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	Add a second on writing tests, covering when to use Python and C, where to put the tests, etc. Add a link to the existing Python test documentation. Signed-off-by: Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
		
			
				
	
	
		
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			347 lines
		
	
	
		
			13 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
	
	
.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
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.. Copyright 2021 Google LLC
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.. sectionauthor:: Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
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Writing Tests
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=============
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This describes how to write tests in U-Boot and describes the possible options.
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Test types
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----------
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There are two basic types of test in U-Boot:
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  - Python tests, in test/py/tests
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  - C tests, in test/ and its subdirectories
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(there are also UEFI tests in lib/efi_selftest/ not considered here.)
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Python tests talk to U-Boot via the command line. They support both sandbox and
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real hardware. They typically do not require building test code into U-Boot
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itself. They are fairly slow to run, due to the command-line interface and there
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being two separate processes. Python tests are fairly easy to write. They can
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be a little tricky to debug sometimes due to the voluminous output of pytest.
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C tests are written directly in U-Boot. While they can be used on boards, they
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are more commonly used with sandbox, as they obviously add to U-Boot code size.
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C tests are easy to write so long as the required facilities exist. Where they
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do not it can involve refactoring or adding new features to sandbox. They are
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fast to run and easy to debug.
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Regardless of which test type is used, all tests are collected and run by the
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pytest framework, so there is typically no need to run them separately. This
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means that C tests can be used when it makes sense, and Python tests when it
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doesn't.
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This table shows how to decide whether to write a C or Python test:
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=====================  ===========================  =============================
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Attribute              C test                       Python test
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=====================  ===========================  =============================
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Fast to run?           Yes                          No (two separate processes)
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Easy to write?         Yes, if required test        Yes
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                       features exist in sandbox
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                       or the target system
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Needs code in U-Boot?  Yes                          No, provided the test can be
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                                                    executed and the result
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                                                    determined using the command
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                                                    line
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Easy to debug?         Yes                          No, since access to the U-Boot
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                                                    state is not available and the
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                                                    amount of output can
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                                                    sometimes require a bit of
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                                                    digging
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Can use gdb?           Yes, directly                Yes, with --gdbserver
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Can run on boards?     Some can, but only if        Some
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                       compiled in and not
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                       dependent on sandboxau
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=====================  ===========================  =============================
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Python or C
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-----------
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Typically in U-Boot we encourage C test using sandbox for all features. This
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allows fast testing, easy development and allows contributors to make changes
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without needing dozens of boards to test with.
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When a test requires setup or interaction with the running host (such as to
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generate images and then running U-Boot to check that they can be loaded), or
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cannot be run on sandbox, Python tests should be used. These should typically
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NOT rely on running with sandbox, but instead should function correctly on any
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board supported by U-Boot.
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How slow are Python tests?
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--------------------------
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Under the hood, when running on sandbox, Python tests work by starting a sandbox
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test and connecting to it via a pipe. Each interaction with the U-Boot process
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requires at least a context switch to handle the pipe interaction. The test
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sends a command to U-Boot, which then reacts and shows some output, then the
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test sees that and continues. Of course on real hardware, communications delays
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(e.g. with a serial console) make this slower.
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For comparison, consider a test that checks the 'md' (memory dump). All times
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below are approximate, as measured on an AMD 2950X system. Here is is the test
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in Python::
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   @pytest.mark.buildconfigspec('cmd_memory')
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   def test_md(u_boot_console):
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       """Test that md reads memory as expected, and that memory can be modified
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       using the mw command."""
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       ram_base = u_boot_utils.find_ram_base(u_boot_console)
