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Common Test
Release Notes
Version 1.7

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Chapters

• Common Test Release Notes
  • Top of chapter
  • Common_Test 1.7
  • Common_Test 1.6.3.1
  • Common_Test 1.6.3
  • Common_Test 1.6.2.1
  • Common_Test 1.6.2
  • Common_Test 1.6.1
  • Common_Test 1.6
  • 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 1.7

Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

• Severe errors detected by test_server (e.g. if log files directories cannot be created) will now be reported to common_test and noted in the common_test logs.

  Own Id: OTP-9769 Aux Id: kunagi-202 [113]

• The earlier undocumented cross cover feature for accumulating cover data over multiple tests has now been fixed and documented.

  Own Id: OTP-9870 Aux Id: kunagi-206 [117]

• If a busy test case generated lots of error messages, cth_log_redirect:post_end_per_testcase would crash with a timeout while waiting for the error logger to finish handling all error reports. The default timer was 5 seconds. This has now been extended to 5 minutes.

  Own Id: OTP-10040 Aux Id: kunagi-173 [84]

• When a test case failed because of a timetrap time out, the Config data for the case was lost in the following call to end_per_testcase/2, and also in calls to the CT Hook function post_end_per_testcase/4. This problem has been solved and the Config data is now correctly passed to the above functions after a timetrap timeout failure.

  Own Id: OTP-10070 Aux Id: kunagi-175 [86]

• Some calls to deprecated and removed functions in snmp are removed from ct_snmp.

  Own Id: OTP-10088 Aux Id: kunagi-176 [87]

• In test_server, the same process would supervise the currently running test case and be group leader (and IO server) for the test case. Furthermore, when running parallel test cases, new temporary supervisor/group leader processes were spawned and the process that was group leader for sequential test cases would not be active. That would lead to several problems:

  * Processes started by init_per_suite will inherit the group leader of the init_per_suite process (and that group leader would not process IO requests when parallel test cases was running). If later a parallel test case caused such a processto print using (for example) io:format/2, the calling would hang.

  * Similarly, if a process was spawned from a parallel test case, it would inherit the temporary group leader for that parallel test case. If that spawned process later - when the group of parallel tests have finished - attempted to print something, its group leader would be dead and there would be badarg exception.

  Those problems have been solved by having group leaders separate from the processes that supervises the test cases, and keeping temporary group leader process for parallel test cases alive until no more process in the system use them as group leaders.

  Also, a new unexpected_io.log log file (reachable from the summary page of each test suite) has been introduced. All unexpected IO will be printed into it(for example, IO to a group leader for a parallel test case that has finished).

  Own Id: OTP-10101 Aux Id: OTP-10125

• Some bugfixes in ct_snmp:

  • ct_snmp will now use the value of the 'agent_vsns' config variable when setting the 'variables' parameter to snmp application agent configuration. Earlier this had to be done separately - i.e. the supported versions had to be specified twice.
  • Snmp application failed to write notify.conf since ct_snmp gave the notify type as a string instead of an atom. This has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-10432

• Some bugfixes in ct_snmp:

  • Functions register_users/2, register_agents/2 and register_usm_users/2, and the corresponding unregister_*/1 functions were not executable. These are corrected/rewritten.
  • Function update_usm_users/2 is removed, and an unregister function is added instead. Update can now be done with unregister_usm_users and then register_usm_users.
  • Functions unregister_*/2 are added, so specific users/agents/usm users can be unregistered.
  • Function unload_mibs/1 is added for completeness.
  • Overriding configuration files did not work, since the files were written in priv_dir instead of in the configuration dir (priv_dir/conf). This has been corrected.
  • Arguments to register_usm_users/2 were faulty documented. This has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-10434 Aux Id: kunagi-264 [175]

• Faulty exported specs in common test has been corrected to ct_netconfc:hook_options/0 and inet:hostname/0

  Own Id: OTP-10601

• The netconf client in common_test did not adjust the window after receiving data. Due to this, the client stopped receiving data after a while. This has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-10646

Improvements and New Features

• It is now possible to let a test specification include other test specifications. Included specs can either be joined with the source spec (and all other joined specs), resulting in one single test run, or they can be executed in separate test runs. Also, a start flag/option, join_specs, has been introduced, to be used in combination with the spec option. With join_specs, Common Test can be told to either join multiple test specifications, or run them separately. Without join_specs, the latter behaviour is default. Note that this is a change compared to earlier versions of Common Test, where specifications could only be joined. More information can be found in the Running Tests chapter in the User's Guide (see the Test Specifications section).

