terminal/tools/TestTableWriter

author	created on	last updated
Carlos Zamora @carlos-zamora	2021-08-05	2021-08-05

Test Table Writer

The Test Table Writer was written as a method to generate UI Automation tests for OpenConsole. UI Automation has a lot of corner cases, so we developed this workflow to simplify storing and updating these test cases (particularly revolving around movement).

How to use it

1. Update UiaTests.csv:
   • This file is used to store the tests in a compact format. The defined columns include...
     • Degenerate: is this a degenerate range?
     • Position: see the position chart below
     • TextUnit: what text unit to move by
     • MoveAmount: how many times to move
     • Start: the start endpoint of the text range. Represented by a variable name used to signify a position in the buffer. See the variable heuristics section below.
     • End: the start endpoint of the text range. Represented by a variable name used to signify a position in the buffer. See the variable heuristics section below.
     • Result_MoveAmount: the expected amount to have moved by
     • Result_Start: the expected position of the start endpoint after executing the move operation
     • Result_End: the expected position of the end endpoint after executing the move operation
     • Skip: skip the test. Can be used for failing tests.
   • Each row represents a new test in a compact format.
   • Use the position chart and the variable heuristics below to add more tests easily.
2. Run GenerateTests.ps1
   • GenerateTests.ps1 will load UiaTests.csv and export the tests and any necessary variables to "src\interactivity\win32\ut_interactivity_win32\GeneratedUiaTextRangeMovementTests.g.cpp".
3. Build and run the tests
   • Build UiaTextRangeTests
   • Go to bin\x64\Debug
   • Run clear; .\TE.exe /name:*UiaTextRangeTests*GeneratedMovementTests* .\Conhost.Interactivity.Win32.Unit.Tests.dll in PowerShell
4. If the tests pass, upload any changes to UiaTests.csv and GeneratedUiaTextRangeMovementTests.g.cpp. Be sure to run the code formatter.

Helpful tips

• How to verify a test is authored correctly
  • use MS Word to generate some text (try typing "=lorem(5,5)" then pressing enter to generate text)
  • use Accessibility Insights to run the UIA API on MS Word's ITextProvider
    • if you create a selection (or move the cursor), then tell Accessibility Insights to get the "Selection" range (or refresh it), you can easily set up a test case
• Run the tests via Visual Studio
  • In the Solution Explorer, right-click Interactivity.Win32.Tests.Unit and select "Set as Startup Project"
  • right-click it again and select "Properties"
  • In the Debugging section, set..
    • "Command" --> $(OutDir)/TE.exe
    • "Command Arguments" --> $(TargetPath) /name:*uiatextrange*generated* /inproc

Position chart

The text buffer is assumed to be partially filled. Specifically, the top half of the text buffer contains text, and each row is filled with 9 segments of alternating text. For visualization, the ascii diagram below shows what the text buffer may look like.

+---------------------------+
|1XX   XXX   X2X   XXX   XXX|
|XXX   XXX   XXX   XXX   XXX|
|XXX   XXX   X3X   XXX   XXX|
|XXX   XXX   XXX   XXX   XXX|
|XXX   XXX   X4X   XXX   XX5|
|6                          |
|                           |
|             7             |
|                           |
|                          8|
+---------------------------+
9

The following positions are being tested:

1. origin: buffer origin
2. midTop: middle of the top line
3. midHistory: middle of the history
4. midDocEnd: middle of the last line of text
5. lastCharPos: last character in the buffer
6. docEnd: one past the last line of text
7. midEmptySpace: middle of the empty space in the buffer
8. bufferEnd: end of the buffer
9. endExclusive: exclusive end of the buffer

This is intended to provide adequate testing coverage for GH#6986.

Variable Heuristics

Each position above already has a predefined variable name. However, a few heuristics are used to define new variables based on the standard variables above.

• <name>Left: the left-most position on the same line as <name>
• <name>P<number>C, <name>M<number>C:
  • <name>: start at the position of <name>
  • P (or M): move forwards (aka "plus") by a certain amount (M is used to move backwards [aka "minus"])
  • <number>: how much to move forwards by
  • C: move by character. For simplicity, assumes that each character is one-cell wide.
• <name>P<number>L, <name>M<number>L:
  • same as above, except move by line. For simplicity, assumes that you won't hit a buffer boundary.

Helpful terms and concepts

• degenerate: the text range encompasses no text. Also, means the start and end endpoints are the same.
• TextUnit: a heuristic for how much to move by. Possible values include TextUnit_Character, TextUnit_Word, and TextUnit_Line. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/winauto/uiauto-uiautomationtextunits for more details.