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1 | # U-Boot pytest suite |
2 | ||
3 | ## Introduction | |
4 | ||
5 | This tool aims to test U-Boot by executing U-Boot shell commands using the | |
6 | console interface. A single top-level script exists to execute or attach to the | |
7 | U-Boot console, run the entire script of tests against it, and summarize the | |
8 | results. Advantages of this approach are: | |
9 | ||
10 | - Testing is performed in the same way a user or script would interact with | |
11 | U-Boot; there can be no disconnect. | |
12 | - There is no need to write or embed test-related code into U-Boot itself. | |
13 | It is asserted that writing test-related code in Python is simpler and more | |
14 | flexible that writing it all in C. | |
15 | - It is reasonably simple to interact with U-Boot in this way. | |
16 | ||
17 | ## Requirements | |
18 | ||
19 | The test suite is implemented using pytest. Interaction with the U-Boot console | |
20 | involves executing some binary and interacting with its stdin/stdout. You will | |
21 | need to implement various "hook" scripts that are called by the test suite at | |
22 | the appropriate time. | |
23 | ||
24 | On Debian or Debian-like distributions, the following packages are required. | |
25 | Similar package names should exist in other distributions. | |
26 | ||
27 | | Package | Version tested (Ubuntu 14.04) | | |
28 | | -------------- | ----------------------------- | | |
29 | | python | 2.7.5-5ubuntu3 | | |
30 | | python-pytest | 2.5.1-1 | | |
31 | ||
32 | The test script supports either: | |
33 | ||
34 | - Executing a sandbox port of U-Boot on the local machine as a sub-process, | |
35 | and interacting with it over stdin/stdout. | |
36 | - Executing an external "hook" scripts to flash a U-Boot binary onto a | |
37 | physical board, attach to the board's console stream, and reset the board. | |
38 | Further details are described later. | |
39 | ||
40 | ### Using `virtualenv` to provide requirements | |
41 | ||
42 | Older distributions (e.g. Ubuntu 10.04) may not provide all the required | |
43 | packages, or may provide versions that are too old to run the test suite. One | |
44 | can use the Python `virtualenv` script to locally install more up-to-date | |
45 | versions of the required packages without interfering with the OS installation. | |
46 | For example: | |
47 | ||
48 | ```bash | |
49 | $ cd /path/to/u-boot | |
50 | $ sudo apt-get install python python-virtualenv | |
51 | $ virtualenv venv | |
52 | $ . ./venv/bin/activate | |
53 | $ pip install pytest | |
54 | ``` | |
55 | ||
56 | ## Testing sandbox | |
57 | ||
58 | To run the testsuite on the sandbox port (U-Boot built as a native user-space | |
59 | application), simply execute: | |
60 | ||
61 | ``` | |
62 | ./test/py/test.py --bd sandbox --build | |
63 | ``` | |
64 | ||
65 | The `--bd` option tells the test suite which board type is being tested. This | |
66 | lets the test suite know which features the board has, and hence exactly what | |
67 | can be tested. | |
68 | ||
69 | The `--build` option tells U-Boot to compile U-Boot. Alternatively, you may | |
70 | omit this option and build U-Boot yourself, in whatever way you choose, before | |
71 | running the test script. | |
72 | ||
73 | The test script will attach to U-Boot, execute all valid tests for the board, | |
74 | then print a summary of the test process. A complete log of the test session | |
75 | will be written to `${build_dir}/test-log.html`. This is best viewed in a web | |
76 | browser, but may be read directly as plain text, perhaps with the aid of the | |
77 | `html2text` utility. | |
78 | ||
79 | ## Command-line options | |
80 | ||
81 | - `--board-type`, `--bd`, `-B` set the type of the board to be tested. For | |
82 | example, `sandbox` or `seaboard`. | |
83 | - `--board-identity`, `--id` set the identity of the board to be tested. | |
84 | This allows differentiation between multiple instances of the same type of | |
85 | physical board that are attached to the same host machine. This parameter is | |
86 | not interpreted by the test script in any way, but rather is simply passed | |
87 | to the hook scripts described below, and may be used in any site-specific | |
88 | way deemed necessary. | |
89 | - `--build` indicates that the test script should compile U-Boot itself | |
90 | before running the tests. If using this option, make sure that any | |
91 | environment variables required by the build process are already set, such as | |
92 | `$CROSS_COMPILE`. | |
93 | - `--build-dir` sets the directory containing the compiled U-Boot binaries. | |
94 | If omitted, this is `${source_dir}/build-${board_type}`. | |
95 | - `--result-dir` sets the directory to write results, such as log files, | |
96 | into. If omitted, the build directory is used. | |
97 | - `--persistent-data-dir` sets the directory used to store persistent test | |
98 | data. This is test data that may be re-used across test runs, such as file- | |
99 | system images. | |
100 | ||
101 | `pytest` also implements a number of its own command-line options. Please see | |
102 | `pytest` documentation for complete details. Execute `py.test --version` for | |
103 | a brief summary. Note that U-Boot's test.py script passes all command-line | |
104 | arguments directly to `pytest` for processing. | |
105 | ||
