Provided by: aegis_4.24.3-3_amd64 
NAME
aegis test - run tests
SYNOPSIS
aegis -Test [ option... ][ name=value ][ file-name... ]
aegis -Test -INDependent [ option... ][ name=value ][ file-name... ]
aegis -Test -List [ option... ]
aegis -Test -Help
DESCRIPTION
The aegis -Test command is used to run tests. If no files are named, all relevant tests are run. By
default both automatic and manual tests are run.
You may name directories on the command line, and all relevant tests in that directory tree in the
change will be run. It is an error if there are no relevant tests.
Each architecture must be tested separately. This is because there may be subtle problems that are only
revealed on some architectures. Some projects may also have different code for different architectures.
The status of the last test run is remembered so that tests are not run if there is no need. (This does
not apply to -REGression tests, unfortunately.) Tests must be re-run if the test previously failed, if
the test file has changed, if there has been a build, and for each architecture.
name=value
You can add name=value pairs to the command line, these will be passed unchanged to the test command.
Usually on the end of the command line, but this can be changed in the project configuration file.
The -force option results in an implicit force=1 variable being added to the list of variable
assignments, and thus added to the end of the command. This is of most use when using the batch_test_‐
command filed of the project configuration file.
This may initially look like a development process end-run, allowing test scripts to be written so that
they give all the right answers without actually doing anything. You have always been able to do this
with environment variables, so this isn't anything new.
It is possible to get all of the variable assignments to turn into environment variables by putting $var
at the start of the command, before the name of the shell, rather than at the default location at the
end of the command.
File Name Interpretation
The aegis program will attempt to determine the project file names from the file names given on the
command line. All file names are stored within aegis projects as relative to the root of the baseline
directory tree. The development directory and the integration directory are shadows of this baseline
directory, and so these relative names apply here, too. Files named on the command line are first
converted to absolute paths if necessary. They are then compared with the baseline path, the
development directory path, and the integration directory path, to determine a baseline-relative name.
It is an error if the file named is outside one of these directory trees.
The -BAse_RElative option may be used to cause relative filenames to be interpreted as relative to the
baseline path; absolute filenames will still be compared with the various paths in order to determine a
baseline-relative name.
The relative_filename_preference in the user configuration file may be used to modify this default
behavior. See aeuconf(5) for more information.
TEST PROCESS
Each change is required to be accompanied by tests, and those tests are required to be run against the
built development directory, and they must pass. This ensures that new functionality is accompanied by
tests to verify its correctness, and bug fixes are accompanied by tests which confirm that the bug has
been fixed.
Regression Tests
Tests are treated as any other source file, and are maintained in the baseline and history with all
other source files. The tests which must accompany every change accumulate in the project baseline,
providing a definition of correct function for the baseline. These accumulated tests may be executed
using an “aegis -REGression” command, to verify that the project will not “regress” as a result of a
change.
Baseline Tests
Bug fixes are required to have their tests fail against the project baseline (in contrast to the
development directory). This ensures that the test actually demonstrates the bug in the baseline, as
well as demonstrating that it is fixed by the change. New functionality trivially fails against the
baseline, and so aegis does not attempt to guess if a test is a bug fix test or new functionality test,
it simply requires tests to fail against the baseline.
This requirement applies both to new tests being created by a change and also to tests which have been
copied into a change for modification.
Reviewing Tests
Reviewers may be confident that aegis has enforced the test requirements; that a change must have tests,
that the change must build, that the tests pass against the development directory, and that the tests
fail against the baseline. These conditions are enforced by aede(1) and the change will not be advanced
to the being reviewed state until these conditions are met. Reviewers should thus review tests for
completeness of coverage of the code in the change, and insensitivity to changes in the execution
environment (e.g. not date sensitive). Reviewers should also use “aegis -list change_details” to verify
that a change does or does not have testing exemptions.
Exemptions
Various test exemptions may be granted by project administrators, see aepa(1) and aepattr(5) for more
information. Copying tests into a change, or adding new tests to a change, may cancel those exemptions.
TEST COMMAND CONFIGURATION
The command used to execute tests is defined by the test_command field in the project configuration file
(see aepconf(5) for more information), this defaults to using the Bourne shell if not set. The current
directory will be the top of the appropriate directory tree. If tests require temporary files, they
should create them in /tmp, as a test cannot expect to have write permission in the current directory.
If you want to use a more sophisticated test engine, rather than a simple shell script, but this test
engine does not return result codes suitable for use with aegis, you could wrap it in a shell script
which re-writes the exit status into the values aegis expects. You could also achieve the same results
by writing a more complex test_command in the project config file.
