Re: When packaging a library, should I prevent its test suite from being packaged
On Sep 09, 2014, at 06:53 PM, Konstantin Khomoutov wrote:
>Having the test suite packaged along with the code looks like having
>not much sense to me, so should I try to exclude this subdirectory from
>packaging? Is it considered a bad practice?
I'm not sure there's consensus on this, so I will just say that I usually
don't bother removing the test directory, especially if it is within the
package namespace (IOW, under the main package's top-level directory).
A well written package should not *require* the test directory (i.e. it should
not break if it's removed), but it also should do no harm to just leave it
there. IMHO, I think they can be a good thing to include, as it can allow for
installed package tests (both by the end user and DEP-8), and can serve as a
learning experience for users. It's often more work to remove them too, and
who likes to do extra unnecessary work? :)
One thing I have *occasionally* done is to segregate the test subdirectory to
a -dev package, but that's only in special circumstances, e.g. where the
package is intended for environments with *very* tight constraints like mobile
flavors.
Cheers,
-Barry
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