.TH CHECK 1
.SH NAME
check \- check that regression tests pass
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B check
[
.B -v
]
[
.I prog
[
.I file
|
.I dir
]
]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.I Check
is an rc script that performs regression testing for a program. It sends
input files to the program
.I prog
(by default
.B 8.out )
and compares its output with that of previous runs. It is usual to have
one input file per program test. Input files must have
names that start with a digit and do not have
.B .out
or
.B .new
suffixes.
.PP
Check executes the program just for
.IR file ,
if given as an argument. It checks all input files in
.I dir
if given, and all input files in
the current directory otherwise.
.PP
The first time a test is run, it is considered to pass and its output is
kept in a file named like the input file but terminated in
.BR .out .
When a check fails the new output (which differs from the
.B .out
file) is kept in a file for inspection. This file has the same name of the input
file terminated in
.BR .new .
.PP
Input files may contain arbitrary text. Lines starting with
.B #
are ignored and lines starting with
.B #!
are executed before starting the check of the input file. This mechanism
can be used to prepare the environment for the check.
Option
.B -v
makes the program output more verbose.
.PP
If the first line of an input file is a comment, check considers that
it contains a one-line description of the test performed by the file. That
description is printed when the test is run.
.SH SOURCE
.B /rc/bin/check
.SH BUGS
Binary input files are not handled properly.