src/tests: The FreeBSD test suite
=================================

This file describes the build infrastructure of the FreeBSD test suite.
If you are only interested in using the test suite itself, please refer
to tests(7) instead.

The build of the test suite is organized in the following manner:

* The build of all test artifacts is protected by the MK_TESTS knob.
  The user can disable these with the WITHOUT_TESTS setting in
  src.conf(5).

* The goal for /usr/tests/ (the installed test programs) is to follow
  the same hierarchy as /usr/src/ wherever possible, which in turn drives
  several of the design decisions described below.  This simplifies the
  discoverability of tests.  We want a mapping such as:

    /usr/src/bin/cp/      -> /usr/tests/bin/cp/
    /usr/src/lib/libc/    -> /usr/tests/lib/libc/
    /usr/src/usr.bin/cut/ -> /usr/tests/usr.bin/cut/
    ... and many more ...

* Test programs for specific utilities and libraries are located next
  to the source code of such programs.  For example, the tests for the
  src/lib/libcrypt/ library live in src/lib/libcrypt/tests/.  The tests/
  subdirectory is optional and should, in general, be avoided.

* The src/tests/ hierarchy (this directory) provides generic test
  infrastructure and glue code to join all test programs together into
  a single test suite definition.

* The src/tests/ hierarchy also includes cross-functional test programs:
  i.e. test programs that cover more than a single utility or library
  and thus don't fit anywhere else in the tree.  Consider this to follow
  the same rationale as src/share/man/: this directory contains generic
  manual pages while the manual pages that are specific to individual
  tools or libraries live next to the source code.

In order to keep the src/tests/ hierarchy decoupled from the actual test
programs being installed --which is a worthy goal because it simplifies
the addition of new test programs and simplifies the maintenance of the
tree-- the top-level Kyuafile does not know which subdirectories may
exist upfront.  Instead, such Kyuafile automatically detects, at
run-time, which */Kyuafile files exist and uses those directly.

Similarly, every category subdirectory within src/tests/ provides the
same Kyuafile with auto-discovery features.  For example: src/tests/lib/
holds a generic Makefile to install test-suite related material but such
directory does not know upfront which libraries within src/lib/ will
install tests.  For this reason, the Kyuafile in src/tests/lib/ has to
also use the auto-discovery features.  The same applies for any other
category subdirectory (e.g. bin, usr.sbin, etc.).

-- 
$FreeBSD$