412642 - build a standalone xpcshell, or a script for pulling xpcshell out of other build

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox Build System :: General, defect)

Description

[Ray Kiddy]

The xpcshell executable is used as a tool in testing. For example, the web server process run by mochitest is run using xpcshell. If one is testing new bits, there is no reason that the xpcshell that is driving the mochitest infrastructure needs to be built from those new bits. Indeed, if one wanted to make testing more reliable, then one would separate out the concerns. If something bad is going to happen in javascript, then it should be found by tests which test the javascript. If a javascript problems causes the test infrastructure to fall apart, then the javascript problem may look like a platform issue and things will be confused.

Two ways that I see to construct a standalone xpcshell are:

1) add a new product to the build configuration, or
2) have a script point at a browser build, or another build, and pull out the bits needed to run xpcshell and nothing else.

(1) would be a better long-term solution, but given the arbitrary tweakiness of the build process and the organizational defense thereof, I would only sign up to do (2).

Any thoughts or suggestions?

FYI, this is in furtherance of a stand-alone test solution, something that one does not need to re-build or download again to test a new copy of the browser. If I cannot find the meta-bug that was created for that goal, I will create it and link this.

Comment 1

[(not currently active) Ted Mielczarek]

In bug 421611 I'm going to make it so that we package and upload a test harness package alongside each build that includes xpcshell. Is that good enough? FWIW, xpcshell is not very separable from the rest of the build, as it provides access to arbitrary XPCOM components, which means that it basically does need almost everything produced in a build. You could build xulrunner, for example, and package an xpcshell with that, and use it to drive whatever scripts you're using, but it seems like a bit of a waste.

Comment 2

[(not currently active) Ted Mielczarek]

I think this is not really worth fixing as filed. We do upload separate test packages that contain the xpcshell binary now, but they require a matching Firefox build to work, since xpcshell is linked against libxul from the Firefox build.