106 | ## Testing real hardware | |
107 | ||
108 | The tools and techniques used to interact with real hardware will vary | |
109 | radically between different host and target systems, and the whims of the user. | |
110 | For this reason, the test suite does not attempt to directly interact with real | |
111 | hardware in any way. Rather, it executes a standardized set of "hook" scripts | |
112 | via `$PATH`. These scripts implement certain actions on behalf of the test | |
113 | suite. This keeps the test suite simple and isolated from system variances | |
114 | unrelated to U-Boot features. | |
115 | ||
116 | ### Hook scripts | |
117 | ||
118 | #### Environment variables | |
119 | ||
120 | The following environment variables are set when running hook scripts: | |
121 | ||
122 | - `UBOOT_BOARD_TYPE` the board type being tested. | |
123 | - `UBOOT_BOARD_IDENTITY` the board identity being tested, or `na` if none was | |
124 | specified. | |
125 | - `UBOOT_SOURCE_DIR` the U-Boot source directory. | |
126 | - `UBOOT_TEST_PY_DIR` the full path to `test/py/` in the source directory. | |
127 | - `UBOOT_BUILD_DIR` the U-Boot build directory. | |
128 | - `UBOOT_RESULT_DIR` the test result directory. | |
129 | - `UBOOT_PERSISTENT_DATA_DIR` the test peristent data directory. | |
130 | ||
131 | #### `u-boot-test-console` | |
132 | ||
133 | This script provides access to the U-Boot console. The script's stdin/stdout | |
134 | should be connected to the board's console. This process should continue to run | |
135 | indefinitely, until killed. The test suite will run this script in parallel | |
136 | with all other hooks. | |
137 | ||
138 | This script may be implemented e.g. by exec()ing `cu`, `kermit`, `conmux`, etc. | |
139 | ||
140 | If you are able to run U-Boot under a hardware simulator such as qemu, then | |
141 | you would likely spawn that simulator from this script. However, note that | |
142 | `u-boot-test-reset` may be called multiple times per test script run, and must | |
143 | cause U-Boot to start execution from scratch each time. Hopefully your | |
144 | simulator includes a virtual reset button! If not, you can launch the | |
145 | simulator from `u-boot-test-reset` instead, while arranging for this console | |
146 | process to always communicate with the current simulator instance. | |
147 | ||
148 | #### `u-boot-test-flash` | |
149 | ||
150 | Prior to running the test suite against a board, some arrangement must be made | |
151 | so that the board executes the particular U-Boot binary to be tested. Often, | |
152 | this involves writing the U-Boot binary to the board's flash ROM. The test | |
153 | suite calls this hook script for that purpose. | |
154 | ||
155 | This script should perform the entire flashing process synchronously; the | |
156 | script should only exit once flashing is complete, and a board reset will | |
157 | cause the newly flashed U-Boot binary to be executed. | |
158 | ||
159 | It is conceivable that this script will do nothing. This might be useful in | |
160 | the following cases: | |
161 | ||
162 | - Some other process has already written the desired U-Boot binary into the | |
163 | board's flash prior to running the test suite. | |
164 | - The board allows U-Boot to be downloaded directly into RAM, and executed | |
165 | from there. Use of this feature will reduce wear on the board's flash, so | |
166 | may be preferable if available, and if cold boot testing of U-Boot is not | |
167 | required. If this feature is used, the `u-boot-test-reset` script should | |
168 | peform this download, since the board could conceivably be reset multiple | |
169 | times in a single test run. | |
170 | ||
171 | It is up to the user to determine if those situations exist, and to code this | |
172 | hook script appropriately. | |
173 | ||
174 | This script will typically be implemented by calling out to some SoC- or | |
175 | board-specific vendor flashing utility. | |
176 | ||
177 | #### `u-boot-test-reset` | |
178 | ||
179 | Whenever the test suite needs to reset the target board, this script is | |
180 | executed. This is guaranteed to happen at least once, prior to executing the | |
181 | first test function. If any test fails, the test infra-structure will execute | |
182 | this script again to restore U-Boot to an operational state before running the | |
183 | next test function. | |
184 | ||
185 | This script will likely be implemented by communicating with some form of | |
186 | relay or electronic switch attached to the board's reset signal. | |
187 | ||
188 | The semantics of this script require that when it is executed, U-Boot will | |
189 | start running from scratch. If the U-Boot binary to be tested has been written | |
190 | to flash, pulsing the board's reset signal is likely all this script need do. | |
191 | However, in some scenarios, this script may perform other actions. For | |
192 | example, it may call out to some SoC- or board-specific vendor utility in order | |
193 | to download the U-Boot binary directly into RAM and execute it. This would | |
194 | avoid the need for `u-boot-test-flash` to actually write U-Boot to flash, thus | |
195 | saving wear on the flash chip(s). | |
196 | ||
197 | ### Board-type-specific configuration | |
198 | ||
199 | Each board has a different configuration and behaviour. Many of these | |
