check in Launchpad

check

Registered 2006-06-11 by Robert Collins

Check is a unit test framework for C. It features a simple interface for defining unit tests, putting little in the way of the developer. Tests are run in a separate address space, so Check can catch both assertion failures and code errors that cause segmentation faults or other signals. The output from unit tests can be used within source code editors and IDEs..

Check was inspired by similar frameworks that currently exist for most programming languages; the most famous example being JUnit for Java (www.junit.org). There is a list of unit test frameworks for multiple languages at www.xprogramming.com/software.htm . Unit testing has a long history as part of formal quality assurance methodologies, but has recently been associated with the lightweight methodology called Extreme Programming. In that methodology, the characteristic practice involves interspersing unit test writing with coding (" test a little, code a little"). While the incremental unit test/code approach is indispensable to Extreme Programming, it is also applicable, and perhaps indispensable, outside of that methodology.