Is it normal to execute integration tests in the build machine on each build or just unit tests?

Question

We have a discussion in our company regarding whenever to execute integration tests on the build machine or not.

My guess is that we should not do it but I don't have a strong reasoning supporting me. What are your thoughts?

Thanks.

Answer 1

I would run integration tests on the build server if they were of benefit. One of the main reasons for having a build server is to have confidence that the current builds works. I have in the past had two build configurations for a project (in TeamCity) where the first one would be the main build and would run the normal unit tests and the other configuration would run the integration tests. The main reason for this was feedback. The main build runs in a short about of time. The integration tests would take long and were run daily plus it could run on a different agent if needed.

Answer 2

By build machine do you mean a CI server (hudson/bamboo)?

It depends how long does it take to build the app with integration tests. If it's reasonably short time, say a couple of minutes, then I'd say there's no reason why you shouldn't execute integration tests. The decision also might depend on other factors, e.g. how many developers work on the project, how frequently the commit to repository. If the commits are infrequent then you might afford a longer feedback loop (longer running CI build) etc. If the build time is an issue than you might consider having a separate integration build.