path: root/doc/qtcreator/src/howto/creator-only/creator-autotest.qdoc

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/*!
    \previouspage creator-ctf-visualizer.html
    \page creator-autotest.html
    \nextpage creator-advanced.html

    \title Running Autotests

    \QC supports both \e {code based tests} and \e {build system based tests}.
    Code based testing provides special handling for particular testing
    frameworks that is strongly tied to the underlying code models or
    specialized parsers. Build system based testing is independent from any
    testing frameworks. It retrieves information directly from the underlying
    build system and uses it or even the build system as such to execute the
    respective tests.

    \QC integrates the following testing frameworks for unit testing
    applications and libraries:

    \list
        \li \l{https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_70_0/libs/test/doc/html/index.html}
            {Boost.Test}
        \li \l{https://github.com/catchorg/Catch2}{Catch2 test framework}
        \li \l{https://github.com/google/googletest}{Google C++ Testing Framework}
        \li \l{Qt Test} framework
    \endlist

    Additional build system based support is provided for
    \l{https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/ctest.1.html}{CTest}.

    You can use \QC to create, build, and run code based tests for your
    projects.

    \image qtcreator-autotests.png

    \section1 Build System Based Tests

    The handling of build system based tests is disabled by default to avoid
    interference with code based parsers. To enable build system based tests,
    select the respective test tool in \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol Testing
    > \uicontrol General.

    The detection of tests is usually much faster for build system based
    tests as this normally does not involve scanning or parsing.
    The information provided inside the tests tree is usually more detailed
    when using code based tests.

    If you have enabled code based and build system based tests together you
    may duplicate tests inside the tests tree. See also \l {Selecting Tests to Run}.

    \section1 Creating Tests

    You can use a wizard to create projects that contain tests.

    \section2 Creating Qt and Qt Quick Tests

    To create a Qt or Qt Quick test:

    \list 1
        \li Select \uicontrol File > \uicontrol {New File or Project} >
            \uicontrol {Other Project} > \uicontrol {Auto Test Project} >
            \uicontrol Choose to create a project with boilerplate code for a
            Qt test or a Qt Quick test.

        \li In the \uicontrol {Project and Test Information} dialog, specify
            settings for the project and test:

            \list 1

                \li In the \uicontrol {Test framework} field, select
                    \uicontrol {Qt Test} or \uicontrol {Qt Quick Test}.

                \li For a Qt test, select the \uicontrol {GUI Application} check
                     box to create a Qt application.

                \li In the \uicontrol {Test case name} field, enter a name for
                    the test case.

                \li For a Qt test, select the \uicontrol {Requires \QApplication}
                    check box to add the include statement for QApplication to
                    the main.cpp file of the project.

                \li Select the \uicontrol {Generate initialization and cleanup
                    code} checkbox to add functions to your test that are
                    executed by the testing framework to initialize and clean
                    up the test.

                \li In the \uicontrol {Build system} field, select the build
                    system to use for building the project: qmake, CMake, or
                    Qbs.

            \endlist

    \endlist

    \QC creates the test in the specified project directory. Edit the .cpp file
    to add private slots for each test function in your test. For more information
    about creating Qt tests, see \l{Creating a Test}.

    \section2 Creating Google Tests

    To create a Google test:

    \list 1
        \li Select \uicontrol File > \uicontrol {New File or Project} >
            \uicontrol {Other Project} > \uicontrol {Auto Test Project} >
            \uicontrol Choose to create a project with boilerplate code for a
            Google test.

        \li In the \uicontrol {Project and Test Information} dialog, specify
            settings for the project and test:

            \list 1

                \li In the \uicontrol {Test framework} field, select
                    \uicontrol {Google Test}.

                \li In the \uicontrol {Test suite name} field, enter a name for
                    the test suite.

                \li In the \uicontrol {Test case name} field, enter a name for
                    the test case.

                \li Select the \uicontrol {Enable C++ 11} check box to
                    support C++ 11 features in the test.

                \li In the \uicontrol {Google test repository} field, select
                    a directory that contains a clone of the googletest
                    repository.

                    To use an installed Google C++ Testing framework instead,
                    see \l{Setting Up the Google C++ Testing Framework}.

                \li In the \uicontrol {Build system} field, select the build
                    system to use for building the project: qmake, CMake, or
                    Qbs.

            \endlist

    \endlist

    \QC creates the test in the specified project directory.
    For more information about creating Google tests, see the
    \l{https://github.com/google/googletest/blob/master/docs/primer.md}
    {Google Test Primer}.

