Re: Status of the test framework project

[Werner LEMBERG]

> What is the status of the test framework project?

Dormant.

> It was attempted during GSoC 2020 but the submitted code does not
> satisfy one of the design criteria: just work.  Several parts of the
> project can be improved.

I fully agree.  Collaboration with the student was difficult,
unfortunately.

> - Expensive Microsoft Azure nodes can be replaced with local
>   GNU/Linux boxes. While the computing requirements of the project
>   are moderate, keeping raster data in cloud storage is
>   unaffordable.
>
> - The general purpose image comparison can be replaced with more
>   finely tuned solutions. The bmpcmp utility that is used by
>   Ghostscript developers is a good starting point.
>
> - The UI can be more sophisticated.
>
> - There is no test case collection.
>
> - The project is abandoned by the author. There's no new commits
>   after the official end of the project.

I fully agree with your analysis.

> If the test framework project is re-offered in 2021, it could be
> done better.

Yes, probably.  This would be the third attempt, then :-)

AFAICS, what was done during GSoC 2020 looks promising, so we would
need a dedicated student to continue the work.

By the way, GSoC 2021 will work differently: The available time for
students gets halved; this implies smaller projects.  In other words,
what you suggest might indeed be a good solution.


    Werner