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Refactoring run-tests.php

php.internals

Max Semenik

6 years ago
I was thinking about making some improvements to our venerable test runner, however I wasn't feeling confident about improving the present code base. Instead, I decided to attempt to refactor it. Here's my work in progress: https://github.com/MaxSem/run-tests It requires Composer only for development, and has a script to make a single-file distribution, functionally identical to what we presently have. When it comes to integration with php-src, it could be moved to a subdirectory there or be kept in a separate repository and be used to generate a new run-tests.php whenever needed. Is there interest in this, should I continue? Any suggestions?
-- Best regards, Max Semenik

Sara Golemon

6 years ago
On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 10:42 AM Max Semenik <maxsem.wiki@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was thinking about making some improvements to our venerable test runner, > however I wasn't feeling confident about improving the present code base. > Instead, I decided to attempt to refactor it. > > This is a perennial topic and I don't want to discourage you,BUT...
run-tests.php has a disturbing number of modes and edgecases, and the preference has traditionally been for small movements which are easily understandable individually. That's not to say a full-refactor won't get support, but it's a big undertaking and has defeated many brave souls. -Sara

Nikita Popov

6 years ago
On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 5:42 PM Max Semenik <maxsem.wiki@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was thinking about making some improvements to our venerable test runner, > however I wasn't feeling confident about improving the present code base. > Instead, I decided to attempt to refactor it. > > Here's my work in progress: https://github.com/MaxSem/run-tests > > It requires Composer only for development, and has a script to make a > single-file distribution, functionally identical to what we presently have. > > When it comes to integration with php-src, it could be moved to a > subdirectory there or be kept in a separate repository and be used to > generate a new run-tests.php whenever needed. > > Is there interest in this, should I continue? Any suggestions? >
Happy to accept run-tests refactorings in general (there is a lot of global state to eradicate!), but please keep it single-file. We definitely need it single-file for distribution purposes, and I don't particularly want to have a "run-tests build system" for what I perceive to be little benefit. I'm not sure why PHP developers in particular seem to be so hung up about this issue, but: There really is no need to split every class into a separate file. This is how we develop in non-PHP, non-Java languages (C/C++/Rust/...) all the time. Regards, Nikita

Max Semenik

6 years ago
On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 7:52 PM Sara Golemon <pollita@php.net> wrote:
> This is a perennial topic and I don't want to discourage you,BUT... > run-tests.php has a disturbing number of modes and edgecases, and the > preference has traditionally been for small movements which are easily > understandable individually. >
That's why it's being done in a separate repository and every commit is tested to work. But yeah, once I get around to adding tests, suggestions of more things to test for will be appreciated. On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 8:04 PM Nikita Popov <nikita.ppv@gmail.com> wrote:
> Happy to accept run-tests refactorings in general (there is a lot of > global state to eradicate!), but please keep it single-file. We definitely > need it single-file for distribution purposes, and I don't particularly > want to have a "run-tests build system" for what I perceive to be little > benefit. >
Once I add tests, it will just not be a single-file project anymore.
> I'm not sure why PHP developers in particular seem to be so hung up about > this issue, but: There really is no need to split every class into a > separate file. This is how we develop in non-PHP, non-Java languages > (C/C++/Rust/...) all the time. >
<philosophy>Because PHP taught them to: can't have a serious project without the autoloader, can't have a sane autoloader without per-class files (PSR-4 is as it is not due to its developers' preferences, but because it was the most reasonable thing to do). If only there was a way for classes to be automatically and seamlessly located from PHP core itself...</philosophy> My split into multiple files wasn't dogmatic, but purely pragmatic: a 3722 line file is too big for my liking (as in, it's too hard to find my way through it, even if the code is organized neatly into classes), and the number of lines will only grow. Also, it's way easier to have one tab per class. =)
-- Best regards, Max Semenik

Derick Rethans

6 years ago
On Sun, 7 Jun 2020, Max Semenik wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 8:04 PM Nikita Popov <nikita.ppv@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Happy to accept run-tests refactorings in general (there is a lot of > > global state to eradicate!), but please keep it single-file. We > > definitely need it single-file for distribution purposes, and I > > don't particularly want to have a "run-tests build system" for what > > I perceive to be little benefit. > > Once I add tests, it will just not be a single-file project anymore.
I don't think tests are the relevant issue here. Nikita is asking to keep it a single file project for the test runner. I agree with that position.
> > I'm not sure why PHP developers in particular seem to be so hung up about > > this issue, but: There really is no need to split every class into a > > separate file. This is how we develop in non-PHP, non-Java languages > > (C/C++/Rust/...) all the time. > > > > <philosophy>Because PHP taught them to: can't have a serious project > without the autoloader
You don't need an autoloader if it's all in the same file. ;-) cheers, Derick

Max Semenik

5 years ago
On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 6:41 PM Max Semenik <maxsem.wiki@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was thinking about making some improvements to our venerable test > runner, however I wasn't feeling confident about improving the present code > base. Instead, I decided to attempt to refactor it. > > Here's my work in progress: https://github.com/MaxSem/run-tests >
Aaand, here's first step: https://github.com/php/php-src/pull/6671 As requested, I'll submit changes in small chunks and keep everything in one file. Note: the plans of making a perfect refactor in a separate repository were definitely a mistake on my part due to the constant need to stay up to date with php-src. I'm thus backporting my changes there and will continue new changes as they're ready.
-- Best regards, Max Semenik