5.1. Unit tests
In a software package as dynamic and collaborative as OpenFAST, confidence in multiple layers of code is best accomplished with a strong system of unit tests. Through robust testing practices, the entire OpenFAST community can understand the intention behind code blocks and debug or expand functionality quicker and with more confidence and stability.
Unit testing in OpenFAST modules is accomplished through test-drive.
test-drive is compiled along with OpenFAST through CMake when the CMake variable BUILD_TESTING
is
turned on (default off) and the CMake variable BUILD_UNIT_TESTING
is on
(turned on by default when BUILD_TEST
is on).
The BeamDyn and NWTC Library modules contain some sample unit tests and should serve as a reference for future development and testing.
5.1.1. Dependencies
The following packages are required for unit testing:
CMake
test-drive - Included in OpenFAST repo in unit_test/test-drive
5.1.2. Compiling
Compiling the unit tests is handled with CMake similar to compiling OpenFAST
in general. After configuring CMake with BUILD_TESTING
turned on, new
build targets are created for each module included in the unit test
framework named [module]_utest
. Then, make
the target to test:
cmake .. -DBUILD_TESTING=ON
make beamdyn_utest
This creates a unit test executable at
openfast/build/unit_tests/beamdyn_utest
.
5.1.3. Executing
To execute a module’s unit test, simply run the unit test binary. For example:
>>>$ ./openfast/build/unit_tests/beamdyn_utest
All tests PASSED
the pass or fail status is provided for each test as it’s run. An error message is output when the test fails. Failure cases display the following output:
>>>$ ./unit_tests/beamdyn_utest
# Testing: Crv
Starting test_BD_CheckRotMat ... (1/6)
... test_BD_CheckRotMat [PASSED]
Starting test_BD_ComputeIniNodalCrv ... (2/6)
... test_BD_ComputeIniNodalCrv [PASSED]
Starting test_BD_CrvCompose ... (3/6)
... test_BD_CrvCompose [PASSED]
Starting test_BD_CrvExtractCrv ... (4/6)
... test_BD_CrvExtractCrv [PASSED]
Starting test_BD_CrvMatrixH ... (5/6)
[Fatal] Uncaught error
Code: 1 Message: A(1,1) simple rotation with known parameters: Pi on xaxis:
Note: The following floating-point exceptions are signalling: IEEE_INVALID_FLAG IEEE_DIVIDE_BY_ZERO
ERROR STOP
Error termination. Backtrace:
#0 0xffff9f70d08b in ???
#1 0xffff9f70ddb3 in ???
#2 0xffff9f70f333 in ???
5.1.4. Adding unit tests
Unit tests should be included for each new, testable code block (subroutine or function). What is testable is the discretion of the developer, but an element of the pull request review process will be evaluating test coverage.
New unit tests can be added to a tests
directory alongside the src
directory included in each module. For example, a module directory may be
structured as
openfast/
└── modules/
└── sampledyn/
├── src/
│ ├── SampleDyn.f90
│ └── SampleDyn_Subs.f90
└── tests/
├── sampledyn_utest.F90
├── test_SampleDyn_Feature1.F90
├── test_SampleDyn_Feature2.F90
└── test_SampleDyn_Feature3.F90
Each unit test file must contain a module that exports a function which populates
a list of unit tests in accordance with the test-drive
documentation. These modules
contain subroutines which take an error
argument that is populated by the check
subroutine provided by test-drive
. The sampledyn_utest.F90
collects all of the
unit tests lists from the adjacent modules and runs them. These programs are compiled
via the unit_tests/CMakeLists.txt
file so all relevant modules and programs are
specified there.
Refer to existing unit tests for the BeamDyn
or NWTC Library
unit tests for examples
of how to structure and build the unit test drivers. Also review the test-drive
documentation at
test-drive.
Some useful topics to consider when developing and testing for OpenFAST are: