Re: venv for python qtest bits? (was: Re: [PATCH 11/12] acpi/tests/bits: add README file for bits qtests)

[Michael S. Tsirkin]

On Fri, Jul 01, 2022 at 06:12:14AM +0200, Thomas Huth wrote:
> I even wouldn't mind if you put your python stuff in a new directory like
> tests/pytests/ for example, as long as it downloads your binaries separately
> - as I wrote in another mail, the avocado framework rather looks like an
> oddball in our test framework nowadays since it uses a separate test runner
> and not the meson test harness, so having a new approach for python-based
> tests is maybe even a good idea. I just really want to avoid that this goes
> into tests/qtest (since it really does not belong there), and please don't
> add more external stuff via git submodules, that's really the wrong approach
> for this.

I get it, people hate submodules with passion.  I think trying another
approach for testing that is neither avocado nor qtest is
not too bad. As long as this is not user visible, we can
allow ourselves space to experiment.

OK so, how about this:
- put it in a new directory: tests/roms?
- create repo for a fork of biosbits under git.qemu.org
- roll our own analog to git submodules: a script
  that clones the repo
- new target make check-roms, if the clone exists locally -
  run the test, if not - skip it
- as for using pre-generates ISOs as an optimization,
  I'm not sure how important that is, if yes -
  we can add another repo and another make target along the
  same lines



-- 
MST