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Lumberyard
User Guide (Version 1.13)

AWS Documentation » Amazon Lumberyard » User Guide » Profiling, Testing, and Debugging Game Projects » Using AZ Test Scanner

Using AZ Test Scanner

The AZ test scanner is a tool for running unit tests that are built into Lumberyard libraries and executables. This tool simplifies testing by automatically finding libraries and executables to test. It also provides flexibility for programmers to focus on testing the parts of Lumberyard that they care about.

The AZ test scanner has two components:

  • An AZ test runner executable that loads libraries to test and capture the test results

  • An AZ test Python module that performs the scanning and reporting functions

Creating Unit and Integration Test Builds

Unit and integration tests are not included in Lumberyard builds by default as they increase the overall size of a game project. Test code can also have unexpected effects on performance. To build components with tests included, you can use a special test variant that works with each configuration.

To create test builds, use the Waf build system in the same way that you create regular builds. The only difference is that you add test to the platform. You can create a test build on Windows using one of the following examples: 

// Build with tests using debug configuration. Outputs to the \Bin64vc140.Debug.Test folder.
lmbr_waf.bat build_win_x64_vs2015_debug_test -p all

// Build with tests using profile configuration. Outputs to the \Bin64vc140.Test folder.
lmbr_waf.bat build_win_x64_vs2015_profile_test -p all

Note

Only Windows debug and profile builds are supported for testing. Other platforms are not supported. Release builds are not supported either.

For more information on writing tests, see Writing Tests for AzTest.

Running Unit and Integration Test Builds

A completed test build includes the file AzTestRunner.exe in the \Bin64vc140.Test folder. Although you can use this to run tests, we recommend that you use the test scanner that uses AzTestRunner.exe in an automated manner.

You have two ways to use the scanner:

  • Include the AZ test module in your Python path: python -m aztest.

  • Use the lmbr_test.cmd script located in the Lumberyard \dev folder. This automatically includes the AZ test module in your Python path and sends all script parameters to the module.

The following example uses the lmbr_test.cmd scripts. The scanner has several options but only requires one parameter to operate: the build directory to scan. You can use the following command to scan your entire test build: 

// Scan entire test build and run all found tests
lmbr_test.cmd scan --dir Bin64vc140.Debug.Test

Note

The default scan tests libraries only. It does not attempt to test any executables it finds. This is because executables that are not set up to run tests interrupt the scanner until you close the application.

The scanner produces three types of files. All files are created in the current working directory from which the scanner is called:

  • The aztest.log file that contains a log of all test output

  • Several .xml files that contain the test results of each library and executable that has tests, time stamped by default

  • An .html file that contains a summary of the test results from the entire scan, time stamped by default

The full list of options is shown as follows:

The scanner runs only unit tests by default. This is because unit tests are designed to be fast and do not rely on engine resources. To run integration tests instead, use the --integ flag when calling the scanner: 

// Scan test build and run integration tests on CrySystem.dll
lmbr_test.cmd scan --dir Bin64vc140.Debug.Test --only CrySystem.dll --integ

Note

For best results, run integration tests on a single library or use a whitelist. Scanning the full build might take hours to complete.

Option Required? Description
--dir, -d Yes The directory to scan for tests.
--runner-path No Path to the AZ test runner executable (the default is to look in the directory specified by --dir).
--add-path No Adds path to system path before running tests; used for resolving library or executable dependencies.
--output-path No Sets the path for output folder prefix (the default is \dev\TestResults ).
--integ, -i No If set, runs integration tests instead of unit tests.
--no-timestamp No If set, removes the time stamp from output files.
--wait-for-debugger No If set, tells the AZ test runner executable to wait for a debugger to be attached before running tests.
--bootstrap-config No Path to a JSON configuration file for bootstrapping applications required by libraries.
--limit, -n No Sets a limit for the maximum number of modules to scan.
--only, -o No Sets a filter to run tests on only the specified library or executable name.
--whitelist-file No Path to a new line-delimited file used for whitelisting. The new line-delimited file allows for regular expressions when matching.
--blacklist-file No Path to a new line-delimited file used for blacklisting. The blacklist takes precedence over the whitelist. The new line-delimited file allows for regular expressions when matching.
--exe No If set, causes the scanner to call executables for testing. (The default is to test only libraries.)

The scanner also accepts additional parameters that are passed to the testing framework. For Lumberyard, GoogleTest, and GoogleMock for C++ are used for unit testing. You can type parameters in the scanner command line as shown in the following example: 

// Scan CrySystem.dll and shuffle the test order before running
lmbr_test.cmd scan --dir Bin64vc140.Test --only CrySystem.dll --gtest_shuffle

The scanner can also be called as a chained command using Waf. This means that you can build tests and run them using a single command line. The Waf command run_tests calls the scanner on the most recent build folder. For example: 

// Build a debug test build and then run tests in it
lmbr_waf.bat build_win_x64_vs2015_debug_test -p all run_tests

The run_tests command automatically points to the \Bin64vc140.Debug.Test folder to scan. It also uses the all option for whitelisting. The build step does not require the use of run_tests; it always matches the last build. You can also send all of the scanner parameters through using --test-params: 

// Run tests on the last build with additional parameters (use quotes to capture as string)
lmbr_waf.bat run_tests --test-params="--no-timestamp"

You can also use the --target flag to build and test just one module: 

lmbr_waf.bat build_win_x64_vs2015_debug_test -p all --target CrySystem run_tests

Whitelisting and Blacklisting

The test scanner includes the ability to use whitelist and blacklist files to filter out libraries and executables that you do not want to test. Both whitelisting and blacklisting are off by default unless the scanner finds a default whitelist or blacklist file, respectively. In all cases, modules that are blacklisted are never tested even if they are included in the whitelist.

Both whitelisting and blacklisting use a new line-delimited text file for defining what modules to scan. Each line is treated as a regular expression for matching, allowing for easy filtering by modules with similar names or in the same directory. Here is an example file: 

# List files directly (remember to escape backslashes in regex)
CrySystem.dll
rc\\ResourceCompilerPC.dll

# Match similar modules using regex (include all gem libraries)
Gem\..*\.dll

# Match all in a subdirectory using regex
EditorPlugins\\.*

To run the scanner using text files, use the following example:

lmbr_test.cmd scan --dir Bin64vc140.Test --whitelist-file my_whitelist.txt --blacklist-file my_blacklist.txt

You can specify as many whitelists or blacklists as you need. The patterns in each file are combined into one set. For example: 

lmbr_test.cmd scan --dir Bin64vc140.Test --whitelist-file whitelist1.txt --whitelist-file whitelist2.txt

To set a default whitelist that is always included, create a text file called lmbr_test_whitelist.txt. Place the text file in the root directory of the build (where lmbr_test.cmd is). The default blacklist is similarly called lmbr_test_blacklist.txt. A default blacklist is provided with the build to capture known libraries that do not need to be scanned.