Reflection on Team Progress

We built a testing framework for ReadtheDocs, the open source documentation project. As part of the initial construction for our testing framework we tested two methods in the nginx­smoke­test python file, passing urls from lists to methods and check whether or not they are served by nginx, django, or perl. Additionally we will pass invalid urls to check for false positives. 

Our initial attempts to test the method were thwarted by unconventional naming. Our test file, nginx­smoke­test.py, uses dashes in its name, which are invalid for import in python. We were able to create a proxy file that effectively changed the dashes to underscores, allowing the file to be imported for access to its methods. Our current problem, as our framework exists, is that the proxy file uses an absolute path for conversion, and attempts to convert this to a relative path have been unsuccessful. Using the absolute path, however, is functional at this time, and testing was completed in this way.

Going forward, our objective will be to convert the path from absolute to relative, and to include other methods for further testing. We will also want to introduce more control for the tests, i.e. having the user input what method they would like to test via terminal and returning the appropriate results. 

Overall I think our progress is good, there was an initial misunderstanding as to the purpose of the script and the driver. I felt that the instructions were somewhat unclear regarding the specifics, and thus lead to the misunderstanding of not only me but several of the people in the class. After the presentations and critique provided I now have a better understanding of what exactly is required and have confidence to move forward with the project.

Already I have made some progress with the project, removing the absolute path and beginning more appropriate integration into the framework. I feel comfortable with the work that needs to be done and the time with which I have to do it.