    \section2 Creating Boost Tests

    To build and run Boost tests, you must have the Boost.Test installed on the
    development host. Typically, it is installed when you install Boost. You can
    download Boost from \l{https://www.boost.org/}{Boost.org}.

    If Boost libraries can be found by the used compiler and build system, you
    do not need to specify the include directory when creating the test.

    To create a Boost test:

    \list 1
        \li Select \uicontrol File > \uicontrol {New File or Project} >
            \uicontrol {Other Project} > \uicontrol {Auto Test Project} >
            \uicontrol Choose to create a project with boilerplate code for a
            Boost test.
        \li In the \uicontrol {Project and Test Information} dialog, specify
            settings for the project and test:
            \list 1
                \li In the \uicontrol {Test framework} field, select
                    \uicontrol {Boost Test}.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Test suite name} field, enter a name for
                    the test suite.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Test case name} field, enter a name for
                    the test case.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Boost include dir (optional)} field,
                    enter the path to the directory that contains files needed
                    by Boost.Test, such as \e version.hpp and a subfolder called
                    \e test that contains the test header files.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Build system} field, select the build
                    system to use for building the project: qmake, CMake, or
                    Qbs.
            \endlist
    \endlist

    \QC creates the test in the specified project directory.
    For more information about creating Boost tests, see
    \l{https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_70_0/libs/test/doc/html/index.html}
    {Boost.Test}.

    \section2 Creating Catch2 Tests

    To build and run Catch2 tests, you either must have Catch2 libraries and
    headers installed, or you can use the single include header file provided
    by the Catch2 repository.

    If the Catch2 headers can be found by the used compiler and build system
    automatically, you do not need to specify the include directory when
    creating the test.

    To create a basic Catch2 test:

    \list 1
        \li Select \uicontrol File > \uicontrol {New File or Project} >
            \uicontrol {Other Project} > \uicontrol {Auto Test Project} >
            \uicontrol Choose to create a project with boilerplate code for a
            Catch2 test.
        \li In the \uicontrol {Project and Test Information} dialog, specify
            settings for the project and test:
            \list 1
                \li In the \uicontrol {Test framework} field, select
                    \uicontrol {Catch2}.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Test case name} field, specify a name
                    to be used for the test case file.
                \li Select the \uicontrol {Use Qt libraries} check box
                    to use a self defined main function and set up the project
                    to use Qt features.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Catch2 include directory (optional)} field,
                    you may enter a path to the directory that contains the
                    Catch2 header files.
                \li In the \uicontrol {Build system} field, select the build
                    system to use for building the project: qmake, CMake, or
                    Qbs.
            \endlist
    \endlist

    \QC creates the test in the specified project directory.
    For more information about creating Catch2 tests, see
    \l{https://github.com/catchorg/Catch2/blob/master/docs/Readme.md}
    {Catch2}.

    \section2 Creating CTest Based Tests

    CTest provides capabilities to execute tests for CMake based projects
    and is not limited to a special test framework.
    You simply configure tests inside the project files, usually CMakeLists.txt.
    Basically this is done by enabling testing for the project and registering
    the test applications or even special commands.

    \code
    enable_testing()
    add_test(NAME test_example COMMAND test_example)
    \endcode

    \c test_example must of course be added as an executable before trying to
    register it as test or it may be any command that can be executed including
    arguments.
    For detailed information on how to use CTest see
    \l{https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/community/-/wikis/doc/ctest/Testing-With-CTest}
    {Testing with CTest}.

    \section1 Setting Up the Google C++ Testing Framework

    To build and run Google tests, you must have the Google C++ Testing
    framework installed and configured on the development host. You can either
    clone it from Git Hub or install it from an installation package.

    To configure a project to use a cloned Google testing framework, edit the
    \c INCLUDEPATH variable in the project file (.pro) to include the source
    and \c include folders of Google Test's \c googletest and \c googlemock.
    Usually, you need to add the following subfolders:

    \list
        \li \c googletest
        \li \c googlemock
        \li \c googletest/include
        \li \c googlemock/include
    \endlist

    You also need to add the necessary files to the \c SOURCES variable. For
    example:

    \list
        \li \c googletest/src/gtest-all.cc
        \li \c googlemock/src/gmock-all.cc
    \endlist

    To configure a project to use an installed Google testing framework package,
    add the following include paths to the .pro file:

    \list
        \li \c <googletest_install_path>/include/gtest
        \li \c <googletest_install_path>/include/gmock
    \endlist

    Then add linker options to be able to find the libraries and to link against
    them. For example, for qmake based projects, you typically need to add the
    following values to the .pro file:

    \list
        \li \c {LIBS += -lgtest -L<path_to_gtest_lib>}
        \li \c {LIBS += -lgmock -L<path_to_gmock_lib>}
    \endlist

    \section1 Building and Running Tests

    To build and run tests:

    \list 1

        \li Open a project that contains tests.

