project_6/upstream_ref/xllm/.agents/skills/add-unit-test/references/xllm-test-patterns.md

# xLLM Unit Test Patterns

Use this reference when creating or changing unit tests under `tests/`.

## Layout

- Mirror production structure where practical:
  - `xllm/core/framework/tokenizer` -> `tests/core/framework/tokenizer`
  - `xllm/core/layers/mlu` -> `tests/core/layers/mlu`
  - `xllm/function_call/...` -> `tests/function_call/...`
- Keep tests directly in the relevant leaf directory.
- Avoid new nested `test/` or `tests/` directories. Recent cleanup moved those tests into their parent directories.
- Shared helpers may live beside tests, such as `tests/core/layers/mlu/tests_utils.cpp`.

## Naming

- Test source files use singular suffixes:
  - C++: `thing_test.cpp`
  - CUDA source: `thing_test.cu`
- Test CMake target names also end in `_test`.
- If a target aggregates several source files, keep the target name at the domain level, for example `layer_test`, `moe_layer_test`, or `sampler_test`.
- Keep helper files out of the `*_test.cpp` suffix unless they define tests.

## CMake Basics

Use `cc_test` for C++/CUDA unit test binaries:

```cmake
include(cc_test)

cc_test(
  NAME
    feature_test
  SRCS
    feature_test.cpp
  DEPS
    :feature
    GTest::gtest_main
    glog::glog
)
```

Rules:

- Add `include(cc_test)` in each CMake file that declares `cc_test`.
- Use dependencies that match nearby tests first.
- Prefer `GTest::gtest_main`; add `GTest::gtest` only when nearby tests need it or the target explicitly uses it.
- Add `target_link_libraries(...)` and `add_dependencies(...)` after `cc_test` when needed for `brpc`, `OpenSSL`, `protobuf`, platform runtime libraries, or link-group handling.
- Use `:target_name` for local production CMake targets where existing tests do so.

## Platform Gates

Gate entire platform-only directories in the parent `CMakeLists.txt`.

Current examples:

```cmake
if(USE_CUDA)
  add_subdirectory(cuda)
endif()

if(USE_NPU)
  add_subdirectory(npu)
endif()
```

```cmake
if(USE_CUDA)
  add_subdirectory(cuda)
endif()

if(USE_MLU)
  add_subdirectory(mlu)
endif()
```

Do not repeat the same platform `if(...)` inside every child CMake file when the parent already gates the directory.

Use target-level platform gates only for mixed directories where generic and platform-specific tests coexist, such as `tests/core/runtime` or framework directories with both generic and NPU-only targets.

Use generator expressions for platform-specific optional link libraries when the target exists across platforms:

```cmake
target_link_libraries(example_test
                      PUBLIC
                      Python::Python
                      $<$<BOOL:${USE_NPU}>:ascendcl>
                      $<$<BOOL:${USE_NPU}>:hccl>
                      $<$<BOOL:${USE_NPU}>:c_sec>)
```

## Source Style

- Add the xLLM copyright header to new files, using the current year.
- Include `<gtest/gtest.h>` in every test source.
- Use project-root-relative includes; avoid `../` includes.
- Put file-local helpers in an anonymous namespace.
- Prefer fixed-width integers (`int32_t`, `int64_t`) unless an API requires plain `int`.
- Use `static_cast`, `nullptr`, braces on all control statements, and concise comments only where they clarify test setup.
- Keep deterministic random or tensor tests seeded with stable labels or fixed seeds.

## Test Design

- Test behavior through public or stable internal interfaces used by nearby tests.
- Cover the regression or edge case that motivated the test.
- For parser and pure logic tests, keep inputs small and assert exact outputs/errors.
- For tensor/device tests, keep tensor shapes small, check dtype/device expectations, and compare against a simple reference implementation.
- For forked-process or device-init-sensitive tests, follow nearby standalone target patterns and leave a short CMake comment explaining why the target is isolated.

## Validation Checklist

Before finishing:

```bash
rg --files tests/<area>
rg "old_file_name|old_target_name" tests xllm CMakeLists.txt
git diff --check -- tests/<area>
```

Run the narrowest feasible validation:

- Local CMake/build target if available.
- `python setup.py test` in the project container when full validation is requested or risk is high.
- For development-machine validation, follow the repo AGENTS instructions for `ssh gpu-h800-195`, `/export/home/zhangxu709/xllm`, container `zx-xllm-cuda`, and the build/test commands.