The niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools repository provides a common set of tools to automate testing NI VeriStand custom devices, including both unit and system tests. The intended audience includes custom device developers and integrators.
The source for this repository is written in LabVIEW 2020, but should be forward compatible.
The following top-level dependencies are required to build and use the repository:
- NI VeriStand >= 2020
- LabVIEW Command Line Interface
- JKI VI Tester >= 3.0.2.294-1
- VI Tester JUnit XML Test Results >= 2.0.1.16
The testing tools use VI Tester to execute automated tests. VI Tester makes it easy to write unit tests. The VeriStand extensions in the niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools repository make it possible to write system tests that deploy VeriStand system definition files as part of the test setup.
To create a new unit test, create a VI Tester test case which derives from TestCase. A test case may define TestCase.setUp and TestCase.tearDown methods which run before and after each test. A test may call any of the TestCase.pass or TestCase.fail methods to assert preconditions and generate test failures if invalid.
To create a new system test, create a VI Tester test case which derives from VeriStandTestCase. A test case may define VeriStandTestCase.setUp which calls VeriStandTestCase.OpenVeriStandConnection to launch VeriStand and deploy a VeriStand system definition. In this situation, a test must define VeriStandTestCase.tearDown which calls VeriStandTestCase.CloseVeriStandConnection to undeploy the VeriStand system definition.
See the VI Tester documentation for more information on creating new tests.
Test may be run from the LabVIEW editor or the command line. The LabVIEW editor is recommended for interactive test development and debugging. The command line is recommended for automated build and test systems.
To run existing tests from the LabVIEW editor, launch the VI Tester user interface by selecting Tools > VI Tester > Test VIs... from the LabVIEW menu. VI Tester will enumerate all the test cases in the project. Click the Run all tests or Run selected test button to run tests.
See the VI Tester documentation for more information on running existing tests.
To run existing tests from the command line, run the VI Tester operation using LabVIEWCLI.exe and specify the path to one or more test cases:
LabVIEWCLI.exe
-OperationName RunVITester
-TestPath <Test case path>
[-ReportPath <XML report path>]
[-AdditionalOperationDirectory <RunVITester operation path>]
[-LabVIEWPath <LabVIEW executable path>]
To run the test cases for the niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools repository, use the following command line argument (assuming the niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools repository is cloned to the folder C:\Git\VeriStand\niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools):
LabVIEWCLI.exe
-OperationName RunVITester
-TestPath "C:\Git\VeriStand\niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools\VeriStandTestUtilities\Tests\Unit\VeriStandTestUtilitiesTests.lvclass"
-TestPath "C:\Git\VeriStand\niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools\VeriStandTestCase\Tests\Unit\VeriStandTestCaseTests.lvclass"
-AdditionalOperationDirectory "C:\Git\VeriStand\niveristand-custom-device-testing-tools\RunVITester"
Specify absolute file paths for the path parameters. Specify the optional LabVIEWPath parameter to launch a specific version of LabVIEW.
System definition files are commited with ephemeral configuration such as IP addresses. Instead of modifying the system definition files or test VIs on each test machine, a user can update these properties with a local configuration file. The local configuration file contains a list of overrides and optional test properties. The overrides are applied and the merged system definition file is deployed.
[Overrides]
"Targets/Controller/Custom Devices/SLSC/NI SLSC-12001/user.CD.Chassis IP Address" = "10.2.104.19"
[Properties]
"Loopback Resource Name" = "rio://10.2.104.35/RIO0"
By default the testing tools will load the local configuration file, named config.ini, which is saved next to system definition file. Alternatively a user can specify one or more local configuration files as an optional parameter to VeriStandTestCase.OpenVeriStandConnection.
Branch rebasing and other history modifications will be listed here, with several notable exceptions:
- Branches prefixed with
dev/may be rebased, overwritten, or deleted at any time. - Pull requests may be squashed on merge.
The NI VeriStand Custom Device Testing Tools are licensed under an MIT-style license (see LICENSE). Other incorporated projects may be licensed under different licenses. All licenses allow for non-commercial and commercial use.