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revision 1.2 by rsavoye, Sun Feb 18 05:12:06 2001 UTC revision 1.3 by rsavoye, Sun May 6 22:56:00 2001 UTC
# Line 37  configure and build in the source tree. Line 37  configure and build in the source tree.
37  then the --srcdir option must also be specified. This would also  then the --srcdir option must also be specified. This would also
38  require that the configure script be run from the top level directory.  require that the configure script be run from the top level directory.
39    
40          PATH/configure MYHOSTYPE --srcdir PATH/dejagnu          PATH/configure MYHOSTYPE
41    
42  where PATH is is the directory that the contains the sources.  where PATH is is the directory that the contains the sources.
43    
# Line 57  set a the variable "CC" in your environm Line 57  set a the variable "CC" in your environm
57    
58    Then when you compile, use "make CC=$CC".    Then when you compile, use "make CC=$CC".
59    
60  See etc/cfg-paper.texi, etc/configure.texi, and/or the README files in  See /usr/doc/dejagnu-$version/overview/book1.html or
61  various subdirectories, for more details.  /usr/doc/dejagnu-$version/overview.ps for  for more details.
62    
63   As DejaGnu is a Tcl program, there is nothing to build. However, the   As DejaGnu is a Tcl program, there is little to build. However, the
64  documentation is not built by default. Use these targets:  documentation is not built by default. Use these targets:
65  "make info"     - Convert the texinfo document to something that can  "make overview.html" - Generate the html formatted documentation from
66                    be used the GNU info program or info mode in emacs.                    the SGML source.
67  "make dvi"      - Convert the texinfo document to something that can  "make overview.ps" - Generate the Postscript formatted documentation from
68                    be printed. This produces dvi output.                    the SGML source.
69  "make doc"      - This builds both.  "make overview.pdf" - Generate the PDF formatted documentation from
70  "make ps"       - This converts the dvi file into postscript. This                    the SGML source.
                   requires a copy of dvips.  
71  "make install"  - This installs DejaGnu based on the --prefix option  "make install"  - This installs DejaGnu based on the --prefix option
72                    when configuring. Otherwise it defaults to                    when configuring. Otherwise it defaults to
73                    /usr/local. See the DejaGnu manual for more                    /usr/local. See the DejaGnu manual for more
74                    information on installation.                    information on installation.
75    
                           Changes from 1.1.1  
         1. Works with (included in release) Tcl 7.3 and Expect 5.6.  
         2. Much better error trapping and handling, including the  
            execution of sub scripts.  
         3. Re-worked configuration subsystem.  
         4. Default handling for testing unknown targets.  
         5. New testsuite for expect and runtest.  
         6. More debugging procedures.  
   
                           Changes from 1.0  
   
         1. DejaGnu now conforms to POSIX 1003.3, a standard for  
            testing frameworks.  
         2. A Tcl debugger written by Don Libes has been added.  
         3. Lots of bug fixes.  
   
                           Changes from 0.9  
   
         1. DejaGnu now installs itself like other utilities.  
         2. 700 G++ tests are included.  
         3. The bugs in the GCC tests have been fixed.  
         4. Testsuites are released separately.  
         5. Testsuite sources now reside with the within each tool's  
            source tree.  
   
 -------------------------------------------------------------------  
 Here's is a posting on the Free OS testing project. (FROST)  
 -------------------------------------------------------------------  
 If you have built up your own tests for system calls, library  
 routines, networking protocols, or common utilities, this posting  
 offers you an opportunity to put them to good use.  You can do a good  
 deed for the Linux community, the Berkeley UNIX community, and the  
 wider world of free software users.  
   
 Also, if you would like to learn some good test tools and strategies,  
 and devote some time on a volunteer basis to writing tests -- perhaps  
 a couple of weeks full-time, or a couple hours per week over a period  
 of several months -- then here is a project you should get involved  
 in.  
   
 I am helping to coordinate a test effort for Linux.  In the following  
 four sections of this message I will describe the goals, the process,  
 the people trying to do it, and what you can do to help.  
   
 Goals  
   
   Linux and BSD share a number of libraries and utilities, both  
   because BSD software was ported to Linux, and because several free  
   software (GNU) utilities have been ported to both operating  
   systems.  
   
   Linux shows startling differences and failures as you move from one  
   set of hardware to another.  People who hope to base their own  
   commercial products on Linux would like to see proof that it is  
   robust, portable, and standard-conforming.  The problem is that  
   cross-platform testing is very hard to do, and few decent test  
   suites exist either for free software or for UNIX.  (Look at all the  
   differences you find among systems that are SVID-conforming,  
   particularly at higher levels such as the utilities.)  
   
   Therefore, a number of us who are interested n Linux have decided to  
   enter the modern age of formal, automated software testing -- but in  
   a manner that is proper for the free software community.  
   
   Using DejaGnu, a test platform developed by Cygnus Support and  
   placed under the GPL, we want to collect the best tests we can from  
   people everywhere, and integrate them into suites that any user can  
   download, run, and interpret with a few commands.  DejaGnu already  
   runs under BSD, and Cygnus is porting it to Linux.  
   
   Our goal is to test as many parts of the system as possible,  
   including system calls (particularly for POSIX 1003.1 compliance),  
   libraries in the official distribution, networking protocols,  
   and utilities.  We need help with  
   
     1) integrating good tests donated by the community (and probably  
        written in a variety of programming languages and command  
        shells) into the DejaGnu framework, and  
   
     2) writing new tests for major functional areas for which no  
        adequate tests exist.  
   
