Re: Using standard testsuites

I wonder if the omission would have shown up had test coverage (utilising Devel::Cover) been generated ? I suspect it may have given some indication...

Having said that, it has to be taken on trust that a used CPAN module passes the tests defined its own test suite (c/w say mod::Test::Unit - which tests a module and all its ancestors!!) - hence maybe there's a case for all CPAN modules to utilise/generate test coverage figures - thus imbuing more to the test results.

After all, as you've demonstrated, what use is 100% pass rate if test(s) being run are flawed &/or incomplete ?

A user level that continues to overstate my experience :-))

Comment on Re: Using standard testsuites

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Re^2: Using standard testsuites by DrHyde (Prior) on Apr 29, 2009 at 10:40 UTC
Devel::Cover is a fabulous thing, and has helped me find and squash obscure bugs that weren't covered by my tests, and I'm starting to add it to my distributions as and when I have to hack on them. But it's not a panacea. It will, for example, flag all sorts of tiny conditions that a conscientious programmer puts in for things like `open(...) \|\| die(...)` but really aren't worth bothering with testing. It will flag things that not only aren't worth bothering with, but actually can't be tested on your machine, such as patches that people sent you to make your code work on other platforms. Seperating the coverage wheat from the chaff is rather time-consuming.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^3: Using standard testsuites by Bloodnok (Vicar) on Apr 29, 2009 at 10:50 UTC
I agree, it [Devel::Cover] is most definitely not a panacea - I suggested it merely as a means to improve the end result - where the end result is determined as a fit-for-purpose test suite. Maybe it's just me, but I invariably test _all_ paths thro' the code - especially error paths in cases where exception classes are in use. Having said that, your point about untestable code is well made and indeed, taken. A user level that continues to overstate my experience :-))	[reply]
Re^2: Using standard testsuites by Tux (Canon) on Apr 28, 2009 at 16:54 UTC
Devel::Cover is certainly in the pen. One of the first things was to add that target to `Makefile.PL`, as I have for all my modules. `make cover` is almost a second nature by now :). In this case it would not have shown the error, as DBD::File is not part of DBD::CSV, but stowed away in the bowels of DBI. Enjoy, Have FUN! H.Merijn	[reply] [d/l] [select]