ffmpeg/doc/fate.texi

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@settitle FFmpeg Automated Testing Environment
@titlepage
@center @titlefont{FFmpeg Automated Testing Environment}
@end titlepage

@node Top
@top

@contents

@chapter Introduction

FATE is an extended regression suite on the client-side and a means
for results aggregation and presentation on the server-side.

The first part of this document explains how you can use FATE from
your FFmpeg source directory to test your ffmpeg binary. The second
part describes how you can run FATE to submit the results to FFmpeg's
FATE server.

In any way you can have a look at the publicly viewable FATE results
by visiting this website:

@url{http://fate.ffmpeg.org/}

This is especially recommended for all people contributing source
code to FFmpeg, as it can be seen if some test on some platform broke
with their recent contribution. This usually happens on the platforms
the developers could not test on.

The second part of this document describes how you can run FATE to
submit your results to FFmpeg's FATE server. If you want to submit your
results be sure to check that your combination of CPU, OS and compiler
is not already listed on the above mentioned website.

In the third part you can find a comprehensive listing of FATE makefile
targets and variables.


@chapter Using FATE from your FFmpeg source directory

If you want to run FATE on your machine you need to have the samples
in place. You can get the samples via the build target fate-rsync.
Use this command from the top-level source directory:

@example
make fate-rsync SAMPLES=fate-suite/
make fate       SAMPLES=fate-suite/
@end example

The above commands set the samples location by passing a makefile
variable via command line. It is also possible to set the samples
location at source configuration time by invoking configure with
@option{--samples=<path to the samples directory>}. Afterwards you can
invoke the makefile targets without setting the @var{SAMPLES} makefile
variable. This is illustrated by the following commands:

@example
./configure --samples=fate-suite/
make fate-rsync
make fate
@end example

Yet another way to tell FATE about the location of the sample
directory is by making sure the environment variable FATE_SAMPLES
contains the path to your samples directory. This can be achieved
by e.g. putting that variable in your shell profile or by setting
it in your interactive session.

@example
FATE_SAMPLES=fate-suite/ make fate
@end example

@float NOTE
Do not put a '~' character in the samples path to indicate a home
directory. Because of shell nuances, this will cause FATE to fail.
@end float

Beware that some assertions are disabled by default, so mind setting
@option{--assert-level=<level>} at configuration time, e.g. when seeking
the highest possible test coverage:
@example
./configure --assert-level=2
@end example
Note that raising the assert level could have a performance impact.

To get the complete list of tests, run the command:
@example
make fate-list
@end example

You can specify a subset of tests to run by specifying the
corresponding elements from the list with the @code{fate-} prefix,
e.g. as in:
@example
make fate-ffprobe_compact fate-ffprobe_xml
@end example

This makes it easier to run a few tests in case of failure without
running the complete test suite.

To use a custom wrapper to run the test, pass @option{--target-exec} to
@command{configure} or set the @var{TARGET_EXEC} Make variable.


@chapter Submitting the results to the FFmpeg result aggregation server

To submit your results to the server you should run fate through the
shell script @file{tests/fate.sh} from the FFmpeg sources. This script needs
to be invoked with a configuration file as its first argument.

@example
tests/fate.sh /path/to/fate_config
@end example

A configuration file template with comments describing the individual
configuration variables can be found at @file{doc/fate_config.sh.template}.

@ifhtml
The mentioned configuration template is also available here:
@verbatiminclude fate_config.sh.template
@end ifhtml

Create a configuration that suits your needs, based on the configuration
template. The @env{slot} configuration variable can be any string that is not
yet used, but it is suggested that you name it adhering to the following
pattern @samp{@var{arch}-@var{os}-@var{compiler}-@var{compiler version}}. The
configuration file itself will be sourced in a shell script, therefore all
shell features may be used. This enables you to setup the environment as you
need it for your build.

For your first test runs the @env{fate_recv} variable should be empty or
commented out. This will run everything as normal except that it will omit
the submission of the results to the server. The following files should be
present in $workdir as specified in the configuration file:

@itemize
    @item configure.log
    @item compile.log
    @item test.log
    @item report
    @item version
@end itemize

When you have everything working properly you can create an SSH key pair
and send the public key to the FATE server administrator who can be contacted
at the email address @email{fate-admin@@ffmpeg.org}.

