Builds should make and run test_bitcoin by default #1753

At least for non-cross compiles it really makes no sense to skip test_bitcoin as is. It's a fast and useful test and every build should have the benefit of it. Developers doing rapid compile cycles could turn it off.

This is non-standard build behavior for a package. Most packages require an additional "make test" or "make check" step.

On a slower laptop or VM, this adds significantly to build time.

Not so sure about this one.

@jgarzik Perhaps, but most packages aren't currencies where a mis-compilation can make tens of thousands of dollars worth of data go irrecoverably poof. Giving it the standard 'check' name and having the build process yell at you to run it would be not horrible half-step perhaps.

Not even OpenSSL runs tests by default :)

ACK the half-step...

I'm ok with building tests by default. But running any code by default sounds a bit fishy to me. Currently the tests are really fast, but it is a certainty that it will become slower when tests are added.

Also when building in an IDE such as qt creator, I'm not sure what the behavior will be.

Adding a make "check" or "test" to start it is a good idea though. And if you want, add a special build rule that builds the executable AND test and subsequently tests. But please don't make it the default with make.

Implemented make test/check; closing (no consensus on building/running unit tests by default).