yaze/docs/A1-testing-guide.md

Testing Guide

Comprehensive testing framework with efficient CI/CD integration and ROM-dependent test separation.

Test Categories

Stable Tests (STABLE)

Always run in CI/CD - Required for releases

• AsarWrapperTest: Core Asar functionality tests
• SnesTileTest: SNES tile format handling
• CompressionTest: Data compression/decompression
• SnesPaletteTest: SNES palette operations
• HexTest: Hexadecimal utilities
• AsarIntegrationTest: Asar integration without ROM dependencies

Characteristics:

• Fast execution (< 30 seconds total)
• No external dependencies (ROMs, complex setup)
• High reliability and deterministic results

ROM-Dependent Tests (ROM_DEPENDENT)

Only run in development with available ROM files

• AsarRomIntegrationTest: Real ROM patching and symbol extraction
• ROM-based integration tests: Tests requiring actual game ROM files

Characteristics:

• Require specific ROM files to be present
• Test real-world functionality
• Automatically skipped in CI if ROM files unavailable

Experimental Tests (EXPERIMENTAL)

Run separately, allowed to fail

• CpuTest: 65816 CPU emulation tests
• Spc700Test: SPC700 audio processor tests
• ApuTest: Audio Processing Unit tests
• PpuTest: Picture Processing Unit tests

Characteristics:

• May be unstable due to emulation complexity
• Test advanced/experimental features
• Allowed to fail without blocking releases

Command Line Usage

# Run only stable tests (release-ready)
ctest --test-dir build --label-regex "STABLE"

# Run experimental tests (allowed to fail)
ctest --test-dir build --label-regex "EXPERIMENTAL"

# Run Asar-specific tests
ctest --test-dir build -R "*Asar*"

# Run tests excluding ROM-dependent ones
ctest --test-dir build --label-exclude "ROM_DEPENDENT"

# Run with specific preset
ctest --preset stable
ctest --preset experimental

CMake Presets

# Development workflow
cmake --preset dev
cmake --build --preset dev
ctest --preset dev

# CI workflow  
cmake --preset ci
cmake --build --preset ci
ctest --preset ci

# Release workflow
cmake --preset release
cmake --build --preset release
ctest --preset stable

Writing Tests

Stable Tests

TEST(SnesTileTest, UnpackBppTile) {
    std::vector<uint8_t> tile_data = {0xAA, 0x55, 0xAA, 0x55};
    std::vector<uint8_t> result = UnpackBppTile(tile_data, 2);
    EXPECT_EQ(result.size(), 64);
    // Test specific pixel values...
}

ROM-Dependent Tests

YAZE_ROM_TEST(AsarIntegration, RealRomPatching) {
    auto rom_data = TestRomManager::LoadTestRom();
    if (!rom_data.has_value()) {
        GTEST_SKIP() << "ROM file not available";
    }
    
    AsarWrapper wrapper;
    wrapper.Initialize();
    
    auto result = wrapper.ApplyPatch("test.asm", *rom_data);
    EXPECT_TRUE(result.ok());
}

Experimental Tests

TEST(CpuTest, InstructionExecution) {
    // Complex emulation tests
    // May be timing-sensitive or platform-dependent
}

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

# Main CI pipeline
- name: Run Stable Tests
  run: ctest --label-regex "STABLE"

# Experimental tests (allowed to fail)
- name: Run Experimental Tests
  run: ctest --label-regex "EXPERIMENTAL"
  continue-on-error: true

Test Execution Strategy

1. Stable tests run first - Quick feedback for developers
2. Experimental tests run in parallel - Don't block on unstable tests
3. ROM tests skipped - No dependency on external files
4. Selective test execution - Only run relevant tests for changes

Test Development Guidelines

Writing Stable Tests

• Fast execution: Aim for < 1 second per test
• No external dependencies: Self-contained test data
• Deterministic: Same results every run
• Core functionality: Test essential features only

Writing ROM-Dependent Tests

• Use TestRomManager: Proper ROM file handling
• Graceful skipping: Skip if ROM not available
• Real-world scenarios: Test with actual game data
• Label appropriately: Always include ROM_DEPENDENT label

Writing Experimental Tests

• Complex scenarios: Multi-component integration
• Advanced features: Emulation, complex algorithms
• Performance tests: May vary by system
• GUI components: May require display context

Performance and Maintenance

Regular Review

• Monthly review of experimental test failures
• Promote stable experimental tests to stable category
• Deprecate obsolete tests that no longer provide value
• Update test categorization as features mature

Performance Monitoring

• Track test execution times for CI efficiency
• Identify slow tests for optimization or recategorization
• Monitor CI resource usage and adjust parallelism
• Benchmark critical path tests for performance regression