tools/testing/selftests/README.txt

   1 Linux Kernel Selftests
   2
   3 The kernel contains a set of "self tests" under the tools/testing/selftests/
   4 directory. These are intended to be small unit tests to exercise individual
   5 code paths in the kernel.
   6
   7 On some systems, hot-plug tests could hang forever waiting for cpu and
   8 memory to be ready to be offlined. A special hot-plug target is created
   9 to run full range of hot-plug tests. In default mode, hot-plug tests run
  10 in safe mode with a limited scope. In limited mode, cpu-hotplug test is
  11 run on a single cpu as opposed to all hotplug capable cpus, and memory
  12 hotplug test is run on 2% of hotplug capable memory instead of 10%.
  13
  14 Running the selftests (hotplug tests are run in limited mode)
  15 =============================================================
  16
  17 To build the tests:
  18
  19   $ make -C tools/testing/selftests
  20
  21
  22 To run the tests:
  23
  24   $ make -C tools/testing/selftests run_tests
  25
  26 - note that some tests will require root privileges.
  27
  28 To run only tests targeted for a single subsystem: (including
  29 hotplug targets in limited mode)
  30
  31   $  make -C tools/testing/selftests TARGETS=cpu-hotplug run_tests
  32
  33 See the top-level tools/testing/selftests/Makefile for the list of all possible
  34 targets.
  35
  36 Running the full range hotplug selftests
  37 ========================================
  38
  39 To build the tests:
  40
  41   $ make -C tools/testing/selftests hotplug
  42
  43 To run the tests:
  44
  45   $ make -C tools/testing/selftests run_hotplug
  46
  47 - note that some tests will require root privileges.
  48
  49 Contributing new tests
  50 ======================
  51
  52 In general, the rules for for selftests are
  53
  54  * Do as much as you can if you're not root;
  55
  56  * Don't take too long;
  57
  58  * Don't break the build on any architecture, and
  59
  60  * Don't cause the top-level "make run_tests" to fail if your feature is
  61    unconfigured.