build: Create test utility library from src/test/util/ #17401

1. 
   MarcoFalke commented at 1:09 pm on November 7, 2019: member

   The purpose of the good first issue label is to highlight which issues are suitable for a new contributor without a deep understanding of the codebase.

   Useful skills

   • Experience with autotools build systems

   Task

   The test utility library in https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/tree/master/src/test/util is currently only a folder and each module in there is compiled for each target that uses it. For example, setup_common is compiled 27 times (for the fuzz suite) and another 3 times for the other tests (bench, unit test, gui). To speed up the compilation and clarify build dependencies, this folder should be transformed into an actual library.

   Because our test binaries should test as much as possible, this library may depend on any Bitcoin Core library or third party library (except boost-unit-test). It should be built when at least one target that requires it is built, skipped otherwise.

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2. MarcoFalke added the label good first issue on Nov 7, 2019
3. MarcoFalke added the label Build system on Nov 7, 2019
4. MarcoFalke added the label Tests on Nov 7, 2019
5. 
   brakmic commented at 7:54 pm on November 20, 2019: contributor

   Hi,

   I’ve started working on this. Not sure if I understood the goals correctly (and if I should write anything here), but I can at least generate a static lib based on src/test/util sources. I’ve also removed the many src/util/test headers from Makefile.test.include, because I don’t need them anymore to compile individual tests. Instead, I’ve put into each test’s LDADD the libtest_util.a, that is $(LIBTEST_UTIL). However, I’m not quite sure if this is the correct way to do it.

   There’s also a new Makefile.test_util.include.

   Not sure if another Makefile would be allowed, but before I expand the already existing (and complex) ones, I think a small, separate Makefile is better.

   Here the link to the commit in my forked repo: https://github.com/brakmic/bitcoin/commit/3f4b5e3a0b93c6b528bf707fd38eb63c0e29efa9

   I’m working on macOS Catalina 10.15.1 with clang 9.0.0.

   Regards,

6. 
   MarcoFalke commented at 8:08 pm on November 20, 2019: member

   Overall looks good, but the bench and gui tests are not using it?
7. 
   brakmic commented at 8:23 pm on November 20, 2019: contributor

   Thanks! I’ve included the missing references in bench & qttest.

   Here’s the commit: https://github.com/brakmic/bitcoin/commit/03002e3683c05dbd769efc7b2df206e0798bab3a

   I’ve compiled bench/qttest and could execute them.

8. 
   brakmic commented at 8:24 pm on November 20, 2019: contributor

   Oops, have forgotten to remove TEST_BITCOIN_H. Will do it now.
9. 
   brakmic commented at 8:28 pm on November 20, 2019: contributor

   Done.

   https://github.com/brakmic/bitcoin/commit/10c270bf5b0d5f444f6178592330320710b27261

10. 
    MarcoFalke commented at 8:33 pm on November 20, 2019: member

    Ok, looks like you can open a pull request to get more review on it :+1:
11. 
    brakmic commented at 8:34 pm on November 20, 2019: contributor

    Many thanks. Will look into contribution guide first. ;)
12. MarcoFalke referenced this in commit b983e7e172 on Nov 22, 2019
13. MarcoFalke closed this on Nov 22, 2019

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14. MarcoFalke locked this on Dec 16, 2021

Contributors
MarcoFalke brakmic

Labels
Build system Tests good first issue