  *** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***

  Own Id: OTP-9881 Aux Id: kunagi-350 [261]

• The ct_slave:start/3 function now supports an {env,[{Var,Value}]} option to extend environment for the slave node.

  Own Id: OTP-10469 Aux Id: kunagi-317 [228]

• Some examples overflowing the width of PDF pages have been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-10665

• Update common test modules to handle unicode

  • Use UTF-8 encoding for all HTML files, except the HTML version of the test suite generated with erl2html2:convert, which will have the same encoding as the original test suite (.erl) file.
  • Encode link targets in HTML files with test_server_ctrl:uri_encode/1.
  • Use unicode modifier 't' with ~s when appropriate.
  • Use unicode:characters_to_list and unicode:characters_to_binary for conversion between binaries and strings instead of binary_to_list and list_to_binary.

  Own Id: OTP-10783

Known Bugs and Problems

• CT drops error reason when groups/0 crashes.

  Own Id: OTP-10631 Aux Id: kunagi-345 [256]

• Event handler on a ct_master node causes hanging.

  Own Id: OTP-10634 Aux Id: kunagi-347 [258]

• CT fails to open telnet conn after a timetrap timeout.

  Own Id: OTP-10648 Aux Id: seq12212

1.2  Common_Test 1.6.3.1

Known Bugs and Problems

• The following corrections/changes are done in the cth_surefire hook:

  • Earlier there would always be a 'properties' element under the 'testsuites' element. This would exist even if there were no 'property' element inside it. This has been changed so if there are no 'property' elements to display, then there will not be a 'properties' element either.
  • The XML file will now (unless other is specified) be stored in the top log directory. Earlier, the default directory would be the current working directory for the erlang node, which would mostly, but not always, be the top log directory.
  • The 'hostname' attribute in the 'testsuite' element would earlier never have the correct value. This has been corrected.
  • The 'errors' attribute in the 'testsuite' element would earlier display the number of failed testcases. This has been changed and will now always have the value 0, while the 'failures' attribute will show the number of failed testcases.
  • A new attribute 'skipped' is added to the 'testsuite' element. This will display the number of skipped testcases. These would earlier be included in the number of failed test cases.
  • The total number of tests displayed by the 'tests' attribute in the 'testsuite' element would earlier include init/end_per_suite and init/end_per_group. This is no longer the case. The 'tests' attribute will now only count "real" test cases.
  • Earlier, auto skipped test cases would have no value in the 'log' attribute. This is now corrected.
  • A new attributes 'log' is added to the 'testsuite' element.
  • A new option named 'url_base' is added for this hook. If this option is used, a new attribute named 'url' will be added to the 'testcase' and 'testsuite' elements.

  Own Id: OTP-10589

1.3  Common_Test 1.6.3

Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

• The ct:run_test/1 option 'config' only worked with a single config file, not a list of files. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-10495

• ct_netconfc:close_session sometimes returned {error,closed} because the ssh connection was closed (from the server side) before the rpc-reply was received by the client. This is normal and can not be helped. It has been corrected so the return will be 'ok' in this case. Other error situations will still give {error,Reason}.

  Own Id: OTP-10510 Aux Id: kunagi-320 [231]

• ct_netconfc:close_session sometimes returned {error,closed} or (if the connection was named) {error,{process_down,Pid,normal}} because the ssh connection was closed (from the server side) before the rpc-reply was received by the client. This is normal and can not be helped. It has been corrected so the return will be 'ok' in this situation.

  Own Id: OTP-10570

• Fix bug where ct:require of same name with same config would return name_in_use.