It is also possible to write test commands which are able to test more than one file at once. This is
controlled by the batch_test_command field of the project config file. In this case, the ${output}
substitution indicates the name of a file the test command must create, in aetest(5) format, to contain
the results of the tests run. This is often used on systems with multiple CPUs or the ability to
distribute jobs across several computers on a network.
Substitutions
All of the aesub(5) substitutions are available in the test commands. Some of them are of particular
note:
ARCHitecture
This substitution is replaced by the name of the architecture to be tested.
Search_Path
This substitution is replaced by a colon separated list of absolute paths to search when looking
for test support files.
Search_Path_Executable
This substitution is replaced by a colon separated list of absolute paths to search when looking
for executable support files (library files and sub-commands).
Most of the time $Search_Path_Executable are exactly the same. However, during “aegis -t -bl” they will
be different, with $Seach_Path starting at the development directory (the test being run) and
$Seach_Path_Executable starting at the baseline (the executable being run).
Test Result Codes
As each test is run (via the test_command field in the project config file), aegis determines whether
the test succeeded or failed by looking at its exit status. This exit status is mostly as expected for
UNIX commands.
Success
A test should exit 0 to indicate success, i.e. that the specific function under test worked as
expected.
Failure
A test should exit 1 to indicate failure, i.e. that the specific function under test did not work as
expected.
No Result
A test should exit 2 to indicate no result, i.e. that the specific function under test could not be
exercised because something else went wrong. For example, running out of disk space when creating
the test input files in the /tmp directory.
Skipped
A test should exit 77 to indicate that it was skipped. This is usually to do with the current
architecture not being meaningful. Whenever possible, use “No Result” instead. (The value was
chosen for compatibility with other test systems.)
Actually, any exit code other than 0, 1 or 77 will be interpreted as “no result”. However, always using
0, 1, 2 or 77 means that if a new result code is required by a later release of Aegis your existing
tests will continue to work.
TEST CORRELATIONS
The “aegis -Test -SUGgest” command may be used to have aegis suggest suitable regression tests for your
change, based on the source files in your change. This automatically focuses testing effort to relevant
tests, reducing the number of regression tests necessary to be confident that you have not introduced a
bug.
The test correlations are generated by the “aegis -Integrate_Pass” command, which associates each test
in the change with each source file in the change. Thus, each source file accumulates a list of tests
which have been associated with it in the past. This is not as exact as code coverage analysis, but is
a reasonable approximation in practice.
The aecp(1) and aenf(1) commands are used to associate files with a change. While they do not actively
perform the association, these are the files used by aeipass(1) and aet(1) to determine which source
files are associated with which tests.
Test Correlation Accuracy
Assuming that the testing correlations are accurate and that the tests are evenly distributed across the
function space, there will be a less than 1/number chance that a relevant test has not been run by the
“aegis -Test -SUGgest number” command. A small amount of noise is added to the test weighting, so that
unexpected things are sometimes tested, and the same tests are not run every time.
Test correlation accuracy can be improved by ensuring that:
• Each change should be strongly focused, with no gratuitous file inclusions. This avoids spurious
correlations.
• Each item of new functionality should be added in an individual change, rather than several together.
This strongly correlates tests with functionality.
• Each bug should be fixed in an individual change, rather than several together. This strongly
correlates tests with functionality.
• Test correlations will be lost if files are moved. This is because correlations are by name.
The best way for tests to correlate accurately with source files is when a change contains a test and
exactly those files relating to the functionality under test. Too many spurious files will weaken the
usefulness of the testing correlations.
OPTIONS
The following options are understood:
-AUTOmatic
This option may be used to specify automatic tests. Automatic tests require no human
assistance.
-BaseLine
This option may be used to specify that the project baseline is the subject of the command.
-BAse_RElative
This option may be used to cause relative filenames to be considered relative to the base of the
source tree. See aeuconf(5) for the corresponding user preference.
-CUrrent_RElative
This option may be used to cause relative filenames to be considered relative to the current
directory. This is usually the default. See aeuconf(5) for the corresponding user preference.
-Change number
This option may be used to specify a particular change within a project. See aegis(1) for a
complete description of this option.
-FOrce This option may be used to specify that all tests should be run, even if the status of the last
test run indicates that there is no need to run a specific test.
-Help
This option may be used to obtain more information about how to use the aegis program.
-INDependent
This option is used to specify that the test is to be run independent of any particular change.
If no tests are named, all tests in the baseline will be run.
-List
This option may be used to obtain a list of suitable subjects for this command. The list may be
more general than expected.
-MANual This option may be used to specify manual tests. Manual tests require some human intervention,
e.g.: confirmation of some screen behavior (X11, for instance), or some user action, "unplug
ethernet cable now".
-Not_Logging
This option may be used to disable the automatic logging of output and errors to a file. This
is often useful when several aegis commands are combined in a shell script.
