Re: [RFC 1/1] acceptance tests: rename acceptance to system

[Willian Rampazzo <wrampazz@redhat.com>]

On Thu, May 20, 2021 at 5:28 PM Philippe Mathieu-Daudé
<philmd@redhat.com> wrote:
>
> On 5/20/21 9:53 PM, Willian Rampazzo wrote:
> > Conceptually speaking, acceptance tests "are a series of specific tests
> > conducted by the customer in an attempt to uncover product errors before
> > accepting the software from the developer. Conducted by the end-user rather
> > than software engineers, acceptance testing can range from an informal
> > “test drive” to a planned and systematically executed series of scripted
> > tests" [1]. Every time Pressman refers to the term "acceptance testing," he
> > also refers to user's agreement in the final state of an implemented feature.
> > Today, QEMU is not implementing user acceptance tests as described by Pressman.
> >
> > There are other three possible terms we could use to describe what is currently
> > QEMU "acceptance" tests:
> >
> >   1 - Integration tests:
> >       - "Integration testing is a systematic technique for constructing the
> >          software architecture while at the same time conducting tests to
> >          uncover errors associated with interfacing. The objective is to take
> >          unit-tested components and build a program structure that has been
> >          dictated by design." [2]
> >       * Note: Sommerville does not have a clear definition of integration
> >         testing. He refers to incremental integration of components inside
> >         the system testing (see [3]).
> >
> >   2 - Validation tests:
> >       - "Validation testing begins at the culmination of integration testing,
> >          when individual components have been exercised, the software is
> >          completely assembled as a package, and interfacing errors have been
> >          uncovered and corrected. At the validation or system level, the
> >          distinction between different software categories disappears. Testing
> >          focuses on user-visible actions and user-recognizable output from the
> >          system." [4]
> >       - "where you expect the system to perform correctly using a set of test
> >          cases that reflect the system’s expected use." [5]
> >       * Note: the definition of "validation testing" from Sommerville reflects
> >         the same definition found around the Internet, as one of the processes
> >         inside the "Verification & Validation (V&V)." In this concept,
> >         validation testing is a high-level definition that covers unit testing,
> >         functional testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance
> >         testing.
> >
> >   3 - System tests:
> >       - "verifies that all elements mesh properly and that overall system
> >          function and performance is achieved." [6]
> >       - "involves integrating components to create a version of the system and
> >          then testing the integrated system. System testing checks that
> >          components are compatible, interact correctly, and transfer the right
> >          data at the right time across their interfaces." [7]
> >
> > The tests implemented inside the QEMU "acceptance" directory depend on the
> > software completely assembled and, sometimes, on other elements, like operating
> > system images. In this case, the proposal here is to rename the current
> > "acceptance" directory to "system."
>
> Are user-mode tests using Avocado also system tests?
> https://www.mail-archive.com/qemu-devel@nongnu.org/msg782505.html

Yes, they are considered system tests because in software engineering,
system testing means your software built and tested using external
test artifacts, just like your example.

>
> > [1] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
> >     Practitioner’s Approach. p. 430.
> > [2] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
> >     Practitioner’s Approach. Software Engineering, p. 398.
> > [3] Sommerville, Ian (2016). Software Engineering. p. 240-242.
> > [4] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
> >     Practitioner’s Approach. Software Engineering, p. 407.
> > [5] Sommerville, Ian (2016). Software Engineering. p. 227.
> > [6] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
> >     Practitioner’s Approach. Software Engineering, p. 377.
> > [7] Sommerville, Ian (2016). Software Engineering. p. 240.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Willian Rampazzo <willianr@redhat.com>
> > ---
>
> > diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
> > index f718b61fa7..c5de3c9fd5 100644
> > --- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
> > +++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
> > @@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ include:
> >      # Avoid recompiling by hiding ninja with NINJA=":"
> >      - make NINJA=":" $MAKE_CHECK_ARGS
> >
> > -.acceptance_template: &acceptance_definition
> > +.system_template: &system_definition
>
> .system_test_template: &system_test_definition ?

Agreed, keeps the consistency.

>
> > diff --git a/tests/Makefile.include b/tests/Makefile.include
> > index 8f220e15d1..c580292bb5 100644
> > --- a/tests/Makefile.include
> > +++ b/tests/Makefile.include
> > @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ ifneq ($(filter $(all-check-targets), check-softfloat),)
> >       @echo " $(MAKE) check-tcg            Run TCG tests"
> >       @echo " $(MAKE) check-softfloat      Run FPU emulation tests"
> >  endif
> > -     @echo " $(MAKE) check-acceptance     Run all acceptance (functional) tests"
> > +     @echo " $(MAKE) check-system         Run all system tests"
>