abouttestsuites.xml 2.5 KB

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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
  2. <!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.3//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.3/docbookx.dtd" [
  3. <!ENTITY % general-entities SYSTEM "../general.ent">
  4. %general-entities;
  5. ]>
  6. <sect1 id="prepare-abouttestsuites">
  7. <title>About the test suites</title>
  8. <?dbhtml filename="abouttestsuites.html"?>
  9. <para>Most packages provide a test suite. Running the test suite for a newly
  10. built package is generally a good idea, as it can provide a nice sanity check
  11. that everything compiled correctly. A test suite that passes its set of checks
  12. usually proves that the package is functioning as the developer intended. It
  13. does not, however, guarantee that the package is totally bug free.</para>
  14. <para>Some test suites are more important than others. For example, the test
  15. suites for the core toolchain packages -- GCC, Binutils, and Glibc -- are of
  16. the utmost importance due to their central role in a properly functioning
  17. system. But be warned, the test suites for GCC and Glibc can take a very long
  18. time to complete, especially on slower hardware.</para>
  19. <note><para>Experience has shown us that there is little to be gained from running
  20. the test suites in <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>. There can be no
  21. escaping the fact that the host system always exerts some influence on the
  22. tests in that chapter, often causing weird and inexplicable failures. Not only
  23. that, the tools built in <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/> are
  24. temporary and eventually discarded. For the average reader of this book we
  25. recommend <emphasis>not</emphasis> to run the test suites in
  26. <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>. The instructions for running those test
  27. suites are still provided for the benefit of testers and developers, but they
  28. are strictly optional for everyone else.</para></note>
  29. <para>A common problem when running the test suites for Binutils and GCC is
  30. running out of pseudo terminals (PTYs for short). The symptom is a very high
  31. number of failing tests. This can happen for several reasons, but the most
  32. likely cause is that the host system doesn't have the
  33. <emphasis>devpts</emphasis> file system set up correctly. We'll discuss this in
  34. more detail later on in <xref linkend="chapter-temporary-tools"/>.</para>
  35. <para>Sometimes package test suites will give false failures. You can
  36. consult the LFS Wiki at <ulink url="&wiki-root;"/> to verify that these
  37. failures are normal. This applies to all tests throughout the book.</para>
  38. </sect1>