        \li In the \uicontrol Tests view, select the tests to run.

        \li In the \uicontrol {Test Results} output pane, select:

            \list
                \li \inlineimage run_small.png
                    (\uicontrol {Run All Tests}) to run all tests.
                 \li \inlineimage icons/qtcreator-run-selected-tests.png
                    (\uicontrol {Run Selected Tests}) to run the selected tests.
                 \li \inlineimage icons/qtcreator-run-failed-tests.png
                    (\uicontrol {Run Failed Tests}) to re-run the tests which failed
                    in the last run.
                    Depending on the framework this may select additional tests if it
                    is impossible to distinguish or to fully address the test.
                 \li \inlineimage icons/qtcreator-run-tests-in-current-file.png
                    (\uicontrol {Run Tests for Current File}) to run the tests
                    in the file currently open in the code editor.
            \endlist

    \endlist

    By default, \QC builds a project before deploying and running it.
    To run all tests without building and deploying them again, select
    \uicontrol {Run All Tests Without Deployment} in the context menu.
    To run the selected tests without deployment, select
    \uicontrol {Run Selected Tests Without Deployment}.

    The functions to run tests are also available in the context menu in the
    \uicontrol Tests view and in \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Tests.

            \note If you have enabled build system based and code based tests,
            you may run tests twice when using \uicontrol {Run All Tests} or
            \uicontrol {Run Selected Tests}. This happens if the tests can be
            found by the code based test frameworks and are registered as test
            with the build system.

    If a test takes more than a minute to execute, the default timeout might
    stop the test execution. To increase the timeout, select \uicontrol Tools >
    \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} > \uicontrol General.

    \section2 Selecting Tests to Run

    The \uicontrol Tests view shows all the tests found for the currently active
    test frameworks in the current project. Select the test cases to run.

    \image qtcreator-tests-view.png

    If a Qt Quick test case does not have a name, it is marked
    \uicontrol Unnamed in the list. Unnamed test cases are executed when you
    select \uicontrol {Run All Tests}. You cannot select or deselect them.

    \QC scans the project for tests when you open the project and updates the
    test list for the currently active test frameworks when you edit tests.
    To refresh the view, select \uicontrol {Rescan Tests} in the context menu.

    To show or hide init and cleanup or data functions in the \uicontrol Tests
    view, select \inlineimage filtericon.png
    (\uicontrol {Filter Test Tree}), and then select \uicontrol {Show Init and
    Cleanup Functions} or \uicontrol {Show Data Functions}. Double-click a
    function in the list to open its source code in the code editor.

    The test cases are listed in alphabetic, case insensitive order. To list
    them in the order in which they are defined in the source code,
    select \inlineimage leafsort.png
    (\uicontrol {Sort Naturally}).

    \section2 Running and Debugging Tests from Code Editor

    You can run and debug tests in the file currently open in the code editor.
    To run all tests in the open file, select \uicontrol Tools >
    \uicontrol Tests > \uicontrol {Run Tests for Current File}.
    \note Available only for code based test frameworks.

    To run the test currently selected in the open file, select
    \uicontrol {Run Test Under Cursor} in the context menu.
    \note Available only for code based test frameworks.

    To debug the currently selected test, select
    \uicontrol {Debug Test Under Cursor} in the context menu.
    \note Availability for build system based tests depends on the build system
    tool's abilities.

    \section1 Specifying Test Settings

    To customize the handling of tests, test frameworks, and test tools, select
    \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} >
    \uicontrol General.

    \image qtcreator-autotests-options.png

    You can customize some settings at project level. To change settings
    for the current project instead of globally, select \uicontrol Projects >
    \uicontrol {Project Settings} > \uicontrol {Testing}.

    In the \uicontrol {Active Test Frameworks} list you can select which tests
    \QC will handle. To improve the performance of full scans for tests, disable
    test frameworks you are not using.

    To group related test cases for an active test framework, select the
    \uicontrol Group check box next to the framework name in the
    \uicontrol {Active Test Frameworks} list.
    By default, tests are grouped based on the directory where they are located.

