., {silent_connections,[telnet,ftp]}, ...].
...
my_testcase1() ->
[{silent_connections,[ftp]}].
my_testcase1(_) ->
...
my_testcase2(_) ->
...
</pre>
<p>In this example, <c>suite/0</c> tells Common Test to suppress
printouts from telnet and ftp connections. This is valid for
all test cases. However, <c>my_testcase1/0</c> specifies that
for this test case, only ftp should be silent. The result is
that <c>my_testcase1</c> will get telnet info (if any) printed
in the log, but not ftp info. <c>my_testcase2</c> will get no
info from either connection printed.</p>
<p>The <c>-silent_connections</c> tag (or
<c>silent_connections</c> tagged tuple in the call to
<c>ct:run_test/1</c>) overrides any settings in the test
suite.</p>
<p>Note that in the current Common Test version, the
<c>silent_connections</c> feature only works for telnet
connections. Support for other connection types will be added
in future Common Test versions.</p>
</section>
</chapter>