-PErsevere
This option may be used to specify that all tests should be run, even if some fail. Defaults to
the user's persevere_preference if not specified, see aeuconf(5) for more information.
-No_PErsevere
This option may be used to specify that the test run should stop after the first failure.
Defaults to the user's persevere_preference if not specified, see aeuconf(5) for more
information.
-Project name
This option may be used to select the project of interest. When no -Project option is
specified, the AEGIS_PROJECT environment variable is consulted. If that does not exist, the
user's $HOME/.aegisrc file is examined for a default project field (see aeuconf(5) for more
information). If that does not exist, when the user is only working on changes within a single
project, the project name defaults to that project. Otherwise, it is an error.
-PROGress
This option may be used to specify that progress messages should be issued before each test run
or before each batch test run in case batch_test_command field specified in project config file
(see aeuconf(5) for more information).
-No_PROGress
This option may be used to specify that progress messages should be suppressed. This is the
default.
-REGression
This option is used to specify that the regression test suite is to be run. The regression test
suite consists of all tests in the baseline which do not appear in the change. It is an error
if there are no regression tests. You may not name tests on the command line when using the
-REGression option. You may name individual tests to be run on the command line, without using
the -REGression option; if they are not part of the change, the tests of the same name in the
baseline will be run.
-SUGgest [ number ]
The “aegis -Integrate_Pass” command collects test correlation statistics when changes are
integrated. This option may be used to request that aegis suggest which tests should be run,
using these testing correlations. If no number is specified, 10 tests will be suggested. This
option implies the -REGression option.
-SUGgest_Limit minutes
This option may be used to limit the number of tests to a certain number of minutes. They will
be run from most relevant to least relevant.
-SUGgest_Noise number
This option may be used to control the amount of noise injected into the test selection
performed by the -SUGgest option. The number is a percentage of noise to be injected. Defaults
to 10 if not specified. The injection of noise ensures that a variety of tests are run on
subsequent runs, and also some from left-field as a sanity check.
-TERse
This option may be used to cause listings to produce the bare minimum of information. It is
usually useful for shell scripts.
-Verbose
This option may be used to cause aegis to produce more output. By default aegis only produces
output on errors. When used with the -List option this option causes column headings to be
added.
-Wait This option may be used to require Aegis commands to wait for access locks, if they cannot be
obtained immediately. Defaults to the user's lock_wait_preference if not specified, see
aeuconf(5) for more information.
-No_Wait
This option may be used to require Aegis commands to emit a fatal error if access locks cannot
be obtained immediately. Defaults to the user's lock_wait_preference if not specified, see
aeuconf(5) for more information.
See also aegis(1) for options common to all aegis commands.
All options may be abbreviated; the abbreviation is documented as the upper case letters, all lower case
letters and underscores (_) are optional. You must use consecutive sequences of optional letters.
All options are case insensitive, you may type them in upper case or lower case or a combination of
both, case is not important.
For example: the arguments "-project, "-PROJ" and "-p" are all interpreted to mean the -Project option.
The argument "-prj" will not be understood, because consecutive optional characters were not supplied.
Options and other command line arguments may be mixed arbitrarily on the command line, after the
function selectors.
The GNU long option names are understood. Since all option names for aegis are long, this means
ignoring the extra leading '-'. The "--option=value" convention is also understood.
RECOMMENDED ALIAS
The recommended alias for this command is
csh% alias aet 'aegis -t \!* -v'
sh$ aet(){aegis -t "$@" -v}
ERRORS
It is an error if the change is not in one of the being developed or being integrated states.
It is an error if the change is not assigned to the current user.
It is an error if your have no relevant tests and no relevant exemption.
EXIT STATUS
The aegis command will exit with a status of 1 on any error. The aegis command will only exit with a
status of 0 if there are no errors.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
See aegis(1) for a list of environment variables which may affect this command. See aepconf(5) for the
project configuration file's project_specific field for how to set environment variables for all
commands executed by Aegis.
SEE ALSO
aeb(1) build a change
aeca(1) modify the attributes of a change
aedb(1) begin development of a change
aeib(1) begin integration of a change
aent(1) add a new test to a change
aecp(1) copy an existing test into a change
aepconf(5)
project configuration file format
aeuconf(5)
user configuration file format
COPYRIGHT
aegis version 4.24.3.D001
Copyright (C) 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005,
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Peter Miller
The aegis program comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details use the 'aegis -VERSion License'
command. This is free software and you are welcome to redistribute it under certain conditions; for
details use the 'aegis -VERSion License' command.
AUTHOR
Peter Miller E-Mail: millerp@canb.auug.org.au
/\/\* WWW: http://www.canb.auug.org.au/~millerp/
Reference Manual Aegis aegis -Test(1)