Erlang -- Common Test Release Notes

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Common Test
Release Notes
Version 1.5.5

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- Common Test Release Notes
  - Top of chapter
  - Common_Test 1.5.5
  - Common_Test 1.5.4
  - Common_Test 1.5.3
  - Common_Test 1.5.2
  - Common_Test 1.5.1
  - Common_Test 1.5
  - Common_Test 1.4.7
  - Common_Test 1.4.6
  - Common_Test 1.4.5
  - Common_Test 1.4.2
  - Common_Test 1.4.1
  - Common_Test 1.4
  - Common_Test 1.3.6
  - Common_Test 1.3.5
  - Common_Test 1.3.4
  - Common_Test 1.3.3
  - Common_Test 1.3.2
  - Common_Test 1.3.1
  - common_test 1.3.0

# 1 Common Test Release Notes

### 1.1 Common_Test 1.5.5

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- An error in how comments are colored in the test suite overview html log file has been corrected. As result, a new framework callback function, format_comment/1, has been introduced.

  Own Id: OTP-9237

- Automatically generated init- and end-configuration functions for test case groups caused incorrect execution order of test cases. This has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-9369

- If multiple directories were specified with the 'logdir' flag/option, Common Test would crash. This has been fixed so that an error is properly reported instead.

  Own Id: OTP-9370

- If ct:log/2 was called with bad arguments, this could cause the Common Test IO handling process to crash. This fault has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-9371 Aux Id: OTP-8933

- A bug has been fixed that made Test Server call the end_tc/3 framework function with an incorrect module name as first argument.

  Own Id: OTP-9379 Aux Id: seq11863

- If a timetrap timeout occured during execution of of a function in a lib module (i.e. a function called directly or indirectly from a test case), the Suite argument in the end_tc/3 framework callback function would not correctly contain the name of the test suite, but the lib module. (This would only happen if the lib module was compiled with ct.hrl included). This error has been solved.

  Own Id: OTP-9398

- Corrections of the vts mode. It will now report errors (about e.g. incorrect config files) instead of crashing or hanging. Furthermore, the requirement that the test directory name must have a "_test" suffix has been removed. Also, a workaround has been implemented for the limitation that the file browser (in many web browsers) will only return the basic file name, not the full directory path (which made it impossible to have config files in other directories than the main test directory).

  Own Id: OTP-9429

- Add a proplist() type

  Recently I was adding specs to an API and found that there is no canonical proplist() type defined. (Thanks to Ryan Zezeski)

  Own Id: OTP-9499

- It is now possible to use the 'step' flag/option to run the debugger for test suites that contain test case groups. This previously caused Common Test to crash. If 'step config' is specified, breakpoints are now also automatically set on init_per_group and end_per_group. Note that breakpoints are always set automatically on test case functions and this is true also for grouped cases.

  Own Id: OTP-9518 Aux Id: OTP-8933

- The test index page was not refreshed at the start of each test suite which made it impossible to follow test execution by means of refreshing the browser window (no links to follow). This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9520 Aux Id: OTP-8933

- If a test suite would start with a test case group defined without the init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2 function, init_per_suite/1 would not execute initially and logging of the test run would fail. This error has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9584

- The "Missing Suites" link from the top level index page was incorrect and has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9592

#### Improvements and New Features

- Various corrections and updates to improve the handling and reporting of errors.

  Own Id: OTP-8933

- The dir and suite start option can now be used in combination. E.g. executing my_SUITE in directory my_tests can either be specified as "ct_run -suite my_tests/my_SUITE" or as "ct_run -dir my_tests -suite my_SUITE". Furthermore, the specification: ct:run_test([{suite,["./my_SUITE"]},{testcase,t1}]) is now interpreted as ct:run_test([{suite,"./my_SUITE"},{testcase,t1}]), i.e. only testcase t1 in test suite my_SUITE - not all cases - will be executed.

