Hi all,
We may need to replace the function currently named `runtests` with a
completely different Matlab compatible function, which would break all
existing uses of `runtests`. How should we approach this?
Background:
A recent bug report [1] asks for a Matlab compatible `runtests`
function, presumably to provide a calling interface and to run unit
tests that are written in Matlab's test format.
As you may know, Octave already has its own `runtests` function, which
runs all Octave style unit tests in a directory. For example, several
Octave Forge packages use `runtests` in the maintainer makefile to run
unit tests.
Assuming the request is reasonable, these two uses of the same name are
incompatible, so we would probably want to retire the Octave `runtests`
function, or at least kill its name, sooner rather than later.
Separately, Andrew Janke has been working hard on a Testify package [2]
for Octave that seeks to improve on Octave's unit testing framework. The
`runtests` replacement offered in Testify is already a significant
improvement over Octave.
Questions for discussion:
Does Octave need to provide a Matlab compatible `runtests` function?
What other work would this new function require? Respond with EWONTFIX
and move on?