[Scons-dev] Testing non-core tools

[Russel Winder]

Dirk,

On 2013-07-27, at 13:30+0100, Dirk Bächle <tshortik at gmx.de> wrote:


> I don't want to appear nit-picky, but when you set up an SConstruct for a project that uses a locally packaged Tool module (like your protoc.py, in the top-level folder), you have to specify "toolpath=['.']" as well. ;)


Not not-picky at all, absolutely right as stated. However I am not sure you understood what I meant!

"end users" will likely have protoc (as a package or protoc.py as a module) in their search path and so not need to specify said path. This I think is the normal case. Clearly if the user doesn't have to the in their tool path it must be specified. Tool sources are abnormal in respect of code organization, they should therefore admit of non-standard support. 


> This would mean to implicitly handle external Tools, as if they were in-core. I'm not sure we want it that way...comments?

> I'll have a look and check whether it's technically possible (my tummy says "yes").


But the need to specify the -e to test non-core tool packages is already a marker that they are being handled specially. Also from the above tool sources are special structures and deserve special support. Given tests must run under the test framework and the framework knows it is doing something special, special support seems eminently allowable.

There is a conventional layout already in place so I think if it is at all possible the -e should prepend '.' to the tool path.

Russel.
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