  Own Id: OTP-10572

Improvements and New Features

• A new test case group search functionality has been implemented that makes Common Test search automatically through the group definitions tree (the return value of groups/0) and create tests for all paths of nested groups that match the specification. It also allows for specifying unique paths to sub groups in order to avoid execution of unwanted tests. This new feature can be used whenever starting a test run by means of the ct_run program, the ct:run_test/1 API function, or a Test Specification. Details can be found in the Test Case Group Execution section in the Running Tests chapter.

  Own Id: OTP-10466 Aux Id: kunagi-276 [187]

Known Bugs and Problems

• Restore Config data if lost when test case fails.

  Own Id: OTP-10070 Aux Id: kunagi-175 [86]

• IO server error in test_server.

  Own Id: OTP-10125 Aux Id: OTP-10101, kunagi-177 [88]

• Faulty connection handling in common_test.

  Own Id: OTP-10126 Aux Id: kunagi-178 [89]

1.4  Common_Test 1.6.2.1

Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

• The interactive mode (ct_run -shell) would not start properly. This error has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-10414

1.5  Common_Test 1.6.2

Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

• If a CT hook function caused a crash, this could in some situations cause Common Test to terminate due to an illegal IO operation. This error has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-10050 Aux Id: seq12039

• The Common Test documentation states that timetraps are never active during execution of CT hook functions. This was only true for post hook functions, not for pre hook functions. The code for CT hooks has been modified to behave according to the documentation.

  Own Id: OTP-10069

• If a CT hook function would call the exit/1 or throw/1 BIF (possibly indirectly, e.g. as a result of a timeout in gen_server:call/3), Common Test would hang. This problem has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-10072 Aux Id: seq12053

• The documentation has been updated with information about how to deal with chaining of hooks which return fail/skip.

  Own Id: OTP-10077 Aux Id: seq12048

• When ct_hooks called the id/1 functions of multiple hooks, it would reverse the order of the hooks and call the proceeding init/2 calls in the wrong order. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-10135

• The surefire hook now correctly handles autoskipped initialization and test functions.

  Own Id: OTP-10158

• The ct:get_status/0 function failed to report status if a parallel test case group was running at the time of the call. This has been fixed and the return value for the function has been updated. Please see the ct reference manual for details.

  Own Id: OTP-10172

Improvements and New Features

• The support for "silent connections" has been updated to include ssh. Also, a silent_connections term has been added to the set of test specification terms.

  Own Id: OTP-9625 Aux Id: seq11918

• It is now possible to specify an arbitrarily large tuple as the requires config data when using require and ct:get_config. See the ct:get_config and ct:require reference manual pages for details about which keys are allowed.

  This change introduces a backwards incompatability in the ct:require/2 interface. Previously when doing ct:require(a_name,{key,subkey}), a_name would be associated with key. This has been changed to that a_name is associated with subkey. This change also effects using require in an suite/group/testcase info function.

  *** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***

  Own Id: OTP-9626 Aux Id: seq11920

• The ct_run program now sets the OS process exit status before it ends. Value 0 indicates a successful test result, 1 indicates one or more failed or auto-skipped test cases, and 2 indicates test execution failure.

  Own Id: OTP-9865 Aux Id: OTP-10087

• It is now possible to sort the HTML tables by clicking on the header elements. In order to reset a sorted table, the browser window should simply be refreshed. This feature requires that the browser supports javascript, and has javascript execution enabled. If the 'ct_run -basic_html' flag is used, no javascript code is included in the generated HTML code.

  Own Id: OTP-9896 Aux Id: seq12034, OTP-9835

• A netconf client, ct_netconfc, is added to common_test. It supports basic netconf functionality over SSH. In order to allow testing of both success and failure cases, it is intentionally written to allow non-standard behavior.

  Own Id: OTP-10025

• The test specification term {define,Constant,Value} has been introduced, which makes it possible to replace constant names (atom()) with values (term()) in arbitrary test specification terms. The 'define' makes the (now deprecated) 'alias' term obsolete. More details, including examples, can be found in the Test Specifications chapter in the Common Test User's Guide.

