NAME

       Lire::Test::FunctionalTestCase - Base class for writing functional unit tests

SYNOPSIS

         use base qw/ Lire::Test::FunctionalTestCase/;

DESCRIPTION

       This is a Test::Unit::TestCase subclass which can be used to make it easier to write
       functional tests.

   WHAT ARE FUNCTIONAL TESTS
       Unlike unit tests that test the semantics of the API and document the internals
       assumptions, functional tests are tests that tests the 'functionality' of the overall
       software. They kind of document the expected functionality of the software.

   Lire::Test::FunctionalTestCase
       In Lire, the "expected functionality" is exercised by running commands, so this module
       provides convenient methods to run Lire commands and tests their expected output.

       It also setup a mock sendmail which can be used to analyze the email that the Lire system
       should send.

       Some of Lire functionality cannot be tested anymore simply by running command (for example
       the Curses::UI based user interface cannot be tested that way but throught the use of
       Lire::Test::CursesUIDriver).  For these kind of tests, this base class will set up a new
       Lire::Config and Lire::PluginManager instance in the set_up method. Tests that requires
       these functionality can simply call Lire::Config->init() and
       Lire::PluginManager->instance()->register_default_converters() without fear of messing the
       test environement.

   homedir()
       Returns the directory which will be assigned to ENV{'HOME'} when commands are run. This
       directory is cleaned up after every test.

   rundir()
       Returns the directory which will be the working directory when the commands are run. This
       directory is cleaned up after every test.

   config_spec()
       Returns the Lire::Config::TypeSpec object which will be used at runtime by the functional
       tests. It can be used to setup configuration files for the test.

   locale( [new_locale] )
       Changes the locale under which the functional test is going to be run. By default, all
       tests are run under the 'C' locale ignoring all user's environment variables.

       Returns the previous locale set.

   lire_run( $shell_cmd )
       This method runs the command $shell_cmd through the shell and returns a
       Lire::Test::CommandResult object which can be used to run tests on this command. The Lire
       environment will be set up before invoking the shell.

   sent_mail()
       Returns in an array reference the message that were sent out during the test. The element
       of this array are hash reference containing two keys:

       recipients
           An array reference containing the recipients as passed on the command line to
           sendmail.

       message
           The email which was sent. This is the complete text of the email. This is what was
           passed to sendmail via STDIN.

   create_test_file( $filename, [$content] )
       Create a file $filename with the content $content. This file will be removed after the
       test is run during the tear_down() method. An empty file will be created if the $content
       parameter is omitted.

   install_xml_spec( $spec_type, $superservice, $file )
       Install the XML specification in $file of base schema $superservice.  The $spec_type
       parameter specify where the file will be installed:

       site_filter
           The file will be installed as a filter specification in the system directory.

       site_report
           The file will be installed as a report specification in the system directory.

       site_schema
           The file will be installed as a schema specification in the system directory.

       filter
           The file will be installed as a filter specification in the HOME directory.

       report
           The file will be installed as a report specification in the HOME directory.

       schema
           The file will be installed as a schema specification in the HOME directory.

       These files will be removed after the test.

   create_test_cfg_file( $name )
       Returns a Lire::Config::ConfigFile object initialized with the appropriate config
       specification. This configuration file will be created under $HOME/.lire/config/$name.xml
       when lire_run() will be used. It can be use to set config option which will be used when
       the command is run:

         my $cfg = $self->create_test_cfg_file( "test" );
         $cfg->global->get( "lr_from" )->set( "flacoste\@logreport.org" );

       If a configuration file $name was already created, it returns the associated ConfigFile
       object.

       Note that if you want these configurations variable to have effect when running test in-
       process ( not via lire_run() ), you have to call save() on the object before calling
       Lire::Config->init(). Otherwise, you better set the configuration option directly using
       the Lire::Config API.

SEE ALSO

       Test::Unit::TestCase(3pm)

VERSION

       $Id: FunctionalTestCase.pm,v 1.27 2006/07/23 13:16:31 vanbaal Exp $

AUTHOR

       Francis J. Lacoste <flacoste@logreport.org>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (C) 2003 Stichting LogReport Foundation LogReport@LogReport.org

       This file is part of Lire.

       Lire is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU
       General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
       the License, or (at your option) any later version.

       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
       without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
       See the GNU General Public License for more details.

       You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program
       (see COPYING); if not, check with http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html.