Test bundles switch from runnable to repo

Earlier this week, I changed the build so that the test bundles are provided in a zipped p2 repository format. A p2 repository looks something like this

...
artifacts.jar
content.jar
features/org.eclipse.sdk.tests_3.6.0.N20091019-1735-9J9fG6sFIKSg8a7j2ZwWY0UAV4BV.jar
plugins/org.eclipse.ua.tests_3.3.300.N20091019-1735.jar
plugins/org.eclipse.jdt.debug.tests_3.1.100.N20091019-1735.jar
binary/
...

The build will install the appropriate test bundles in the eclipse install being tested using the p2 director. Previously, our test bundles were assembled in the runnable format like this

...
eclipse/plugins/org.eclipse.jdt.debug.tests_3.1.100.N20091019-1735/...
eclipse/plugins/org.eclipse.ua.tests_3.3.300.N20091019-1735/..
eclipse/features/org.eclipse.sdk.tests_3.6.0.N20091019-1735-9J9fG6sFIKSg8a7j2ZwWY0UAV4BV
...

and unzipped into the dropins folder. However, the dropins folder is really for legacy purposes. Disadvantages of using the dropins folder include

• It's to help those applications that expect that dropping a bunch of bundles into an install will work (!).
  
• All the bundles in the dropins folder are treated as optional bundles.
• You can't update the bundles in the dropins folder by using the UI, you are responsible for provisioning them.
  

The content of the org.eclipse.test framework bundle hasn't changed. However, if you're rerunning the Eclipse and Equinox projects' tests JUnit tests against your product, you'll need to install them into the eclipse your are testing using the p2 director. Unzipping the our JUnit bundles into the dropins folder won't work. Alternatively, you could use the reporunnable task to transform the repository into the old runnable format.

Why make this change? These days, I would expect that most users are installing bundles via a repository such as Galileo or one offered by a product team. Unzipping files is so Eclipse 1.0. So this will allow our tests to replicate the environment that reflects the reality of our users. As well, as I mentioned in my earlier post, we really need to run our tests in parallel on more machines to speed up the build process. Having the test bundles available in a repository, eventually in a shared location, is a step toward that goal.


References

Test bundles should be packaged as a repo

Supported dropins formats

repo2runnable task

Note: The Eclipse and Equinox projects provide their JUnit test bundles in the eclipse-Automated-Tests-${buildId}.zip in the eclipse-testing/eclipse-junit-tests-${buildId}.zip file that is available with every build.