  Own Id: OTP-10049

• Verbosity levels for log printouts has been added. This makes it possible to specify preferred verbosity for different categories of log printouts, as well as general printouts (such as standard IO), to allow control over which strings get printed and which get ignored. New versions of the Common Test logging functions, ct:log, ct:pal and ct:print, have been introduced, with a new Importance argument added. The Importance value is compared to the verbosity level at runtime. More information can be found in the chapter about Logging in the Common Test User's Guide.

  Own Id: OTP-10067 Aux Id: seq12050

• The return values of ct:run_test/1 and ct:run_testspec/1 have been changed from an uninformative 'ok' (independent of the test outcome) to a value, {Ok,Failed,{UserSkipped,AutoSkipped}} (all integers), that presents the final test case result, or a value, {error,Reason}, that informs about fatal test execution failure. See details in the reference manual for ct.

  Own Id: OTP-10087 Aux Id: OTP-9865

• The test specification syntax has been updated with new and missing terms, such as 'define', 'verbosity', 'auto_compile', 'stylesheet', 'silent_connections', 'basic_html' and 'release_shell'. See the Test Specification chapter in the Common Test User's Guide for details.

  Own Id: OTP-10089 Aux Id: OTP-10049

• It is now possible to pause execution of a test case, by calling the ct:break/1/2 function. Execution is resumed with a call to ct:continue/0/1. Break/continue also works for test cases executing in parallel. See the ct reference manual for details.

  Own Id: OTP-10127

• It is now possible to send user defined events from a testcase which will be picked up by the installed event handler.

  Own Id: OTP-10157

• A new start option, release_shell, for ct:run_test/1, has been added, which makes Common Test release the shell process after the test suite compilation phase is finished. For details, see the Running Tests chapter in the User's Guide.

  Own Id: OTP-10248 Aux Id: OTP-10127

1.6  Common_Test 1.6.1

Fixed Bugs and Malfunctions

• Common Test adds the test suite directories to the code path before executing the tests. These directories should also be removed from the code path at the end of the test run, which, prior to this fix, was not performed.

  Own Id: OTP-9595

• An entry is now created in the index.html file (i.e. the overview file for the test run) for each repeated test during a test run. This was previously not the case. Note that in the top level (logdir) index file, however, only the last test result is listed. For example, given the test spec: [{merge_tests,false},{dirs,"test1"},{dirs,"test1"}]. In the index file for the test run (under Logdir/ct_run.Node.Date.Time), both tests are listed. In the top level index file (under Logdir), only the last test is listed (one has to find the previous results through the all_runs.html file).

  Own Id: OTP-9634 Aux Id: seq11924

• After a test case timeout or abortion, the end_per_testcase function executes on a new dedicated process. The group leader for this process should be set to the IO server for the test case, which was not done properly. The result of this error was that no warnings about end_per_testcase failing or timing out were ever printed in the test case log. Also, help functions such as e.g. test_server:stop_node/1, attempting to synchronize with the IO server, would hang. The fault has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-9666

• The ct:get_status/0 function would cause the calling process to receive 'DOWN' messages if no tests were running at the time of the call. This bug has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9830 Aux Id: seq11975

• A deadlock situation could occur if Common Test is forwarding error_handler printouts to Test Server at the same time a new test case is starting. This error has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9894

• A link to the ct_run program is now created, as expected, in the installation bin directory (default /usr/local/bin) during 'make install'.

  Own Id: OTP-9898

• Using the repeat, duration or until option with ct:run_test/1, would cause an infinite loop. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9899

• Two or more test cases executing in parallel and printing to screen at the same time with ct:pal/2/3 or ct:print/2/3 could write into each other's "slots" and create a mess of mixed strings. In order to avoid this, only a single IO message is now ever sent per printout call.

  Own Id: OTP-9900 Aux Id: OTP-9904

• When a test case was killed because of a timetrap timeout, the current location (suite, case and line) was not printed correctly in the log files. This has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-9930 Aux Id: seq12002

• The wrong exit location was printed in the log file when ct:fail/1 or ct_fail/2 was called.

  Own Id: OTP-9933 Aux Id: seq12002

• Test Server and Common Test would add new error handlers with each test run and fail to remove previously added ones. In the case of Test Server, this would only happen if SASL was not running on the test node. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9941 Aux Id: seq12009

• If a test case process was terminated due to an exit signal from a linked process, Test Server failed to report the correct name of the suite and case to the framework. This has been corrected.