Configure your SSH client to use public key authentication with that key
when connecting to the FATE server. Also do not forget to check the identity
of the server and to accept its host key. This can usually be achieved by
running your SSH client manually and killing it after you accepted the key.
The FATE server's fingerprint is:

@table @samp
@item RSA
   d3:f1:83:97:a4:75:2b:a6:fb:d6:e8:aa:81:93:97:51
@item ECDSA
   76:9f:68:32:04:1e:d5:d4:ec:47:3f:dc:fc:18:17:86
@end table

If you have problems connecting to the FATE server, it may help to try out
the @command{ssh} command with one or more @option{-v} options. You should
get detailed output concerning your SSH configuration and the authentication
process.

The only thing left is to automate the execution of the fate.sh script and
the synchronisation of the samples directory.

@chapter Uploading new samples to the fate suite

If you need a sample uploaded send a mail to samples-request.

This is for developers who have an account on the fate suite server.
If you upload new samples, please make sure they are as small as possible,
space on each client, network bandwidth and so on benefit from smaller test cases.
Also keep in mind older checkouts use existing sample files, that means in
practice generally do not replace, remove or overwrite files as it likely would
break older checkouts or releases.
Also all needed samples for a commit should be uploaded, ideally 24
hours, before the push.
If you need an account for frequently uploading samples or you wish to help
others by doing that send a mail to ffmpeg-devel.

@example
#First update your local samples copy:
rsync -vauL --chmod=Dg+s,Duo+x,ug+rw,o+r,o-w,+X fate-suite.ffmpeg.org:/home/samples/fate-suite/ ~/fate-suite

#Then do a dry run checking what would be uploaded:
rsync -vanL --no-g --chmod=Dg+s,Duo+x,ug+rw,o+r,o-w,+X ~/fate-suite/ fate-suite.ffmpeg.org:/home/samples/fate-suite

#Upload the files:
rsync -vaL  --no-g --chmod=Dg+s,Duo+x,ug+rw,o+r,o-w,+X ~/fate-suite/ fate-suite.ffmpeg.org:/home/samples/fate-suite
@end example


@chapter FATE makefile targets and variables

@section Makefile targets

@table @option
@item fate-rsync
Download/synchronize sample files to the configured samples directory.

@item fate-list
Will list all fate/regression test targets.

@item fate
Run the FATE test suite (requires the fate-suite dataset).
@end table

@section Makefile variables

@table @env
@item V
Verbosity level, can be set to 0, 1 or 2.
    @itemize
        @item 0: show just the test arguments
        @item 1: show just the command used in the test
        @item 2: show everything
    @end itemize

@item SAMPLES
Specify or override the path to the FATE samples at make time, it has a
meaning only while running the regression tests.

@item THREADS
Specify how many threads to use while running regression tests, it is
quite useful to detect thread-related regressions.

This variable may be set to the string "random", optionally followed by a
number, like "random99", This will cause each test to use a random number of
threads. If a number is specified, it is used as a maximum number of threads,
otherwise 16 is the maximum.

In case a test fails, the thread count used for it will be written into the
errfile.

@item THREAD_TYPE
Specify which threading strategy test, either @samp{slice} or @samp{frame},
by default @samp{slice+frame}

@item CPUFLAGS
Specify CPU flags.

@item TARGET_EXEC
Specify or override the wrapper used to run the tests.
The @env{TARGET_EXEC} option provides a way to run FATE wrapped in
@command{valgrind}, @command{qemu-user} or @command{wine} or on remote targets
through @command{ssh}.

@item GEN
Set to @samp{1} to generate the missing or mismatched references.

@item HWACCEL
Specify which hardware acceleration to use while running regression tests,
by default @samp{none} is used.

@item KEEP
Set to @samp{1} to keep temp files generated by fate test(s) when test is successful.
Default is @samp{0}, which removes these files. Files are always kept when a test
fails.

@end table

@section Examples

@example
make V=1 SAMPLES=/var/fate/samples THREADS=2 CPUFLAGS=mmx fate
@end example