Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming.

syphilis has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi,
I'm not very strong on these Test::* modules. Here's the demo script (that should run on any machine that has Test::More and Test::Class installed):

package MyTest;
use warnings;
use base q{Test::Class};
use Test::More 'no_plan';

sub DEMO_1 : Tests 
{
    my $self = shift;
    $self->builder->skip('Wanting to skip the DEMO_1 tests');
    my $results = {
        '1 / 2' => "0.5",
        '1 / 4' =>  0.25,
    };
    _verify($results);
}

sub DEMO_2 : Tests 
{
    my $results = {
        '1 / 8' => "0.125",
        '1 / 16' =>  0.0625,
    };
    _verify($results);
}

Test::Class->runtests;

sub _verify {
    my $results = shift;
    for(keys(%$results)) {
       ok( eval($_) == $results->{$_}, "$_ == $results->{$_}");
    }
}
[download]

And here's the output I get on Win32, perl-5.10.0:

ok 1 # skip Wanting to skip the DEMO_1 tests
ok 2 - 1 / 4 == 0.25
ok 3 - 1 / 2 == 0.5
ok 4 - 1 / 8 == 0.125
ok 5 - 1 / 16 == 0.0625
1..5
[download]

Now that's not quite what I intend. To begin with, the $self->builder->skip('Wanting to skip the DEMO_1 tests'); seems to be treated as a test (that passes) in itself. I'm not so concerned about that. What does concern me is that the 2 tests that I want to skip (namely, the 2 tests in sub DEMO_1) are still being run.

Is that a bug in Test::Builder ? ... perhaps as a result of the Test::Class environment ? ... or is it a Test::Class bug ? ... or is it just plain ol' incorrect usage on my part ?

Now, I've found a solution to the problem using the Test::More SKIP{} block. But is there a way I can get the sub DEMO_1 tests skipped by using that "$self->builder->skip()" approach ? Is there some other way of getting the desired result using Test::Builder::skip() ?

Cheers,
Rob

Comment on Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. Select or Download Code

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by massa (Hermit) on Sep 03, 2008 at 08:52 UTC
AFAICT, it's just plain wrong usage on your part. Test::Builder::skip is just another test, like ok(...) etc. []s, HTH, Massa (κς,πμ,πλ)	[reply]
Re^2: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by syphilis (Archbishop) on Sep 03, 2008 at 10:25 UTC
wrong usage on your part I've no reason to doubt you, but I'm still struggling to understand. The Test::Builder::skip documentation suggests to me that my usage is correct. It says that calling skip() "Skips the current test". By comparison, the skip_all() documentation says that skip_all() "Skips all the tests" - and that's exactly what happens when I replace: `$self->builder->skip('Wanting to skip the DEMO_1 tests');` [download] with: `$self->builder->skip_all('Wanting to skip all tests');` [download] With that change in place, things dwim perfectly. I find that all of the DEMO_1 and DEMO_2 tests are skipped - unless the DEMO_2 tests have been run first, in which case only the DEMO_1 tests get skipped. I also don't understand how one would apply a skip() test if it is "just another test, like ok(...)". massa, is there an example somewhere of how Test::Builder::skip() is meant to be put to a useful purpose ? Cheers, Rob	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by chromatic (Archbishop) on Sep 03, 2008 at 17:58 UTC
The Test::Builder::skip documentation suggests to me that my usage is correct. No, it doesn't. `skip()` is documented under: `Other Testing Methods These are methods which are used in the course of writing a test but are not themselves tests.` [download] It has nothing to do with control flow. It reports one test as skipped and then immediately returns. If you run a test afterward with an actual testing method, that's a new test. Of course, you should only use Test::Builder directly if you're writing a test module. Don't use it directly to run tests. Use Test::Class and Test::More.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^4: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by syphilis (Archbishop) on Sep 04, 2008 at 01:12 UTC
Re^3: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by Anonymous Monk on Sep 03, 2008 at 10:42 UTC
http://search.cpan.org/src/MSCHWERN/Test-Simple-0.80/t/skip.t http://search.cpan.org/~mschwern/Test-Simple-0.80/lib/Test/Tutorial.pod#Skipping_tests	[reply]
Re^4: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by syphilis (Archbishop) on Sep 03, 2008 at 10:55 UTC
Re: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by Anonymous Monk on Sep 03, 2008 at 10:50 UTC
http://search.cpan.org/~adie/Test-Class-0.30/lib/Test/Class.pm#SKIPPED_TESTS `sub DEMO_1 : Tests { my $self = shift; return 'Wanting to skip the DEMO_1 tests'; my $results = { '1 / 2' => "0.5", '1 / 4' => 0.25, }; _verify($results); }` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by syphilis (Archbishop) on Sep 03, 2008 at 11:18 UTC
return 'Wanting to skip the DEMO_1 tests'; Heh ... that's a nice solution to the problem ... and sort of obvious ... mumble, mumble :-) It doesn't really show me what one is supposed to do with Test::Builder::skip(), but I'm fast losing interest in that, anyway. Thanks, Anonymous Monk. Cheers, Rob Update: Thinking about this solution a little more, there's a couple of minor quibbles, iinm. Firstly, providing a return message is pointless, since one never gets to see it. Secondly, there's no acknowledgement of the fact that any tests have been skipped. (Still ... it's a rather clean solution.)	[reply]
Re^3: Test::Builder::skip() not dwimming. by chromatic (Archbishop) on Sep 03, 2008 at 18:01 UTC
Firstly, providing a return message is pointless, since one never gets to see it. Secondly, there's no acknowledgement of the fact that any tests have been skipped. Call `diag()` first, then return.	[reply] [d/l]