  Own Id: OTP-9958 Aux Id: OTP-9855

• When starting a test with ct_run and adding a directory to the code path using -pa or -pz (preceding -erl_args), Common Test would delete any existing directory in the code path with the same base name (see filename:basename/1) as the directory being added. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9964

• If passing two or more directories with the same base name (see filename:basename/1) to Common Test with ct_run -pa, only one of the directories would actually be added.

  Own Id: OTP-9975 Aux Id: seq12019

• Configuration data required by the group info function was deleted before the call to post_end_per_group, which made it impossible for the hook function to read and use the data in question. This has been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-9989

• Disabling built-in hooks in a test specification was ignored, this has now been fixed.

  Own Id: OTP-10009

• Various typographical errors corrected in documentation for common_test, driver, erl_driver and windows installation instructions. (Thanks to Tuncer Ayaz)

  Own Id: OTP-10037

Improvements and New Features

• A new optional feature has been introduced that enables Common Test to generate priv_dir directory names that are unique for each test case or config function. The name of the option/flag is 'create_priv_dir' and it can be set to value 'auto_per_run' (which is the default, existing, behaviour), or 'auto_per_tc' or 'manual_per_tc'. If 'auto_per_tc' is used, Test Server creates a dedicated priv_dir automatically for each test case (which can be very expensive in case of many and/or repeated cases). If 'manual_per_tc' is used, the user needs to create the priv_dir explicitly by calling the new function ct:make_priv_dir/0.

  Own Id: OTP-9659 Aux Id: seq11930

• A column for test case group name has been added to the suite overview HTML log file.

  Own Id: OTP-9730 Aux Id: seq11952

• It is now possible to use the post_end_per_testcase CT hook function to print a comment for a test case in the overview log file, even if the test case gets killed by a timetrap or unknown exit signal, or if the end_per_testcase function times out.

  Own Id: OTP-9855 Aux Id: seq11979

• The pre- and post CT hook functions are now always called for all configuration functions, even for configuration functions that are not implemented in the test suite.

  Own Id: OTP-9880 Aux Id: seq11993

• Common Test will now print error information (with a time stamp) in the test case log file immediately when a test case fails. This makes it easier to see when, in time, the fault actually occured, and aid the job of locating relevant trace and debug printouts in the log.

  Own Id: OTP-9904 Aux Id: seq11985, OTP-9900

• Test Server has been modified to check the SASL errlog_type parameter when receiving an error logger event, so that it doesn't print reports of type that the user has disabled.

  Own Id: OTP-9955 Aux Id: seq12013

• The test specification term 'skip_groups' was implemented in Common Test v1.6. It was never documented however, which has now been attended to. Please see the Test Specifications chapter in the User's Guide for information.

  Own Id: OTP-9972

• The Common Test Master has been updated to use a CSS style sheet for the html log files.

  Own Id: OTP-9973

• If the init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2 functions are not implemented in the test suite, Common Test calls it's own local init- and end functions - previously named ct_init_per_group/2 and ct_end_per_group/2 - when a group is executed. These functions have been renamed init_per_group/2 and end_per_group/2 respectively. Note that this may affect any user event handler identifying events by the old names.

  *** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***

  Own Id: OTP-9986 Aux Id: OTP-9992

• By specifying a user defined function ({M,F,A} or fun) as timetrap value, either by means of an info function or by calling ct:timetrap/1, it is now possible to set a timetrap that will be triggered when the user function returns.

  Own Id: OTP-9988 Aux Id: OTP-9501, seq11894

• If the optional configuration functions init_per_suite/1 and end_per_suite/1 are not implemented in the test suite, local Common Test versions of these functions are called instead, and will be displayed in the overview log file. Any printouts made by the pre- or post_init_per_suite and pre- or post_end_per_suite hook functions are saved in the log files for these functions.

  Own Id: OTP-9992

• A hook has been added to common test which outputs surefire XML for usage together with CI tools such as Jenkins. To enable the hook pass '-ct_hooks cth_surefire' to ct_run. See the CTH documentation for more details.

