Where should paxexam tests reside?

Question

We're using paxexam 3.3.0 to test bundles running in Karaf 3.0.0 utilizing karafDistributionConfiguration() to deploy feature files. A typical usecase looks like:

Bundle 1 -- REST http service
Bundle 2 -- Service implementation calling external API
Bundle 3 -- Service implementation saving transaction record to DB
Bundle 4 -- Interfaces
Bundle 5 -- Data source

My question: Are there clear conventions for where paxexam integration test cases should reside? Should paxexam tests always live in a separate maven project? This certainly makes sense for a "full" integration test where several bundles are involved in a single test.

On the other hand, it might make sense to have simple, single-bundle integration tests as part of each maven project so that when I execute a build on a single project/bundle, I have the option of including integration tests specific to that bundle.

Thoughts? Or Gotchas I might run into down the line?

Answer 1

We are also using both options in Apache Sling, here's an example of each:

Pax Exam tests in a separate bundle:

https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/sling/trunk/installer/it

Pax Exam tests in the same bundle, using a bundle.file.name system property, set in the POM, to allow the tests to find the bundle that was just built:

https://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/sling/trunk/bundles/scripting/core - see the BindingsValuesProvidersByContextIT.java class.

I agree that both options are valid depending on how "big" the tests are and whether they test a single bundle or a combination of bundles.

Naming the tests classes with an IT suffix causes them to be executed by the failsafe plugin in the integration-tests phases, instead of surefire in the test phase.

Answer 2

Well, Pax Exam is designed for integration tests, therefore it's best practice to keep the Integration tests separated from the sources in a test-module. But it is possible to also use Pax-Exam in the same bundle, needs some extra tweeking though. You'll find a working sample in my blog and gihub project.
The specialties are about adding the classes which need testing into the pax-exam test-container, cause usually the bundle of the same project isn't existing yet.