Re: [RFC 1/1] acceptance tests: rename acceptance to system

[Philippe Mathieu-Daudé]

On 5/20/21 9:53 PM, Willian Rampazzo wrote:
> Conceptually speaking, acceptance tests "are a series of specific tests
> conducted by the customer in an attempt to uncover product errors before
> accepting the software from the developer. Conducted by the end-user rather
> than software engineers, acceptance testing can range from an informal
> “test drive” to a planned and systematically executed series of scripted
> tests" [1]. Every time Pressman refers to the term "acceptance testing," he
> also refers to user's agreement in the final state of an implemented feature.
> Today, QEMU is not implementing user acceptance tests as described by 
> Pressman.
> 
> There are other three possible terms we could use to describe what is 
> currently
> QEMU "acceptance" tests:
> 
>   1 - Integration tests:
>       - "Integration testing is a systematic technique for constructing the
>          software architecture while at the same time conducting tests to
>          uncover errors associated with interfacing. The objective is to take
>          unit-tested components and build a program structure that has been
>          dictated by design." [2]
>       * Note: Sommerville does not have a clear definition of integration
>         testing. He refers to incremental integration of components inside
>         the system testing (see [3]).
> 
>   2 - Validation tests:
>       - "Validation testing begins at the culmination of integration testing,
>          when individual components have been exercised, the software is
>          completely assembled as a package, and interfacing errors have been
>          uncovered and corrected. At the validation or system level, the
>          distinction between different software categories disappears. Testing
>          focuses on user-visible actions and user-recognizable output from the
>          system." [4]
>       - "where you expect the system to perform correctly using a set of test
>          cases that reflect the system’s expected use." [5]
>       * Note: the definition of "validation testing" from Sommerville reflects
>         the same definition found around the Internet, as one of the processes
>         inside the "Verification & Validation (V&V)." In this concept,
>         validation testing is a high-level definition that covers unit 
> testing,
>         functional testing, integration testing, system testing, and 
> acceptance
>         testing.
> 
>   3 - System tests:
>       - "verifies that all elements mesh properly and that overall system
>          function and performance is achieved." [6]
>       - "involves integrating components to create a version of the system and
>          then testing the integrated system. System testing checks that
>          components are compatible, interact correctly, and transfer the right
>          data at the right time across their interfaces." [7]
> 
> The tests implemented inside the QEMU "acceptance" directory depend on the
> software completely assembled and, sometimes, on other elements, like 
> operating
> system images. In this case, the proposal here is to rename the current
> "acceptance" directory to "system."

Are user-mode tests using Avocado also system tests?
https://www.mail-archive.com/qemu-devel@nongnu.org/msg782505.html

> [1] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
>     Practitioner’s Approach. p. 430.
> [2] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
>     Practitioner’s Approach. Software Engineering, p. 398.
> [3] Sommerville, Ian (2016). Software Engineering. p. 240-242.
> [4] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
>     Practitioner’s Approach. Software Engineering, p. 407.
> [5] Sommerville, Ian (2016). Software Engineering. p. 227.
> [6] Pressman, Roger S. & Maxim, Bruce R. (2020). Software Engineering, A
>     Practitioner’s Approach. Software Engineering, p. 377.
> [7] Sommerville, Ian (2016). Software Engineering. p. 240.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Willian Rampazzo <willianr@redhat.com>
> ---

> diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
> index f718b61fa7..c5de3c9fd5 100644
> --- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
> +++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
> @@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ include:
>      # Avoid recompiling by hiding ninja with NINJA=":"
>      - make NINJA=":" $MAKE_CHECK_ARGS
>  
> -.acceptance_template: &acceptance_definition
> +.system_template: &system_definition

.system_test_template: &system_test_definition ?

> diff --git a/tests/Makefile.include b/tests/Makefile.include
> index 8f220e15d1..c580292bb5 100644
> --- a/tests/Makefile.include
> +++ b/tests/Makefile.include
> @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ ifneq ($(filter $(all-check-targets), check-softfloat),)
>       @echo " $(MAKE) check-tcg            Run TCG tests"
>       @echo " $(MAKE) check-softfloat      Run FPU emulation tests"
>  endif
> -     @echo " $(MAKE) check-acceptance     Run all acceptance (functional) 
> tests"
> +     @echo " $(MAKE) check-system         Run all system tests"