ACATS 3.0 User's Guide
4.4 Test Program Format
Each test file is composed of a test prologue, documenting
the test, and the test code proper. All prologue lines are marked as
comments. (The prologue in files containing non-Ada code is marked according
to the comment conventions of the foreign language.)
The prologue for all tests is based on that of legacy
tests. Legacy tests are generally, but not entirely, consistent in their
use of the prologue. The format of the prologue between test files and
foundation files is slightly different.
The general format
of the prologue is as follows:
<file name>
The distribution name of the file containing this prologue.
DISCLAIMER
Use restrictions for ACATS tests; included in all tests.
OBJECTIVE
A statement of the test objective; included in all tests.
TEST DESCRIPTION
A short description of the design or strategy of the test or other pertinent
information. Included in most newer tests but not generally included
in legacy tests.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
optional – Included if the test has any special requirements
for processing. Normally, this section will be found only in Specialized
Needs Annex tests. For example, an Annex E test may check for the correct
implementation of partitions; the requirements for test partitioning
and what to use as a main subprogram in each partition would be documented
in this section.
TEST FILES
optional – Included if the test depends on multiple files;
identifies the component files of a multi-file test.
APPLICABILITY CRITERIA
optional – Specifies the conditions under which the test
can be ruled inapplicable.
PASS/FAIL CRITERIA
optional – Explains how to interpret compilation, binding,
and/or run-time results for grading the test.
MACRO SUBSTITUTIONS
optional – Identifies the macro symbol(s) in the file that
must be replaced and provides a brief description of what the replacement(s)
represent. Appears only in legacy tests.
CHANGE HISTORY
History of the test file. Included in all tests.
All tests have the line immediately after the disclaimer
marked --*. Modern tests have the line after the last prologue
line (before the first line of executable code) marked --!
No other comment lines are marked with those conventions, so the next
line after the disclaimer and the first line of code may be found quickly
with an editor search.
Some tests are composed of multiple files (other
than foundation code). Rather than repeating the complete prologue in
each file, an alternate approach has been used. One file (usually the
one containing the main subprogram or the first file in the set) has
the complete prologue; the other, related files have those sections that
apply to files (TEST FILES, CHANGE HISTORY) and refer to the file with
the complete prologue for the other sections.
