script_testing.md

Script Testing

Problem

Writing portable shell code for testing command-line tools is difficult.

Constraints

• Should be able to record input/output/exit codes of command-line tools
• Should be aware of configuration settings (KDB), for example, restore it on changes

Assumptions

None.

Considered Alternatives

• pythonpaste

  • Pros:
    • easy to work with
  • Cons:
    • can only trace a single directory (would not work with /etc + ~)
    • extra dependency not in any distro

• robotframework

  • Cons:
    • additional (fat) dependency
    • integration with cmake?
    • does not allow one to capture stdout, stderr + return code

• expect

  • Pros:
    • interactive testing (e.g. for kdb mount)
  • Cons:
    • quite long for simple things (e.g. check /bin/true needs 4 lines)
    • new syntax for Elektra (TCL)
    • additional dependency

Decision

Develop shell recorder and tutorial wrapper.

Rationale

Implications

Related Decisions

Notes

• 12.11.2017: pythonpaste not maintained anymore, site is offline