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-rw-r--r--lib/common_test/doc/src/basics_chapter.xml75
1 files changed, 44 insertions, 31 deletions
diff --git a/lib/common_test/doc/src/basics_chapter.xml b/lib/common_test/doc/src/basics_chapter.xml
index c1bb365b1f..20141d2561 100644
--- a/lib/common_test/doc/src/basics_chapter.xml
+++ b/lib/common_test/doc/src/basics_chapter.xml
@@ -28,54 +28,65 @@
<rev></rev>
<file>basics_chapter.xml</file>
</header>
-
+ <marker id="basics"></marker>
<section>
<title>Introduction</title>
- <p>
- The Common Test framework (CT) is a tool which can support
- implementation and automated execution of test cases towards different
- types of target systems. The framework is based on the OTP Test
- Server. Test cases can be run individually or in batches. Common
- Test also features a distributed testing mode with central
- control and logging. This feature makes it possible to test
- multiple systems independently in one common session. This
- can be very useful e.g. for running automated large-scale regression
- tests.
+ <p>The <em>Common Test</em> framework (CT) is a tool which supports
+ implementation and automated execution of test cases towards arbitrary
+ types of target systems. The CT framework is based on the OTP Test
+ Server and it's the main tool being used in all testing- and verification
+ activities that are part of Erlang/OTP system development- and maintenance.
+ </p>
+
+ <p>Test cases can be executed individually or in batches. Common Test
+ also features a distributed testing mode with central control and logging
+ (a feature that makes it possible to test multiple systems independently in
+ one common session, useful e.g. for running automated large-scale regression
+ tests).
</p>
<p>
The SUT (System Under Test) may consist of one or several target
- nodes. CT contains a generic test server which together with
- other test utilities is used to perform test case execution.
- It is possible to start the tests from the CT GUI or from an OS- or
- Erlang shell prompt. <em>Test suites</em> are files (Erlang
+ nodes. CT contains a generic test server which, together with
+ other test utilities, is used to perform test case execution.
+ It is possible to start the tests from a GUI or from the OS- or
+ Erlang shell. <em>Test suites</em> are files (Erlang
modules) that contain the <em>test cases</em> (Erlang functions)
to be executed. <em>Support modules</em> provide functions
that the test cases utilize in order to carry out the tests.
</p>
- <p>
- The main idea is that CT based test programs connect to
- the target system(s) via standard O&amp;M interfaces. CT
- provides implementations and wrappers of some of these O&amp;M
- interfaces and will be extended with more interfaces later.
- There are a number of target independent interfaces
- supported in CT such as Generic Telnet, FTP etc. which can be
- specialized or used directly for controlling instruments,
- traffic generators etc.</p>
+ <p>In a black-box testing scenario, CT based test programs connect to
+ the target system(s) via standard O&amp;M and CLI protocols. CT
+ provides implementations of, and wrapper interfaces to, some of these
+ protocols (most of which exist as stand-alone components and
+ applications in OTP). The wrappers simplify configuration and add
+ verbosity for logging purposes. CT will be continously extended with
+ useful support modules. (Note however that it's
+ a straightforward task to use any arbitrary Erlang/OTP component
+ for testing purposes with Common Test, without needing a CT wrapper
+ for it. It's as simple as calling Erlang functions). There
+ are a number of target independent interfaces supported in CT, such as
+ Generic Telnet, FTP, etc, which can be specialized or used
+ directly for controlling instruments, traffic load generators, etc.
+ </p>
<p>Common Test is also a very useful tool for white-box testing Erlang
- code since the test programs can call Erlang API functions directly.
- For black-box testing Erlang software, Erlang RPC as well as
- standard O&amp;M interfaces can be used.
+ code (e.g. module testing), since the test programs can call exported Erlang
+ functions directly and there's very little overhead required for
+ implementing basic test suites and executing simple tests. For black-box
+ testing Erlang software, Erlang RPC as well as standard O&amp;M interfaces
+ can for example be used.
</p>
<p>A test case can handle several connections towards one or
several target systems, instruments and traffic generators in
parallel in order to perform the necessary actions for a
test. The handling of many connections in parallel is one of
- the major strengths of Common Test!
+ the major strengths of Common Test (thanks to the efficient
+ support for concurrency in the Erlang runtime system - which CT users
+ can take great advantage of!).
</p>
</section>
@@ -186,7 +197,7 @@
<taglist>
<tag>all()</tag>
- <item>Returns a list of all test cases in the suite. (Mandatory)</item>
+ <item>Returns a list of all test cases and groups in the suite. (Mandatory)</item>
<tag>suite()</tag>
<item>Info function used to return properties for the suite. (Optional)</item>
<tag>groups()</tag>
@@ -197,12 +208,14 @@
<tag>end_per_suite(Config)</tag>
<item>Suite level configuration function, executed after the last
test case. (Optional)</item>
+ <tag>group(GroupName)</tag>
+ <item>Info function used to return properties for a test case group. (Optional)</item>
<tag>init_per_group(GroupName, Config)</tag>
<item>Configuration function for a group, executed before the first
- test case. (Mandatory if groups are defined)</item>
+ test case. (Optional)</item>
<tag>end_per_group(GroupName, Config)</tag>
<item>Configuration function for a group, executed after the last
- test case. (Mandatory if groups are defined)</item>
+ test case. (Optional)</item>
<tag>init_per_testcase(TestCase, Config)</tag>
<item>Configuration function for a testcase, executed before each
test case. (Optional)</item>