  Own Id: OTP-9155

- A new option, 'logopts', has been introduced, to make it possible to modify some aspects of the logging behaviour in Common Test (or Test Server). For example, whenever an io printout is made, test_server adds newline (\n) to the end of the output string. This may not always be a preferred action and can therefore be disabled by means of "ct_run ... -logopts no_nl" (or ct:run_test([..., {logopts,[no_nl]}])). A new framework callback function, get_logopts/0, has been introduced (see the ct_framework module for details).

  Own Id: OTP-9372 Aux Id: OTP-9396

- A new option, 'logopts', has been introduced, to make it possible to modify some aspects of the logging behaviour in Common Test (or Test Server). For example, if the html version of the test suite source code should not be generated during the test run (and consequently be unavailable in the log file system), the feature may be disabled by means of "ct_run ... -logopts no_src" (or ct:run_test([..., {logopts,[no_src]}])). A new framework callback function, get_logopts/0, has been introduced (see the ct_framework module for details).

  Own Id: OTP-9396 Aux Id: seq11869, OTP-9372

- CT Hooks can now be assigned a priority. The priority of a CTH determines when it should execute in relation to other CTHs. The CTH with the lowest priority will be executed first, CTHs with equal priority will be executed in the order which they were installed.

  Own Id: OTP-9445

- It is now possible to use a tuple {M,F,A}, or a fun, as timetrap specification in the suite info function or test case info functions. The function must return a valid timeout value, as documented in the common_test man page and in the User's Guide.

  Own Id: OTP-9501 Aux Id: seq11894

- A new built-in common test hook has been added which captures error_logger and SASL event and prints them in the testcase log. To disable this (and any other built-in hooks) pass 'enable_builtin_hooks false' to common test.

  Own Id: OTP-9543

- Common Test now has the possibility to have built-in hooks which are started by default when any test is run. To disable built-in hooks pass 'enable_builtin_hooks false' to common test. See the common test hooks documentation for more details.

  Own Id: OTP-9564

### 1.2 Common_Test 1.5.4

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- It was previously not possible to use timetrap value 'infinity' with ct:timetrap/1. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9159

- The Common Test VTS mode has been updated to be able to report test results of suites that include test case groups (when it would previously crash).

  Own Id: OTP-9195

- Common Test now refreshes the very top level index.html page at the start of each individual test in a test run, so that progress of the ongoing test can be tracked by following the link to its overview page.

  Own Id: OTP-9210 Aux Id: OTP-9054

- A bug that made it impossible to cancel the previous timetrap when calling ct:timetrap/1 has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-9233 Aux Id: OTP-9159

- Fix bug which would make cth's to not be removed when out of scope when adding a cth in suite/0 and crashing in pre_init_per_suite.

  Own Id: OTP-9264

#### Improvements and New Features

- It is now possible to return a tuple {fail,Reason} from init_per_testcase/2. The result is that the associated test case gets logged as failed without ever executing.

  Own Id: OTP-9160 Aux Id: seq11502

- Common Test now accepts, but ignores, empty test case group specifications.

  Own Id: OTP-9161

### 1.3 Common_Test 1.5.3

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- Added an option to test specs which allow the execution of tests as is, instead of doing merging of tests on the same "level". See the merge_tests directive the test specification documentation.

  Own Id: OTP-9026 Aux Id: seq11768

#### Improvements and New Features

- Alpha release of Common Test Hooks (CTH). CTHs allow the users of common test to abtract out common behaviours from test suites in a much more elegant and flexible way than was possible before. Note that the addition of this feature may introduce minor changes in the undocumented behaviour of the interface inbetween common_test and test_server.

  *** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***

  Own Id: OTP-8851

### 1.4 Common_Test 1.5.2

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- Updated ct:get_status documentation to describe no_tests_running return value.

  Own Id: OTP-8895 Aux Id: seq11701

- Fixed race condition test failures in the test suites testing common test's parallel groups feature.

  Own Id: OTP-8921

- The include directive of testspecs now work when used on a remote node.