    Internal messages and run configuration warnings for deduced configurations
    are omitted by default. To view them, deselect the \uicontrol {Omit internal
    messages} and \uicontrol {Omit run configuration warnings} check boxes.

    By default, test result output is limited to 100,000 characters. The output
    pane is automatically scrolled down when new results are added. To display
    full results, deselect the \uicontrol {Limit result output} check box.
    To disable automatic scrolling, deselect the
    \uicontrol {Automatically scroll results} check box.

    Test results can be grouped by the executable path that was used to run the
    tests. This is useful if you have multiple test executables and run them all
    at once. To enable this functionality you need to select the
    \uicontrol {Group results by application} check box.

    It is possible to automatically run the currently available tests after
    successfully building the current project. In \uicontrol {Automatically run},
    select which tests should be run after a successful build.

    In some special setups, \QC cannot deduce which executable or run
    configuration it should use. If \QC repeatedly asks you to select the
    tests to run when trying to execute tests, you can enable it to cache
    your choices and use them were appropriate. The cached information is
    cleared when you switch to another project, close the current one, or
    select \uicontrol {Reset Cached Choices}.

    \section2 Specifying Settings for Running Qt Tests

    The code inside a benchmark test is measured, and possibly also repeated
    several times in order to get an accurate measurement. This depends on the
    measurement back-end that you can select in the
    \uicontrol {Benchmark Metrics} group in \uicontrol Tools >
    \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} > \uicontrol {Qt Test}:
    walltime, CPU tick counter, event counter, Valgrind Callgrind, and Linux
    Perf. For more information, see \l{Creating a Benchmark}.

    \image qtcreator-autotests-options-qt.png

    To receive verbose output when running benchmarks, select the
    \uicontrol {Verbose benchmarks} check box.

    To allow the debugger to interrupt Qt tests on assertions, select the
    \uicontrol {Disable crash handler while debugging} check box.

    To record information about signals and slots in the test log, select the
    \uicontrol {Log signals and slots} check box.

    \section2 Specifying Settings for Running Google Tests

    To specify settings for running Google tests, select \uicontrol Tools >
    \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} > \uicontrol {Google Test}.

    \image qtcreator-autotests-options-google.png

    To run disabled tests, select the \uicontrol {Run disabled tests} check box.

    To run several iterations of the tests, select the \uicontrol {Repeat tests}
    check box and enter the number of times the tests should be run in the
    \uicontrol Iterations field. To make sure that the tests are independent and
    repeatable, you can run them in a different order each time by selecting the
    \uicontrol {Shuffle tests} check box.

    To turn failures into debugger breakpoints, select the
    \uicontrol {Break on failure while debugging} check box. To turn assertion
    failures into C++ exceptions, select the \uicontrol {Throw on failure} check
    box.

    To group Google tests by using a GTest filter, select
    \uicontrol {GTest Filter} in the \uicontrol {Group mode} field,
    and specify the filter to use in the \uicontrol {Active filter}
    field. For more information about GTest filters, see
    \l{https://github.com/google/googletest/blob/master/docs/advanced.md#running-a-subset-of-the-tests}
    {Running a Subset of the Tests}.

    \section2 Specifying Settings for Running Boost Tests

    \list 1
        \li To specify settings for running Boost tests, select \uicontrol Tools
            > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} >
            \uicontrol {Boost Test}.
            \image qtcreator-autotests-options-boost.png
        \li In the \uicontrol {Log format} field, select the error report
            format to specify the type of events you want recorded in the
            test report.
        \li In the \uicontrol {Report level} field, select the verbosity level
            of the test result report. Select \uicontrol No if you do not want
            a report.
        \li Select the \uicontrol Randomize check box to execute the tests in
            a random order, using the seed specified in the \uicontrol Seed
            field for initializing the randomizer.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Catch system errors} check box to catch
            system errors.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Floating point exceptions} check box to
            detect floating point exceptions.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Detect memory leaks} check box to detect
            memory leaks.
    \endlist