   The tests we use will be placed under the GPL and distributed by  
   Cygnus Support along with DejaGnu.  H. J. Lu, who maintains the C  
   library for Linux, has offered to run the POSIX 1003.1 tests and as  
   many others as he can.  
   
 Process  
   
   First let me summarize the advantages of using DejaGnu, a free  
   software product that will be the umbrella for all the tests, and  
   then explain how we plan to conduct this project.  
   
   Cygnus Support released DejaGnu to the public on January 3, along  
   with several test suites for GNU language tools.  The product is  
   designed for portability and easy cross-platform development and  
   execution.  It works more uniformly than typical tests using the  
   UNIX shell, and also supports interactive testing better than most  
   test platforms -- for instance, Cygnus has written over 1300 unit  
   tests for the gdb debugger using it.  
   
   The implementation of DejaGnu is based on tcl and expect, two simple  
   existing languages for writing commands.  You can develop new tests  
   in two major ways: by placing keyword-based comments in C source  
   code, or by writing tests in tcl.  
   
   While Cygnus is still increasing their body of tests for language  
   tools, they are also turning their resources toward the libraries  
   and GNU utilities.  While most of the tests are written at Cygnus,  
   they have reached out to communities of testers and are now porting  
   substantial sets of donated tests.  
   
   We are hoping to broaden this successful use of collaboration across  
   user communities.  We hope that suites of useful tests are sitting  
   in desk drawers out there.  We also hope to gather and mobilize  
   people who appreciate the value of formal tests in legitimizing free  
   software, and would like to help write them.  
   
   I am not an employee of Cygnus, but have volunteered to talk to  
   interested people and do an initial classification of tests, just to  
   offload some of this routine work from them.  I will discuss all  
   offers with Cygnus staff to find out what is most needed and decide  
   which tests to incorporate into DejaGnu.  There are several criteria  
   for choosing tests, including the degree to which an area is  
   covered, and its importance in the overall stability of the  
   operating system.  Some tests may have to be rejected just because  
   they are hard to fit into the DejaGnu model.  
   
 People  
   
   Now you can find out why each of us got involved with this project.  
   
   Cygnus writes and distributes free software, selling support as a  
   means to make money.  The company is not directly in the business of  
   supporting operating systems or common UNIX utilities, so this kind  
   of testing is tangential to their main goals.  But they may want to  
   support those things in the future.  In any case, they would like to  
   see Linux do well, and this big test project will be a good  
   promotion for DejaGnu.  
   H. K. Lu, as a volunteer for Linux, has been using his own system to  
   implement, port, maintain, and ensure ANSI and POSIX compliance for  
   the C library (mostly the GNU C library along with the iostream  
   class from the g++ library).  He is looking for ways to validate the  
   work that he and many other contributors have put in.  
   
   As an editor at a publisher of computer books, my relationship to  
   Linux and BSD is even more distant than that of Cygnus.  But we are  
   thinking about putting out books about Linux, from either the Linux  
   Documentation Project or independent authors, and would like to make  
   sure Linux is stable enough to be documented.  The testing of  
   utilities is particularly important to me, because it can provide  
   quality assurance for our books, including the BSD version of UNIX  
   in a Nutshell.  
   
 What you can do  
   
   We ask people who have written tests in the areas I have described  
   to donate them to this project and see them benefit the public.  
   Don't just send me stuff -- write or call to discuss what you've got  
   in general.  You also have to assign the tests to the Free Software  
   Foundation (a simple matter, so long as you are the owner of the  
   tests) so that they can be distributed under the GPL.  
   
   Also, please don't starting flaming about the GPL.  Either join our  
   project and donate your tests, or don't.  Personally, I do not take  
   a side in this war.  
   
   People who are interested in testing as a discipline, and have some  
   time to donate, are invited to contact me to help write tests.  Tell  
   me:  
   
         Your knowledge of computer languages and tools  
   
         Previous software test efforts you have engaged in, if any  
   
         How much time you can devote  
   
         What functional areas you think are important and have a  
         particular interest in  
   
   Cygnus staff will tell volunteers which areas need testing, and  
   offer guidance while you learn and apply DejaGnu.  The most  
   important trait for the project is rigorous thinking along the lines  
   of software quality (so the best preparation is to have done some  
   formal testing before).  You do not need to know any particular  
   language or tool; you can learn tcl or other aspects of DejaGnu  
   fairly quickly.  
   
   Contact information for me is in my signature.  I am at the phone  
   number during traditional U.S. business hours.  So send mail any  
   time, or try calling from Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM,  
   Eastern Daylight Saving Time (four hours later than Greenwich Mean  
   Time).  
   
   Feel free to distribute and repost this message elsewhere, in its  
   entirety.  
   
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------  
 Andy Oram    O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.                 andyo@ora.com  
              90 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA 02140     (617) 354-5800  
                                                     fax (617) 661-1116  
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------  
   
 There is a new listserv based mailing list for the FROST project. To  
 subscribe, send email to "listserv@cygnus.com" and the body should  
 contain "SUBSCRIBE FROST <your name>". Messages sent to  
 frost@cygnus.com go to the mailing list.  
76    
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