  Own Id: OTP-8935 Aux Id: seq11731

#### Improvements and New Features

- ct:parse_table can now handle multiline sql rows

  Own Id: OTP-8907 Aux Id: seq11702

- The run_test executable has been renamed to the less generic ct_run to better work with other applications. run_test will remain until R16B at which point it will be removed.

  Own Id: OTP-8936

### 1.5 Common_Test 1.5.1

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- Returning {return_group_result,failed} from end_per_group in a group that is part of a sequence, did not cause the proceeding cases (or groups) to get skipped. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-8753 Aux Id: seq11644

- ct:install now works as the documentation describes.

  Own Id: OTP-8818 Aux Id: seq-11666

#### Improvements and New Features

- Common Test has been updated to handle start options and test specification terms for test case groups (and test cases in groups). Also, an option named 'label', has been added that associates the test run with a name that Common Test prints in the overview HTML logs.

  Own Id: OTP-8725 Aux Id: OTP-8727

- Andrey Pampukha has been added to the AUTHORS file. Thank you Andrey for your work on configuration data handling, Large Scale Testing improvements, and other useful updates and fixes.

  Own Id: OTP-8803

- The Configuration Data chapter in the User's Guide has been updated.

  Own Id: OTP-8804

- Milliseconds are now included in timestamps in Common Test log entries. (Thanks to Tomas Johansson.)

  Own Id: OTP-8808

### 1.6 Common_Test 1.5

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- Process calls using monitors in Common Test would not clear the inbox of remaining DOWN messages. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-8621 Aux Id: seq11560

#### Improvements and New Features

- It is now possible for the user to provide specific callback modules that handle test configuration data, so that data on arbitray form can be accessed (e.g. by reading files or by communicating with a configuration server process). Two default callback modules have been introduced in Common Test: ct_config_plain and ct_config_xml. The former is used to handle the traditional Common Test configuration files (with terms on key-value tuple form) and the latter to handle configuration data on XML representation.

  Own Id: OTP-8485

- It is now possible to execute test suites that are not necessarily available on the local file system, but have been loaded on the test node in advance (e.g. sent as binaries from a remote node and loaded by RPC). A requirement is that the no_auto_compile (or {auto_compile,false}) parameter has been set.

  Own Id: OTP-8490 Aux Id: seq11500

- Test Server will now call the end_per_testcase/2 function even if the test case has been terminated explicitly (with abort_current_testcase/1), or after a timetrap timeout. Under these circumstances the return value of end_per_testcase is completely ignored. Therefore the function will not be able to change the reason for test case termination by returning {fail,Reason}, nor will it be able to save data with {save_config,Data}.

  Own Id: OTP-8500 Aux Id: seq11521

- It is now possible to use the test specification term 'init' to start Common Test nodes automatically, as well as have initial function calls evaluated on the nodes. A default callback module for the 'init' term, ct_slave, has been introduced to enable Common Test Master to perform host login and node startup operations over ssh.

  Own Id: OTP-8570

- The run_test script has been replaced by a program (with the same name) which can be executed without explicit installation. The start flags are the same as for the legacy start script.

  Own Id: OTP-8650

- Previously, a repeat property of a test case group specified the number of times the group should be repeated after the main test run. I.e. {repeat,N} would case the group to execute 1+N times. To be consistent with the behaviour of the run_test repeat option, this has been changed. N now specifies the absolute number of executions instead.

  Own Id: OTP-8689 Aux Id: seq11502

- With the run_test -erl_args option, it's possible to divide the options on the run_test command line into ones that Common Test should process (those preceding -erl_args, and ones it should ignore (those succeeding -erl_args). Options preceding -erl_args that Common Test doesn't recognize are also ignored (i.e. the same behaviour as earlier versions of Common Test).

  Own Id: OTP-8690 Aux Id: OTP-8650

- Directories added with -pa or -pz in the pre-erl_args part of the run_test command line will be converted from relative to absolute, this to avoid problems loading user modules when Common Test switches working directory during the test run.

