Re: library dependencies and unit/integration testing

[Ted Zlatanov]

On Tue, 2 Mar 2010 16:25:49 +0100 Jonas Bernoulli <address@hidden> wrote: 

JB> 2010/3/2 Ted Zlatanov <address@hidden>:
Tom> ;;; Package-Requires: ((ruby-mode "1.0") (inf-ruby "2.0"))
>> 
>> Jonas thinks this is best left outside the package.  I disagree
>> slightly: I think a compromise is best, where the package author can
>> specify the dependencies but the repository maintainer can override
>> them.  Since Emacs doesn't provide any of these facilities by
>> convention, perhaps it's time to set them up now.

JB> This was a misunderstanding. I am all for package maintainers
JB> specifying which versions of the dependencies are required.

Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding.  So the difficulty is in
inconsistent versioning.  I've learned from experience to be careful
about fixing human problems with technical solutions :)

JB> Should authors specify what versions of dependencies are required?

JB> I would say: definitely yet (but they should not be forced to do it).

Yes, definitely.  CPAN is a great example of this on a large scale.
Automated tests there ensure that the dependencies and code are correct.

>> I was thinking of using the emacs interpreter in batch mode to run only
>> a few tests in series, isolated from the testing agent in a whole new
>> process.  For the majority of libraries that's enough.

JB> Still you would have to do it using a user with very restricted
JB> privileges.

Some may choose that, while others may use chroot or a dedicated
physical or virtual machine.  If it works for CPAN it should be workable
for Emacs.  This relates to an old thread about setting up BuildBot
stations for Emacs build testing, which has been on my TODO list for
ages.

Ted