source: final-preps/abouttestsuites.xml @ 56d9c50

Last change on this file since 56d9c50 was 5be6331, checked in by Jim Gifford <clfs@…>, 18 years ago

r920@server (orig r918): jim | 2005-12-19 23:10:57 -0800

r1104@server: jim | 2005-12-18 23:35:49 -0800
First part1 of the change from temp-tools to testsuite-tools


  • Property mode set to 100644
File size: 2.7 KB
Line 
1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
2<!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
3  "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [
4  <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
5  %general-entities;
6]>
7
8<sect1 id="ch-final-preps-abouttestsuites">
9  <?dbhtml filename="abouttestsuites.html"?>
10
11  <title>About the Test Suites</title>
12
13  <para>TO BE REWRITTEN (and maybe moved to final-system chapter)</para>
14
15  <para>Most packages provide a test suite. Running the test suite for a
16  newly built package is a good idea because it can provide a <quote>sanity
17  check</quote> indicating that everything compiled correctly. A test suite
18  that passes its set of checks usually proves that the package is
19  functioning as the developer intended. It does not, however, guarantee
20  that the package is totally bug free.</para>
21
22  <para>Some test suites are more important than others. For example,
23  the test suites for the core toolchain packages&mdash;GCC, Binutils, and
24  Glibc&mdash;are of the utmost importance due to their central role in a
25  properly functioning system. The test suites for GCC and Glibc can
26  take a very long time to complete, especially on slower hardware, but
27  are strongly recommended.</para>
28
29  <note>
30    <para>Experience has shown that there is little to be gained
31    from running the test suites in <xref
32    linkend="chapter-testsuite-tools"/>. There can be no escaping the fact
33    that the host system always exerts some influence on the tests in that
34    chapter, often causing inexplicable failures. Because the tools built
35    in <xref linkend="chapter-testsuite-tools"/> are temporary and
36    eventually discarded, we do not recommend running the test suites in
37    <xref linkend="chapter-testsuite-tools"/> for the average reader. The
38    instructions for running those test suites are provided for the
39    benefit of testers and developers, but they are strictly
40    optional.</para>
41  </note>
42
43  <para>A common issue with running the test suites for Binutils and GCC
44  is running out of pseudo terminals (PTYs). This can result in a high
45  number of failing tests. This may happen for several reasons, but the
46  most likely cause is that the host system does not have the
47  <systemitem class="filesystem">devpts</systemitem> file system set up
48  correctly. This issue is discussed in greater detail in <xref
49  linkend="chapter-testsuite-tools"/>.</para>
50
51  <para>Sometimes package test suites will fail, but for reasons which the
52  developers are aware of and have deemed non-critical. Consult the logs located
53  at <ulink url="&test-results;"/> to verify whether or not these failures are
54  expected. This site is valid for all tests throughout this book.</para>
55
56</sect1>
Note: See TracBrowser for help on using the repository browser.