Re: How might we mark a test suite isn't parallalizable?

On 05/02/2013 03:39 PM, brian d foy wrote:
> In HARNESS_OPTIONS we can set -jN to note we want parallel tests
> running, but how can a particular module, which might be buried in the
> dependency chain, tell the harness it can't do that?
> 
> It seems to me that by the time the tests are running, it's too late
> because they are already in parallel and the best we can do is issue a
> warning or decide to fail.

I spent considerable time researching the topic of partially-parallel
test suites in Perl. Some of research is published here:

http://mark.stosberg.com/blog/2012/08/running-perl-tests-in-parallel-with-prove-with-some-exceptions-2.html
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11977015/how-to-run-some-but-not-all-tests-in-a-perl-test-suite-in-parallel

In the end, the most efficient path forward for my particular case was
to look harder at the exceptional cases, and find ways to make them
parallel-safe.

Also, higher level automation like Jenkins or a wrapper script could be
used to first run all the tests that can be run in parallel, and then
run serial-only tests.

I have hope for better support within prove in the future, but
pragmatically for now I've find it easier to address through other parts
of the toolchain.

   Mark