200 | differences can be automatically detected by parsing the `.config` file in the | |
201 | build directory. However, some differences can't yet be handled automatically. | |
202 | ||
203 | For each board, an optional Python module `u_boot_board_${board_type}` may exist | |
204 | to provide board-specific information to the test script. Any global value | |
205 | defined in these modules is available for use by any test function. The data | |
206 | contained in these scripts must be purely derived from U-Boot source code. | |
207 | Hence, these configuration files are part of the U-Boot source tree too. | |
208 | ||
209 | ### Execution environment configuration | |
210 | ||
211 | Each user's hardware setup may enable testing different subsets of the features | |
212 | implemented by a particular board's configuration of U-Boot. For example, a | |
213 | U-Boot configuration may support USB device mode and USB Mass Storage, but this | |
214 | can only be tested if a USB cable is connected between the board and the host | |
215 | machine running the test script. | |
216 | ||
217 | For each board, optional Python modules `u_boot_boardenv_${board_type}` and | |
218 | `u_boot_boardenv_${board_type}_${board_identity}` may exist to provide | |
219 | board-specific and board-identity-specific information to the test script. Any | |
220 | global value defined in these modules is available for use by any test | |
221 | function. The data contained in these is specific to a particular user's | |
222 | hardware configuration. Hence, these configuration files are not part of the | |
223 | U-Boot source tree, and should be installed outside of the source tree. Users | |
224 | should set `$PYTHONPATH` prior to running the test script to allow these | |
225 | modules to be loaded. | |
226 | ||
227 | ### Board module parameter usage | |
228 | ||
229 | The test scripts rely on the following variables being defined by the board | |
230 | module: | |
231 | ||
232 | - None at present. | |
233 | ||
234 | ### U-Boot `.config` feature usage | |
235 | ||
236 | The test scripts rely on various U-Boot `.config` features, either directly in | |
237 | order to test those features, or indirectly in order to query information from | |
238 | the running U-Boot instance in order to test other features. | |
239 | ||
240 | One example is that testing of the `md` command requires knowledge of a RAM | |
241 | address to use for the test. This data is parsed from the output of the | |
242 | `bdinfo` command, and hence relies on CONFIG_CMD_BDI being enabled. | |
243 | ||
244 | For a complete list of dependencies, please search the test scripts for | |
245 | instances of: | |
246 | ||
247 | - `buildconfig.get(...` | |
248 | - `@pytest.mark.buildconfigspec(...` | |
249 | ||
250 | ### Complete invocation example | |
251 | ||
252 | Assuming that you have installed the hook scripts into $HOME/ubtest/bin, and | |
253 | any required environment configuration Python modules into $HOME/ubtest/py, | |
254 | then you would likely invoke the test script as follows: | |
255 | ||
256 | If U-Boot has already been built: | |
257 | ||
258 | ```bash | |
259 | PATH=$HOME/ubtest/bin:$PATH \ | |
260 | PYTHONPATH=${HOME}/ubtest/py:${PYTHONPATH} \ | |
261 | ./test/py/test.py --bd seaboard | |
262 | ``` | |
263 | ||
264 | If you want the test script to compile U-Boot for you too, then you likely | |
265 | need to set `$CROSS_COMPILE` to allow this, and invoke the test script as | |
266 | follow: | |
267 | ||
268 | ```bash | |
269 | CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-eabi- \ | |
270 | PATH=$HOME/ubtest/bin:$PATH \ | |
271 | PYTHONPATH=${HOME}/ubtest/py:${PYTHONPATH} \ | |
272 | ./test/py/test.py --bd seaboard --build | |
273 | ``` | |
274 | ||
275 | ## Writing tests | |
276 | ||
277 | Please refer to the pytest documentation for details of writing pytest tests. | |
278 | Details specific to the U-Boot test suite are described below. | |
279 | ||
280 | A test fixture named `u_boot_console` should be used by each test function. This | |
281 | provides the means to interact with the U-Boot console, and retrieve board and | |
282 | environment configuration information. | |
283 | ||
284 | The function `u_boot_console.run_command()` executes a shell command on the | |
285 | U-Boot console, and returns all output from that command. This allows | |
286 | validation or interpretation of the command output. This function validates | |
287 | that certain strings are not seen on the U-Boot console. These include shell | |
288 | error messages and the U-Boot sign-on message (in order to detect unexpected | |
289 | board resets). See the source of `u_boot_console_base.py` for a complete list of | |
290 | "bad" strings. Some test scenarios are expected to trigger these strings. Use | |
291 | `u_boot_console.disable_check()` to temporarily disable checking for specific | |
292 | strings. See `test_unknown_cmd.py` for an example. | |
293 | ||
294 | Board- and board-environment configuration values may be accessed as sub-fields | |
295 | of the `u_boot_console.config` object, for example | |
296 | `u_boot_console.config.ram_base`. | |
297 | ||
298 | Build configuration values (from `.config`) may be accessed via the dictionary | |
299 | `u_boot_console.config.buildconfig`, with keys equal to the Kconfig variable | |
300 | names. |