  Own Id: OTP-8691 Aux Id: OTP-8650

- The timetrap handling has been made more user controllable by means of new start options and new ct interface functions. With the 'multiply_timetraps' start option, it's possible to specify a value which all timetrap timeout values get multiplied by. This is useful e.g. to extend the timetraps temporarily while running cover or trace. The 'scale_timetraps' start option switches on or off the Test Server timetrap scaling feature (which tries to detect if the tests may benefit from extended timetraps, e.g. due to running certain test tools, and performs the scaling automatically). Furthermore, the ct:timetrap/1 function has been introduced, which makes it possible to set/reset timetraps during test execution. Also, a ct:sleep/1 function is now available, which takes the timetrap parameters into account when calculating the time to suspend the process.

  Own Id: OTP-8693

- A new run_test start option, event_handler_init, has been added that takes a start argument which gets passed to the init function of the event handler.

  Own Id: OTP-8694

### 1.7 Common_Test 1.4.7

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- The auto compilation feature of Common Test did not recognize if a header file included in a test suite was modified (if the dir start flag/option was used). This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-8396 Aux Id: seq11488, OTP-8311

#### Improvements and New Features

- The tc_status value in the Config list for a test case that has failed because of a timetrap timeout, has changed from {tc_status,timeout} to {tc_status,timetrap_timeout}.

  Own Id: OTP-8302

- The documentation is now possible to build in an open source environment after a number of bugs are fixed and some features are added in the documentation build process.

  - The arity calculation is updated.

  - The module prefix used in the function names for bif's are removed in the generated links so the links will look like "http://www.erlang.org/doc/man/erlang.html#append_element-2" instead of "http://www.erlang.org/doc/man/erlang.html#erlang:append_element-2".

  - Enhanced the menu positioning in the html documentation when a new page is loaded.

  - A number of corrections in the generation of man pages (thanks to Sergei Golovan)

  - The legal notice is taken from the xml book file so OTP's build process can be used for non OTP applications.

  Own Id: OTP-8343

- It is now possible to include the ct.hrl using the -include_lib directive. (Thanks to Fred Hebert.)

  Own Id: OTP-8379

- The telnet client in Common Test sent [IAC,DO,NOP] to the server in attempt to keep the connection alive. This is not a valid sequence according to the standard, and some telnet servers would terminate the connection because of it. The client has been changed to send [IAC,NOP] every 10 secs instead, which should be a valid sequence. The client does not negotiate this type of "keep alive" message with the server, and if it causes problems, the user may disable the keep alive feature by adding {keep_alive,false} to the telnet configuration data for the server/connection. Please see the ct_telnet and unix_telnet manual pages for details.

  Own Id: OTP-8450 Aux Id: OTP-8311

### 1.8 Common_Test 1.4.6

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- If the init_per_testcase/2 function fails, the test case now gets marked and counted as auto skipped, not user skipped (which would previously happen).

  Own Id: OTP-8289

#### Improvements and New Features

- The documentation is now built with open source tools (xsltproc and fop) that exists on most platforms. One visible change is that the frames are removed.

  Own Id: OTP-8201

- For a failed test case, the tc_done event is supposed to report info on the form {failed,Error}. Only Error was reported, however, which has now been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-8235 Aux Id: seq-11414

- It is now possible to fail a test case from the end_per_testcase/2 function, by returning {fail,Reason}.

  Own Id: OTP-8284

- It is now possible to fail a test case by having the end_tc/3 framework function return {fail,Reason} for the test case.

  Own Id: OTP-8285

- The test_server framework API (e.g. the end_tc/3 function) has been modified. See the test_server_ctrl documentation for details.

  Own Id: OTP-8286 Aux Id: OTP-8285, OTP-8287

- Various updates of the test events have been implemented. The data field for some events, such as tc_done and tc_auto_skip has been modified to make pattern matching on the data easier and more consistent. Also the order in which some events are received has been altered. E.g. the tc_auto_skip event for a test case now comes after the tc_done for the failed configuration function (not before) which makes more sense. Note that no new events have been added and that the event record remains unchanged.