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       addr = '%08x' % ram_base
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       val = 'a5f09876'
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       expected_response = addr + ': ' + val
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       u_boot_console.run_command('mw ' + addr + ' 0 10')
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       response = u_boot_console.run_command('md ' + addr + ' 10')
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       assert(not (expected_response in response))
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       u_boot_console.run_command('mw ' + addr + ' ' + val)
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       response = u_boot_console.run_command('md ' + addr + ' 10')
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       assert(expected_response in response)
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This runs a few commands and checks the output. Note that it runs a command,
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waits for the response and then checks it agains what is expected. If run by
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itself it takes around 800ms, including test collection. For 1000 runs it takes
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19 seconds, or 19ms per run. Of course 1000 runs it not that useful since we
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only want to run it once.
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There is no exactly equivalent C test, but here is a similar one that tests 'ms'
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(memory search)::
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   /* Test 'ms' command with bytes */
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   static int mem_test_ms_b(struct unit_test_state *uts)
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   {
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      u8 *buf;
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      buf = map_sysmem(0, BUF_SIZE + 1);
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      memset(buf, '\0', BUF_SIZE);
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      buf[0x0] = 0x12;
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      buf[0x31] = 0x12;
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      buf[0xff] = 0x12;
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      buf[0x100] = 0x12;
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      ut_assertok(console_record_reset_enable());
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      run_command("ms.b 1 ff 12", 0);
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      ut_assert_nextline("00000030: 00 12 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00    ................");
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      ut_assert_nextline("--");
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      ut_assert_nextline("000000f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 12    ................");
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      ut_assert_nextline("2 matches");
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      ut_assert_console_end();
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      ut_asserteq(2, env_get_hex("memmatches", 0));
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      ut_asserteq(0xff, env_get_hex("memaddr", 0));
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      ut_asserteq(0xfe, env_get_hex("mempos", 0));
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      unmap_sysmem(buf);
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      return 0;
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   }
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   MEM_TEST(mem_test_ms_b, UT_TESTF_CONSOLE_REC);
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This runs the command directly in U-Boot, then checks the console output, also
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directly in U-Boot. If run by itself this takes 100ms. For 1000 runs it takes
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660ms, or 0.66ms per run.
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So overall running a C test is perhaps 8 times faster individually and the
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interactions are perhaps 25 times faster.
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It should also be noted that the C test is fairly easy to debug. You can set a
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breakpoint on do_mem_search(), which is what implements the 'ms' command,
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single step to see what might be wrong, etc. That is also possible with the
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pytest, but requires two terminals and --gdbserver.
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Why does speed matter?
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----------------------
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Many development activities rely on running tests:
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  - 'git bisect run make qcheck' can be used to find a failing commit
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  - test-driven development relies on quick iteration of build/test
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  - U-Boot's continuous integration (CI) systems make use of tests. Running
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      all sandbox tests typically takes 90 seconds and running each qemu test
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      takes about 30 seconds. This is currently dwarfed by the time taken to
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      build all boards
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As U-Boot continues to grow its feature set, fast and reliable tests are a
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critical factor factor in developer productivity and happiness.
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Writing C tests
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---------------
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C tests are arranged into suites which are typically executed by the 'ut'
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command. Each suite is in its own file. This section describes how to accomplish
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some common test tasks.
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(there are also UEFI C tests in lib/efi_selftest/ not considered here.)
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Add a new driver model test
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Use this when adding a test for a new or existing uclass, adding new operations
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or features to a uclass, adding new ofnode or dev_read_() functions, or anything
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else related to driver model.
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Find a suitable place for your test, perhaps near other test functions in
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existing code, or in a new file. Each uclass should have its own test file.
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Declare the test with::
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   /* Test that ... */
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   static int dm_test_uclassname_what(struct unit_test_state *uts)
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   {
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      /* test code here */
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      return 0;
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   }
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   DM_TEST(dm_test_uclassname_what, UT_TESTF_SCAN_FDT);
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Replace 'uclassname' with the name of your uclass, if applicable. Replace 'what'
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with what you are testing.
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The flags for DM_TEST() are defined in test/test.h and you typically want
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UT_TESTF_SCAN_FDT so that the devicetree is scanned and all devices are bound
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and ready for use. The DM_TEST macro adds UT_TESTF_DM automatically so that
