ExtUtils::TBone - a "skeleton" for writing "t/*.t" test files.

Include a copy of this module in your t directory (as t/ExtUtils/TBone.pm), and then write your t/*.t files like this:

    use lib "./t";             # to pick up a ExtUtils::TBone
    use ExtUtils::TBone;

    # Make a tester... here are 3 different alternatives:
    my $T = typical ExtUtils::TBone;                 # standard log
    my $T = new ExtUtils::TBone;                     # no log 
    my $T = new ExtUtils::TBone "testout/Foo.tlog";  # explicit log
    

    # Begin testing, and expect 3 tests in all:
    $T->begin(3);                           # expect 3 tests
    $T->msg("Something for the log file");  # message for the log
    

    # Run some tests:    
    $T->ok($this);                  # test 1: no real info logged
    $T->ok($that,                   # test 2: logs a comment
	   "Is that ok, or isn't it?"); 
    $T->ok(($this eq $that),        # test 3: logs comment + vars 
	   "Do they match?",
	   This => $this,
	   That => $that);
     

    # That last one could have also been written... 
    $T->ok_eq($this, $that);            # does 'eq' and logs operands
    $T->ok_eqnum($this, $that);         # does '==' and logs operands 
     

    # End testing:
    $T->end;   

This module is intended for folks who release CPAN modules with "t/*.t" tests. It makes it easy for you to output syntactically correct test-output while at the same time logging all test activity to a log file. Hopefully, bug reports which include the contents of this file will be easier for you to investigate.

A typical log file output by this module looks like this:

    1..3
     

    ** A message logged with msg().
    ** Another one.
    1: My first test, using test(): how'd I do?
    1: ok 1
    

    ** Yet another message.
    2: My second test, using test_eq()...
    2: A: The first string
    2: B: The second string
    2: not ok 2
    

    3: My third test.
    3: ok 3
    

    END

Each test() is logged with the test name and results, and the test-number prefixes each line. This allows you to scan a large file easily with "grep" (or, ahem, "perl"). A blank line follows each test's record, for clarity.

new [ARGS...]

Class method, constructor. Create a new tester. Any arguments are sent to log_open().

typical

Class method, constructor. Create a typical tester. Use this instead of new() for most applicaitons. The directory "./testout" is created for you automatically, to hold the output log file.

begin NUMTESTS

Instance method. Start testing.

end

Instance method. End testing.

ok BOOL, [TESTNAME], [PARAMHASH...]

Instance method. Do a test, and log some information connected with it. Use it like this:

    $T->ok(-e $dotforward);

Or better yet, like this:

    $T->ok((-e $dotforward), 
	   "Does the user have a .forward file?");

Or even better, like this:

    $T->ok((-e $dotforward), 
	   "Does the user have a .forward file?",
	   User => $ENV{USER},
	   Path => $dotforward,
	   Fwd  => $ENV{FWD});

That last one, if it were test #3, would be logged as:

    3: Does the user have a .forward file?
    3:   User: "alice"
    3:   Path: "/home/alice/.forward"
    3:   Fwd: undef
    3: ok

You get the idea. Note that defined quantities are logged with delimiters and with all nongraphical characters suitably escaped, so you can see evidence of unexpected whitespace and other badnasties. Had "Fwd" been the string "this\nand\nthat", you'd have seen:

    3:   Fwd: "this\nand\nthat"

And unblessed array refs like ["this", "and", "that"] are treated as multiple values:

    3:   Fwd: "this"
    3:   Fwd: "and"
    3:   Fwd: "that"

ok_eq ASTRING, BSTRING, [TESTNAME], [PARAMHASH...]

Instance method. Convenience front end to ok(): test whether ASTRING eq BSTRING, and logs the operands as 'A' and 'B'.

ok_eqnum ANUM, BNUM, [TESTNAME], [PARAMHASH...]

Instance method. Convenience front end to ok(): test whether ANUM == BNUM, and logs the operands as 'A' and 'B'.

log_open PATH

Instance method. Open a log file for messages to be output to. This is invoked for you automatically by new(PATH) and typical().

log_close

Instance method. Close the log file and stop logging. You shouldn't need to invoke this directly; the destructor does it.

log MESSAGE...

Instance method. Log a message to the log file. No alterations are made on the text of the message. See msg() for an alternative.

msg MESSAGE...

Instance method. Log a message to the log file. Lines are prefixed with "** " for clarity, and a terminating newline is forced.

Current version: $Id: TBone.pm,v 1.111 1999/04/18 04:07:28 eryq Exp $

Version 1.111

Now uses File::Basename to create "typical" logfile name, for portability.

Version 1.110

Fixed bug in constructor that surfaced if no log was being used.

Created: Friday-the-13th of February, 1998.

Eryq; President, Zero G Inc. eryq@zeegee.com / http://www.zeegee.com.