lfs-book/chapter02/abouttestsuites.xml

<sect1 id="prepare-abouttestsuites">
<title>About the test suites</title>

<para>Most packages provide a test suite. Running the test suite for a newly
built package is generally a good idea, as it can provide a nice sanity check
that everything compiled correctly. A test suite that passes its set of checks
usually proves that the package is functioning as the developer intended. It
does not, however, guarantee that the package is totally bug free.</para>

<para>Some test suites are more important than others. For example, the test
suites for the core toolchain packages -- GCC, Binutils, and Glibc -- are of
the utmost importance due to their central role in a properly functioning
system. But be warned, the test suites for GCC and Glibc can take a very long
time to complete, especially on slower hardware.</para>

<note><para>Experience has shown us that there is little to be gained from running
the test suites in <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>. There can be no
escaping the fact that the host system always exerts some influence on the
tests in that chapter, often causing weird and inexplicable failures. Not only
that, the tools built in <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/> are
temporary and eventually discarded. For the average reader of this book we
recommend <emphasis>not</emphasis> to run the test suites in <xref
linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>. The instructions for running those test
suites are still provided for the benefit of testers and developers, but they
are strictly optional for everyone else.</para></note>

<para>A common problem when running the test suites for Binutils and GCC is
running out of pseudo terminals (PTYs for short). The symptom is a very high
number of failing tests. This can happen for several reasons, but the most
likely cause is that the host system doesn't have the
<emphasis>devpts</emphasis> file system set up correctly. We'll discuss this in
more detail later on in <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>.</para>

<para>Sometimes package test suites will give false failures. You can
consult the LFS Wiki at <ulink url="&wiki-root;"/> to verify that these
failures are normal. This applies to all tests throughout the book.</para>

</sect1>