[Ifeffit] testing ravelware

[Bruce Ravel]

On Monday 10 November 2003 03:09 pm, Matt Newville wrote:
> I believe one can programmatically fill in form data and send
> virtual events to a Tk-based GUI, which is essentially pushing all
> the buttons, and may have been what Shelly was getting at.  The
> callback routines for "the real calculations" can definitely be run
> programmatically with various input data (and wasn't the original
> post about phase-corrections???).  This might be difficult or easy
> for athena/artemis, depending on how they're implemented:  Perl's
> anonymous closures can only be tested by sending virtual events. But
> if it's worth the time to formally test these programs, it might be
> worth some effort to make them more easily testable, no?

Well, from where I'm sitting, that falls in the catagory of "easier
said than done". 

I can imagine how to tool my own code to allow for regression testing
via generation of virtual events.  I have a little more trouble
thinking of a robust way to implement regression tests via virtual
events involving arbitrary widgets from the widget library (such as
the file dialog).  I have no idea at all how to do a regression test
on, say, deglitching, which involves faithfully reproducing a virtual
event in the pgplot window.

Since a lot of people seem to consider Athena and Artemis important
parts of their workday (a fact that, frankly, blows my mind -- just
look at the yahoo that wrote them!), it seems reasonable to ask that a
few of them spend a half hour every so often doing manual tests,
reporting problems, and making suggestions.  So far, three volunteers
seem to agree with that.

Of course, if the concensus is that tools for automated regression
testing are more important than new analysis features, then I can be
convinced to spend my time implementing them.

B




-- 
 Bruce Ravel  ----------------------------------- ravel at phys.washington.edu
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