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diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/faq.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/faq.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..bf2095112d89 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/faq.rst @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 + +========================== +Frequently Asked Questions +========================== + +How is this different from Autotest, kselftest, etc? +==================================================== +KUnit is a unit testing framework. Autotest, kselftest (and some others) are +not. + +A `unit test <https://martinfowler.com/bliki/UnitTest.html>`_ is supposed to +test a single unit of code in isolation, hence the name. A unit test should be +the finest granularity of testing and as such should allow all possible code +paths to be tested in the code under test; this is only possible if the code +under test is very small and does not have any external dependencies outside of +the test's control like hardware. + +There are no testing frameworks currently available for the kernel that do not +require installing the kernel on a test machine or in a VM and all require +tests to be written in userspace and run on the kernel under test; this is true +for Autotest, kselftest, and some others, disqualifying any of them from being +considered unit testing frameworks. + +Does KUnit support running on architectures other than UML? +=========================================================== + +Yes, well, mostly. + +For the most part, the KUnit core framework (what you use to write the tests) +can compile to any architecture; it compiles like just another part of the +kernel and runs when the kernel boots. However, there is some infrastructure, +like the KUnit Wrapper (``tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py``) that does not support +other architectures. + +In short, this means that, yes, you can run KUnit on other architectures, but +it might require more work than using KUnit on UML. + +For more information, see :ref:`kunit-on-non-uml`. + +What is the difference between a unit test and these other kinds of tests? +========================================================================== +Most existing tests for the Linux kernel would be categorized as an integration +test, or an end-to-end test. + +- A unit test is supposed to test a single unit of code in isolation, hence the + name. A unit test should be the finest granularity of testing and as such + should allow all possible code paths to be tested in the code under test; this + is only possible if the code under test is very small and does not have any + external dependencies outside of the test's control like hardware. +- An integration test tests the interaction between a minimal set of components, + usually just two or three. For example, someone might write an integration + test to test the interaction between a driver and a piece of hardware, or to + test the interaction between the userspace libraries the kernel provides and + the kernel itself; however, one of these tests would probably not test the + entire kernel along with hardware interactions and interactions with the + userspace. +- An end-to-end test usually tests the entire system from the perspective of the + code under test. For example, someone might write an end-to-end test for the + kernel by installing a production configuration of the kernel on production + hardware with a production userspace and then trying to exercise some behavior + that depends on interactions between the hardware, the kernel, and userspace. |