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| author | Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org> | 2026-08-14 15:43:51 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org> | 2026-08-14 15:43:51 -0700 |
| commit | 9cc63f8bcd560c760d0b12e15bba8f81c86237cf (patch) | |
| tree | 3b5269b1bcf6714171754946367c51e0590f64da /Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-9cc63f8bcd560c760d0b12e15bba8f81c86237cf.tar.gz linux-stable-9cc63f8bcd560c760d0b12e15bba8f81c86237cf.zip | |
Merge branches 'expcb.2026.07.24a', 'misc.2026.07.30a', 'rcu-tasks.2026.07.30a', 'srcu.2026.08.11a' and 'torture.2026.08.14a' into HEADgrafted
Changes:
Make expedited grace periods expedite normal RCU callbacks
Miscellaneous fixes:
* Improve diagnostic output with character task states.
* Mark accesses to inform KCSAN of concurrency design.
* Move from kmalloc() to kmalloc_obj().
* Documentation updates.
* Improve handling of RCU deferred quiescent states.
* Clean up unused function arguments and structure fields.
* Reduce show_rcu_gp_kthreads() stack space.
Tasks RCU updates:
* Clean up after SRCU re-implementation of Tasks Trace RCU.
* Mark accesses to inform KCSAN of concurrency design.
* Add ->lazy_timer status to diagnostic output.
* Remove an unnecessary memory barrier.
* Fix a data race, courtesy of KCSAN.
* Documentation updates.
* Convert cond_resched_tasks_rcu_qs() from macro to static inline
function.
SRCU updates:
* Add Rust helpers for SRCU.
* Avoid losing queued work at cleanup_srcu_struct() time.
Torture-test updates:
* Preparation work for immediate RCU priority deboosting.
* Test RCU readers from real interrupt handlers (as opposed to softirq).
* Simplify code through use of cpumask_next_wrap().
* Improve diagnostic output with character task states.
* Add rcutorture.nwriters parameter to allow lightweight stall testing,
and rcutorture.stall_only to make doing so easier.
* Test an RCU Tasks Trace grace period implying an RCU grace period.
* Make RCU Tasks Trace torturing track reader batches.
* Fix a data race, courtesy of KCSAN.
* Plug a shuffle_tmp_mask memory leak on kthread spawn failure.
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst | 109 |
1 files changed, 109 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b3593ae29 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/index.rst @@ -0,0 +1,109 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 + +================================= +KUnit - Linux Kernel Unit Testing +================================= + +.. toctree:: + :maxdepth: 2 + :caption: Contents: + + start + architecture + run_wrapper + run_manual + usage + api/index + style + faq + running_tips + +This section details the kernel unit testing framework. + +Introduction +============ + +KUnit (Kernel unit testing framework) provides a common framework for +unit tests within the Linux kernel. Using KUnit, you can define groups +of test cases called test suites. The tests either run on kernel boot +if built-in, or load as a module. KUnit automatically flags and reports +failed test cases in the kernel log. The test results appear in +:doc:`KTAP (Kernel - Test Anything Protocol) format</dev-tools/ktap>`. +It is inspired by JUnit, Python’s unittest.mock, and GoogleTest/GoogleMock +(C++ unit testing framework). + +KUnit tests are part of the kernel, written in the C (programming) +language, and test parts of the Kernel implementation (example: a C +language function). Excluding build time, from invocation to +completion, KUnit can run around 100 tests in less than 10 seconds. +KUnit can test any kernel component, for example: file system, system +calls, memory management, device drivers and so on. + +KUnit follows the white-box testing approach. The test has access to +internal system functionality. KUnit runs in kernel space and is not +restricted to things exposed to user-space. + +In addition, KUnit has kunit_tool, a script (``tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py``) +that configures the Linux kernel, runs KUnit tests under QEMU or UML +(:doc:`User Mode Linux </virt/uml/user_mode_linux_howto_v2>`), +parses the test results and +displays them in a user friendly manner. + +Features +-------- + +- Provides a framework for writing unit tests. +- Runs tests on any kernel architecture. +- Runs a test in milliseconds. + +Prerequisites +------------- + +- Any Linux kernel compatible hardware. +- For Kernel under test, Linux kernel version 5.5 or greater. + +Unit Testing +============ + +A unit test tests a single unit of code in isolation. A unit test is the finest +granularity of testing and allows all possible code paths to be tested in the +code under test. This is possible if the code under test is small and does not +have any external dependencies outside of the test's control like hardware. + + +Write Unit Tests +---------------- + +To write good unit tests, there is a simple but powerful pattern: +Arrange-Act-Assert. This is a great way to structure test cases and +defines an order of operations. + +- Arrange inputs and targets: At the start of the test, arrange the data + that allows a function to work. Example: initialize a statement or + object. +- Act on the target behavior: Call your function/code under test. +- Assert expected outcome: Verify that the result (or resulting state) is as + expected. + +Unit Testing Advantages +----------------------- + +- Increases testing speed and development in the long run. +- Detects bugs at initial stage and therefore decreases bug fix cost + compared to acceptance testing. +- Improves code quality. +- Encourages writing testable code. + +Read also :ref:`kinds-of-tests`. + +How do I use it? +================ + +You can find a step-by-step guide to writing and running KUnit tests in +Documentation/dev-tools/kunit/start.rst + +Alternatively, feel free to look through the rest of the KUnit documentation, +or to experiment with tools/testing/kunit/kunit.py and the example test under +lib/kunit/kunit-example-test.c + +Happy testing! |
