autoconf: Autotest Logs

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1 19.1.2 Autotest Logs
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1 
1 When run, the test suite creates a log file named after itself, e.g., a
1 test suite named `testsuite' creates `testsuite.log'.  It contains a
1 lot of information, usually more than maintainers actually need, but
1 therefore most of the time it contains all that is needed:
1 
1 command line arguments
1      A bad but unfortunately widespread habit consists of setting
1      environment variables before the command, such as in
1      `CC=my-home-grown-cc ./testsuite'.  The test suite does not know
1      this change, hence (i) it cannot report it to you, and (ii) it
1      cannot preserve the value of `CC' for subsequent runs.  Autoconf
1      faced exactly the same problem, and solved it by asking users to
1      pass the variable definitions as command line arguments.  Autotest
1      requires this rule, too, but has no means to enforce it; the log
1      then contains a trace of the variables that were changed by the
1      user.
1 
1 `ChangeLog' excerpts
1      The topmost lines of all the `ChangeLog' files found in the source
1      hierarchy.  This is especially useful when bugs are reported
1      against development versions of the package, since the version
1      string does not provide sufficient information to know the exact
1      state of the sources the user compiled.  Of course, this relies on
1      the use of a `ChangeLog'.
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1 build machine
1      Running a test suite in a cross-compile environment is not an easy
1      task, since it would mean having the test suite run on a machine
1      BUILD, while running programs on a machine HOST.  It is much
1      simpler to run both the test suite and the programs on HOST, but
1      then, from the point of view of the test suite, there remains a
1      single environment, HOST = BUILD.  The log contains relevant
1      information on the state of the BUILD machine, including some
1      important environment variables.
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1 tested programs
1      The absolute file name and answers to `--version' of the tested
1      programs (see ⇒Writing Testsuites, `AT_TESTED').
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1 configuration log
1      The contents of `config.log', as created by `configure', are
1      appended.  It contains the configuration flags and a detailed
1      report on the configuration itself.
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