  Own Id: OTP-9995

1.7  Common_Test 1.6

Improvements and New Features

• A Getting Started chapter has been added to the Common Test User's Guide.

  Own Id: OTP-9156

• The test case group info function has been implemented in Common Test. Before execution of a test case group, a call is now made to TestSuite:group(GroupName). The function returns a list of test properties, e.g. to specify timetrap values, require configuration data, etc (analogue to the test suite- and test case info function). The scope of the properties set by group(GroupName) is all test cases and sub-groups of group GroupName.

  Own Id: OTP-9235

• Common Test hooks are now in a final supported version. The Common Test hooks allow you to abstract out initialization behaviour that is common to multiple test suites into one place and also extend the behaviour of a suite without changing the suite itself. For more information see the Common Test user's guide.

  Own Id: OTP-9449

• 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 calls info functions also for the init/end_per_suite/1 and init/end_per_group/2 configuration functions. These can be used e.g. to set timetraps and require external configuration data relevant only for the configuration functions in question (without affecting properties set for groups and test cases in the suite). The info function for init/end_per_suite(Config) is init/end_per_suite(), and for init/end_per_group(GroupName,Config) it's init/end_per_group(GroupName). Info functions can not be used with init/end_per_testcase(TestCase, Config), since these configuration functions execute on the test case process and will use the same properties as the test case (i.e. properties set by the test case info function, TestCase()).

  Own Id: OTP-9569

• It's now possible to read the full name of the test case log file during execution. One way to do this is to lookup it up as value of the key tc_logfile in the test case Config list (which means it can also be read by a pre- or post Common Test hook function). The data is also sent with the event #event{name=tc_logfile,data={{Suite,Func},LogFileName}}, and can be read by any installed event handler.

  Own Id: OTP-9676 Aux Id: seq11941

• The look of the HTML log files generated by Common Test and Test Server has been improved (and made easier to customize) by means of a CSS file.

  Own Id: OTP-9706

• Functions ct:fail(Format, Args) and ct:comment(Format, Args) have been added in order to make printouts of formatted error and comment strings easier (no need for the user to call io_lib:format/2 explicitly).

  Own Id: OTP-9709 Aux Id: seq11951

• The order in which ct hooks are executed for cleanup hooks (i.e. *_end_per_* hooks) has been reversed.

  *** POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY ***

  Own Id: OTP-9774 Aux Id: seq11913

• Printouts to stdout may be captured during test case execution. This is useful in order to e.g. read and parse tty printouts from the SUT during test case execution (if necessary, say, to determine the outcome of the test). The capturing session is started with ct:capture_start/0, and stopped with ct:capture_stop/0. The list of buffered strings is read and purged with ct:capture_get/0/1. It's possible to filter out printouts made with ct:log/2/3 and ct:pal/2/3 from the captured list of strings. This is done by calling capture_get/1 with a list of log categories to exclude.

  Own Id: OTP-9775

• The syntax for specifying test case groups in the all/0 list has been extended to include execution properties for both groups and sub-groups. The properties specified in all/0 for a group overrides the properties specified in the group declaration (in groups/0). The main purpose of this extension is to make it possible to run the same set of tests, but with different properties, without having to declare copies of the group in question. Also, the same syntax may be used in test specifications in order to change properties of groups at the time of execution, without having to edit the test suite. Please see the User's Guide for details and examples.

  Own Id: OTP-9809 Aux Id: OTP-9235

Known Bugs and Problems

• Fix problems in CT/TS due to line numbers in exceptions.

  Own Id: OTP-9203

1.8  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

1.9  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

1.10  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

1.11  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

1.12  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

1.13  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

1.14  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

1.15  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

1.16  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

1.17  Common_Test 1.4.2

Improvements and New Features

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

  Own Id: OTP-7981

1.18  Common_Test 1.4.1

Improvements and New Features

• Minor updates and corrections.

  Own Id: OTP-7897

1.19  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

1.20  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

1.21  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

1.22  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

1.23  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

1.24  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

1.25  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

1.26  common_test 1.3.0