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the test runner knows it is a driver model test.
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Driver model tests are special in that the entire driver model state is
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recreated anew for each test. This ensures that if a previous test deletes a
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device, for example, it does not affect subsequent tests. Driver model tests
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also run both with livetree and flattree, to ensure that both devicetree
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implementations work as expected.
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Example commit: c48cb7ebfb4 ("sandbox: add ADC unit tests") [1]
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[1] https://gitlab.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot/-/commit/c48cb7ebfb4
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Add a C test to an existing suite
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Use this when you are adding to or modifying an existing feature outside driver
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model. An example is bloblist.
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Add a new function in the same file as the rest of the suite and register it
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with the suite. For example, to add a new mem_search test::
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   /* Test 'ms' command with 32-bit values */
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   static int mem_test_ms_new_thing(struct unit_test_state *uts)
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   {
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         /* test code here*/
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         return 0;
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   }
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   MEM_TEST(mem_test_ms_new_thing, UT_TESTF_CONSOLE_REC);
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Note that the MEM_TEST() macros is defined at the top of the file.
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Example commit: 9fe064646d2 ("bloblist: Support relocating to a larger space") [1]
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[1] https://gitlab.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot/-/commit/9fe064646d2
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Add a new test suite
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Each suite should focus on one feature or subsystem, so if you are writing a
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new one of those, you should add a new suite.
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Create a new file in test/ or a subdirectory and define a macro to register the
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suite. For example::
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   #include <common.h>
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   #include <console.h>
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   #include <mapmem.h>
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   #include <dm/test.h>
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   #include <test/ut.h>
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   /* Declare a new wibble test */
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   #define WIBBLE_TEST(_name, _flags)   UNIT_TEST(_name, _flags, wibble_test)
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   /* Tetss go here */
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   /* At the bottom of the file: */
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   int do_ut_wibble(struct cmd_tbl *cmdtp, int flag, int argc, char *const argv[])
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   {
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     struct unit_test *tests = UNIT_TEST_SUITE_START(wibble_test);
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     const int n_ents = UNIT_TEST_SUITE_COUNT(wibble_test);
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     return cmd_ut_category("cmd_wibble", "wibble_test_", tests, n_ents, argc, argv);
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   }
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Then add new tests to it as above.
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Register this new suite in test/cmd_ut.c by adding to cmd_ut_sub[]::
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  /* Within cmd_ut_sub[]... */
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  U_BOOT_CMD_MKENT(wibble, CONFIG_SYS_MAXARGS, 1, do_ut_wibble, "", ""),
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and adding new help to ut_help_text[]::
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  "ut wibble - Test the wibble feature\n"
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If your feature is conditional on a particular Kconfig, then you can use #ifdef
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to control that.
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Finally, add the test to the build by adding to the Makefile in the same
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directory::
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  obj-$(CONFIG_$(SPL_)CMDLINE) += wibble.o
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Note that CMDLINE is never enabled in SPL, so this test will only be present in
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U-Boot proper. See below for how to do SPL tests.
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As before, you can add an extra Kconfig check if needed::
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  ifneq ($(CONFIG_$(SPL_)WIBBLE),)
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  obj-$(CONFIG_$(SPL_)CMDLINE) += wibble.o
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  endif
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Example commit: 919e7a8fb64 ("test: Add a simple test for bloblist") [1]
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[1] https://gitlab.denx.de/u-boot/u-boot/-/commit/919e7a8fb64
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Making the test run from pytest
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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All C tests must run from pytest. Typically this is automatic, since pytest
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scans the U-Boot executable for available tests to run. So long as you have a
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'ut' subcommand for your test suite, it will run. The same applies for driver
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model tests since they use the 'ut dm' subcommand.
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See test/py/tests/test_ut.py for how unit tests are run.
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Add a C test for SPL
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Note: C tests are only available for sandbox_spl at present. There is currently
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no mechanism in other boards to existing SPL tests even if they are built into
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the image.
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SPL tests cannot be run from the 'ut' command since there are no commands
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available in SPL. Instead, sandbox (only) calls ut_run_list() on start-up, when
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the -u flag is given. This runs the available unit tests, no matter what suite
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they are in.
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To create a new SPL test, follow the same rules as above, either adding to an
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existing suite or creating a new one.
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An example SPL test is spl_test_load().
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Writing Python tests
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--------------------
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See :doc:`py_testing` for brief notes how to write Python tests. You
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should be able to use the existing tests in test/py/tests as examples.
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