[boost] Beta posted for new regression tests

From: Beman Dawes (bdawes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2002-07-23 08:36:50

As the Boost regression tests have grown in size, and more of the Boost 
libraries require a shared library be built first, a new regression test 
framework was needed.

Dave, Rene, and others working on the Boost.Build system have provided that 
new framework.

But just running the tests isn't enough; if it isn't easy to see what tests 
are failing and why, problems just don't get fixed. I've also worried that 
compiler warnings were not being acted on often enough, probably because 
the warnings were buried so deeply in log files that developers never saw 
them.

Accordingly, the Compiler Status report has been upgraded.

* The old Pass/Fail result reporting has been replaced by:

      Pass - The test passes and there are no warning messages.
      Warn - The test passes, but there are warning messages.
      Fail - The test fails.
      Missing - No test results available (probably shared library
                failed to build)

* If warning or error messages are available, the result is hyper-linked to 
an entry in a status file, also in HTML format.  The hope is that by making 
it very easy (one click!) to view the warning or error message, it will be 
acted upon more often.

* It is possible to vary the Status Report; tests which pass on all 
compilers can be omitted for example.  For daily reporting, we probably 
don't want to bother with tests that pass all compilers.

A beta has been posted at http://www.esva.net/~beman/jam_regr.html

It only covers three compilers, but should be enough to get the flavor.

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

--Beman