  Own Id: OTP-8287 Aux Id: OTP-8235

- The marquee used for test names on the all_runs.html page has been removed on request. Note that the test name field has the full text string in a title tag, which is displayed when hovering the mouse pointer over it (i.e. if the web browser supports title tags).

  Own Id: OTP-8288

- It is now possible to refresh the top level index files in an arbitrary log directory by specifying a {refresh_logs,LogDir} tuple in the ct:run_test/1 options list. Also the -refresh_logs flag for the run_test script has been extended to take an optional LogDir argument, i.e. -refresh_logs [LogDir]. If no LogDir is specified, current working directory is assumed, unless the log directory is set with the -logdir flag.

  Own Id: OTP-8290

- It was previously required that test suites were located under a test object (or OTP application) sub-directory named "test" (or under a directory named "<testobject>_test"). This has been changed so that Common Test now looks for suites primarily in a test sub-directory only if the directory exists. Otherwise it will assume the suites are stored in the same directory the user specifies with e.g. the 'dir' start flag/option.

  Own Id: OTP-8294

### 1.9 Common_Test 1.4.5

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- The Common Test logger process crashed if a test case in a sequence (declared with sequences/0) failed. This fault has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-8089 Aux Id: seq11334

#### Improvements and New Features

- Various updates and fixes in Common Test and Test Server.

  Own Id: OTP-8045 Aux Id: OTP-8089,OTP-8105,OTP-8163

- Errors in coverage data collection and analysis were difficult to detect. The logging has been improved so that more information about e.g. imported and missing modules is printed to the html log files.

  Own Id: OTP-8163 Aux Id: seq11374

- The Common Test HTML overview pages have been improved. It is now possible to see if a test case has been skipped explicitly or because a configuration function has failed. Also, the history page (all_runs.html) now has scrolling text displaying the test names. The old format (showing names as a truncated string) can still be generated by means of the flag/option 'basic_html'.

  Own Id: OTP-8177

### 1.10 Common_Test 1.4.2

#### Improvements and New Features

- Various corrections and improvements of Common Test and Test Server.

  Own Id: OTP-7981

### 1.11 Common_Test 1.4.1

#### Improvements and New Features

- Minor updates and corrections.

  Own Id: OTP-7897

### 1.12 Common_Test 1.4

#### Improvements and New Features

- A support client module for SSH and SFTP, ct_ssh, has been introduced in Common Test.

  Own Id: OTP-7838

- Test case groups have been introduced. With this feature it's possible to execute groups (possibly nested) of test cases, each group wrapped with a call to function init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2. Group definitions are done by means of the new call-back function groups/0, which should return a list of definitions. A group definition contains a name tag, a list of properties and a list of test cases (including possible nested group definitions). The properties make it possible to execute test cases in parallel, in sequence and in shuffled order. It is also possible to repeat test cases according to different criterias. The properties can be combined, making it possible to e.g. repeat a conf case a certain number of times and execute the test cases in different (random) order every time. Available properties are: parallel, sequence, shuffle, repeat, repeat_until_all_ok, repeat_until_any_ok, repeat_until_any_fail and repeat_until_all_fail. Please see the Common Test User's Guide for details.

  Own Id: OTP-7839 Aux Id: OTP-7511

- It is now possible to use DES3 encrypted configuration files with Common Test.

  Own Id: OTP-7842 Aux Id: OTP-7838

- In previous versions of Common Test, only one FTP connection could be opened per configuration target name. This has been updated so that multiple connections may be opened. The possibility to use named connections is still supported.

  Own Id: OTP-7853 Aux Id: OTP-7838

- The Erlang mode for Emacs has been updated with new and modified skeletons for Common Test and TS. Syntax for test case groups in Common Test (and conf cases with properties in TS) has been added and a new minimal Common Test suite skeleton has been introduced.

  Own Id: OTP-7856

### 1.13 Common_Test 1.3.6

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- When running a test which includes all suites in a test directory, if the auto compilation would fail for one suite, all following suites would be excluded from the test. This was an unwanted behaviour and has been corrected. Now all suites will always be compiled and only the failing ones excluded from the test (and logged as missing).

