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-rw-r--r--README228
1 files changed, 10 insertions, 218 deletions
diff --git a/README b/README
index 886cae0..0c66eab 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ configure and build in the source tree.
then the --srcdir option must also be specified. This would also
require that the configure script be run from the top level directory.
- PATH/configure MYHOSTYPE --srcdir PATH/dejagnu
+ PATH/configure MYHOSTYPE
where PATH is is the directory that the contains the sources.
@@ -57,229 +57,21 @@ set a the variable "CC" in your environment to point to it.
Then when you compile, use "make CC=$CC".
-See etc/cfg-paper.texi, etc/configure.texi, and/or the README files in
-various subdirectories, for more details.
+See /usr/doc/dejagnu-$version/overview/book1.html or
+/usr/doc/dejagnu-$version/overview.ps for for more details.
- 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
documentation is not built by default. Use these targets:
-"make info" - Convert the texinfo document to something that can
- be used the GNU info program or info mode in emacs.
-"make dvi" - Convert the texinfo document to something that can
- be printed. This produces dvi output.
-"make doc" - This builds both.
-"make ps" - This converts the dvi file into postscript. This
- requires a copy of dvips.
+"make overview.html" - Generate the html formatted documentation from
+ the SGML source.
+"make overview.ps" - Generate the Postscript formatted documentation from
+ the SGML source.
+"make overview.pdf" - Generate the PDF formatted documentation from
+ the SGML source.
"make install" - This installs DejaGnu based on the --prefix option
when configuring. Otherwise it defaults to
/usr/local. See the DejaGnu manual for more
information on installation.
- 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.