1 src/tests: The FreeBSD test suite
2 =================================
4 This file describes the build infrastructure of the FreeBSD test suite.
5 If you are only interested in using the test suite itself, please refer
8 The build of the test suite is organized in the following manner:
10 * The build of all test artifacts is protected by the MK_TESTS knob.
11 The user can disable these with the WITHOUT_TESTS setting in
14 * The goal for /usr/tests/ (the installed test programs) is to follow
15 the same hierarchy as /usr/src/ wherever possible, which in turn drives
16 several of the design decisions described below. This simplifies the
17 discoverability of tests. We want a mapping such as:
19 /usr/src/bin/cp/ -> /usr/tests/bin/cp/
20 /usr/src/lib/libc/ -> /usr/tests/lib/libc/
21 /usr/src/usr.bin/cut/ -> /usr/tests/usr.bin/cut/
24 * Test programs for specific utilities and libraries are located next
25 to the source code of such programs. For example, the tests for the
26 src/lib/libcrypt/ library live in src/lib/libcrypt/tests/. The tests/
27 subdirectory is optional and should, in general, be avoided.
29 * The src/tests/ hierarchy (this directory) provides generic test
30 infrastructure and glue code to join all test programs together into
31 a single test suite definition.
33 * The src/tests/ hierarchy also includes cross-functional test programs:
34 i.e. test programs that cover more than a single utility or library
35 and thus don't fit anywhere else in the tree. Consider this to follow
36 the same rationale as src/share/man/: this directory contains generic
37 manual pages while the manual pages that are specific to individual
38 tools or libraries live next to the source code.
40 In order to keep the src/tests/ hierarchy decoupled from the actual test
41 programs being installed --which is a worthy goal because it simplifies
42 the addition of new test programs and simplifies the maintenance of the
43 tree-- the top-level Kyuafile does not know which subdirectories may
44 exist upfront. Instead, such Kyuafile automatically detects, at
45 run-time, which */Kyuafile files exist and uses those directly.
47 Similarly, every directory in src/ that wants to install a Kyuafile to
48 just recurse into other subdirectories reuses this Kyuafile with
49 auto-discovery features. As an example, take a look at src/lib/tests/
50 whose sole purpose is to install a Kyuafile into /usr/tests/lib/.
51 The goal in this specific case is for /usr/tests/lib/ to be generated
52 entirely from src/lib/.