  Own Id: OTP-7750 Aux Id: OTP-7803

- The step functionality in Common Test (based on interaction with Debugger) was broken. This has been fixed, and some new step features have also been added. Please see the Common Test User's Guide for details.

  Own Id: OTP-7800 Aux Id: seq11106

#### Improvements and New Features

- It is now possible for the user to specify include directories that Common Test will pass along to the compiler when suite and help modules are being compiled (which Common Test performs automatically before running tests).

  Own Id: OTP-7803 Aux Id: OTP-7750

### 1.14 Common_Test 1.3.5

#### Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

- If the Erlang runtime system was started without access to an erlang shell (e.g. -noshell), compilation errors would cause a crash in the Common Test application. Without access to a shell, Common Test can not prompt the user to choose to continue or abort the test session, but must assume that the session should proceed.

  Own Id: OTP-7749 Aux Id: seq11175, seq11180

#### Improvements and New Features

- It is now possible for the Common Test user to disable the auto-compile feature. This is done by specifying the run_test flag -no_auto_compile, or the ct:run_test/1 option {auto_compile,false}.

  Own Id: OTP-7663

- A new function, ct:get_config/3, has been added to Common Test that makes it possible to - if a particular config variable has been defined in multiple config files - return all matching values for the variable. The order of the elements in the returned list is the same as the specified order of the config files.

  Own Id: OTP-7758 Aux Id: seq11158

- Because a telnet connection was always identified by a config variable alias, it was impossible to open multiple connections using the same telnet host data entry in the config file. This limitation has been removed by making it possible to associate a connection with handle value only (i.e. multiple connections may be opened using the same config variable). See ct_telnet:open/4 for details.

  Own Id: OTP-7781

- A new syntax for defining default config data values has been introduced. In previous versions of Common Test, to define and access a default value for a config variable (in the suite info- or test case info function), an alias name had to be used. With the new syntax you may define default values without reference to aliases, like this: {default_config,VarName,DefaultValue}. Please see the User's Guide for more info.

  Own Id: OTP-7782

- In previous versions of Common Test, whenever a config variable got associated with a name (by means of a require statement), the config variable name was replaced with the new name. This introduced unwanted dependencies between test cases (e.g. if one test case would introduce a new name, the following test cases could no longer access the config data by means of the original variable). This functionality has now been updated so that when new names are introduced with require, they become aliases (references) instead of replacements. Hence, config data elements can always, at any time, be accessed by means of the original config variable names.

  Own Id: OTP-7783

### 1.15 Common_Test 1.3.4

#### Improvements and New Features

- Common Test now uses the re application instead of the previous rx driver to perform regular expression matching on telnet strings. Since re works on all supported operating systems, it is now possible to run telnet sessions also on platforms such as e.g. Windows (which was not the case with the previous rx driver). Note that the rx driver is obsolete from now on, and will be removed from Common Test after OTP R12B.

  Own Id: OTP-7528

### 1.16 Common_Test 1.3.3

#### Improvements and New Features

- Various updates and improvements, plus some minor bug fixes, have been implemented in Common Test and Test Server.

  Own Id: OTP-7112

- It is now possible, by means of the new function ct:abort_current_testcase/1 or test_server_ctrl:abort_current_testcase/1, to abort the currently executing test case.

  Own Id: OTP-7518 Aux Id: OTP-7112

### 1.17 Common_Test 1.3.2

#### Improvements and New Features

- The configure test of the rx lib in Common Test was not performed during the general OTP application configuration phase. This made e.g. autoconf impossible. This has been changed to correspond with the normal OTP build procedure.

  Own Id: OTP-7379

### 1.18 Common_Test 1.3.1

#### Improvements and New Features

- The rx library, included with common_test, failed to build on on some architectures because the -fPIC compiler option was missing.

  Own Id: OTP-7111

### 1.19 common_test 1.3.0