    \section2 Specifying Settings for Running Catch2 Tests
    \list 1
        \li To specify settings for running Catch2 tests, select
            \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} >
            \uicontrol {Catch Test}.
            \image qtcreator-autotests-options-catch2.png "Catch Test options"
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Show success} check box to show succeeding
            expressions as well. By default Catch2 will print only fails.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Break on failure while debugging} check box
            to turn failures into debugger breakpoints.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Skip throwing assertions} check box to skip
            any assertion that test for throwing an exception.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Visualize whitespace} check box to turn
            whitespace into escape sequences.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Warn on empty tests} check box to get a
            warning when a test case does not check any assertion.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Abort after} check box to abort the test
            after the number of failures specified inside the spin box.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Benchmark samples} check box to specify
            the number of samples to be collected while running benchmarks.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Benchmark resamples} check box to specify
            the number of resamples to be used for the statistical
            bootstrapping performed after the benchmarking.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Benchmark confidence interval} check box
            to specify the confidence interval used for the statistical
            bootstrapping.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Benchmark warmup time} check box to specify
            the warmup time for each test before benchmarking start.
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Disable analysis} check box to disable the
            statistical analysis and bootstrapping.
    \endlist

    \section2 Specifying Settings for Running CTest-Based Tests
    \list 1
        \li To specify settings for running CTest-based tests, select
        \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} >
        \uicontrol {CTest}.
            \image qtcreator-autotests-options-ctest.png "CTest options"
        \li Select the \uicontrol {Output on failure} check box to show test
            specific output if a test fails. Contrary to the CTest default
            this is enabled by default.
        \li Select \uicontrol {Schedule random} to execute the tests in
            random order.
        \li Select \uicontrol {Stop on failure} to automatically stop the
            test execution on the first failing test.
        \li In the \uicontrol {Output mode} field, select the verbosity level
            of the CTest output.
            \note This only influences the output on the text display.
        \li Select \uicontrol {Repeat tests} if you want to re-run tests
            under certain circumstances.
        \li In the \uicontrol {Repetition mode} field, select the mode for
            re-running tests. The maximum count for repeating a test can be
            specified in the \uicontrol {Count} field.
        \li Select \uicontrol {Run in parallel} to run the tests in parallel
            using the specified number of \uicontrol {Jobs}.
        \li Select \uicontrol {Test load} to be able to limit the parallel
            execution. CTest will not start a new test if it would cause the
            CPU load to pass the threshold given in \uicontrol {Threshold}.
    \endlist

    \section1 Viewing Test Output

    The test results are displayed in the \uicontrol {Test Results} output pane
    in XML format. XML can be parsed more easily and reliably than plain text.

    However, if a Qt test crashes, it might not produce complete XML code that
    can be parsed, which might lead to information loss. The lost information
    might be retrievable when viewing the results as plain text.
    To view the results of Qt tests as plain text, select \uicontrol Tools >
    \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Testing} > \uicontrol {Qt Test}, and
    then deselect the \uicontrol {Use XML output} check box. Then select the
    \inlineimage text.png
    (\uicontrol {Switch Between Visual and Text Display}) button in the
    \uicontrol {Test Results} output pane to switch to the text display.

    The following table lists the messages that the \uicontrol {Test Results}
    output pane displays:

    \table
        \header
            \li Result
            \li Description
        \row
            \li BENCH
            \li Benchmark test.
        \row
            \li DEBUG
            \li Debug message.
        \row
            \li FAIL
            \li Test case failed. Double-click the line for more information.
        \row
            \li FATAL
            \li A fatal error occurred that stops the test case from being run,
                for example.
        \row
            \li INFO
            \li Informative message.
        \row
            \li INTERNAL
            \li Internal message.
        \row
            \li PASS
            \li Test case passed.
        \row
            \li SKIP
            \li Test case was skipped.
        \row
            \li SYSTEM
            \li An error message received from or influenced by the OS.
        \row
            \li XFAIL
            \li Test case is expected to fail, so it is marked by using the
                QEXPECT_FAIL macro. If the test case passes instead, an
                unexpected pass (XPASS) is written to the test log.
        \row
            \li XPASS
            \li Test case passed even though it was expected to fail.
        \row
            \li WARN
            \li Warning message.

    \endtable

    Since Qt 5.4, you can provide a BLACKLIST file for tests. It is mainly used
    internally by the Qt CI system.

    \table
        \header
            \li Result
            \li Description
        \row
            \li BFAIL
            \li Blacklisted test case failed.
        \row
            \li BPASS
            \li Blacklisted test case passed.
        \row
            \li BXFAIL
            \li Blacklisted test case failed but was marked to be expected to fail.
        \row
            \li BXPASS
            \li Blacklisted test case passed even though it was expected to fail.

    \endtable

    To view only messages of a particular type, select
    \inlineimage filtericon.png
    (\uicontrol {Filter Test Results}), and then select the types of messages to
    show. To show all messages, select \uicontrol {Check All Filters}. To
    deselect all message types, select \uicontrol {Uncheck All Filters}.
*/