Unit test requirements (was Re: [Coin-discuss] OsiCbc)

[Matthew Saltzman]

On Wed, 6 Apr 2005, Ted Ralphs wrote:

> Brady Hunsaker wrote:
>> Without commenting on the specific issues below, I'd like to suggest that 
>> we form a group of interested OSI developers to try to more carefully 
>> specify expected OSI behavior and design the unit test accordingly.  The 
>> issues in this email need to be resolved, as do some that have come up in 
>> the past.
>> 
>> As maintainer of OsiGlpk I have never been too careful about the unit test 
>> for these reasons.  If we put some thought into clarifying the behavior we 
>> want, then we can write it down for developers and adjust the unit test 
>> accordingly so that it is more useful and all interfaces regularly pass the 
>> unit test.  I think that will help OSI a great deal.
>> 
>> What do you think of creating such written guidelines for OSI behavior? 
>> I'm happy to be part of the group, though I would prefer that someone with 
>> broader OSI experience take the lead.

That's probably my job.

>
> A mailing list for the OSI is probably appropriate. I think written 
> documentation is a good goal, but realistically, it's easier (and perhaps 
> better) just to say that the expected behavior for an interface is simply 
> that it pass the unit test. If we design and comment the unit test carefully, 
> then any deviations from the required behavior will be easy to understand and 
> fix. This way, we don't have to try to keep the documentation in sync with 
> the unit test if we make changes. What do you think?

One mailing list coming up.

I agree that a good unit test is the best spec.  One design goal for OSI 
is to have a single, universal unit test for the base class that will do 
the right thing with any SI layer.  That will act as an enforcement 
mechanism to keep SIs up to date as the API evolves and will help prevent 
feature creep in different SIs.

>
> Cheers,
>
> Ted
>

-- 
 		Matthew Saltzman

Clemson University Math Sciences
mjs AT clemson DOT edu
http://www.math.clemson.edu/~mjs