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Summary
This tutorial shows you how to customize a Suite subclass so that it executes tests by interpreting a script written in a custom test language.

In the Artima SuiteRunner API, an org.suiterunner.Suite (Suite) represents a conceptual suite, or collection, of tests. A Suite is responsible for executing the tests it contains. To ask a Suite to execute its tests, you invoke its execute method. Class Suite provides a default implementation of execute that discovers test methods via reflection, invokes the test methods, and invokes execute on each of its sub-Suites.

The most common way to create a suite of tests with Artima SuiteRunner is to subclass Suite, define test methods, and/or add sub-Suites. (See Resources). When execute is invoked on such a Suite subclass, the execute implementation inherited from superclass Suite will ensure the test methods are invoked and sub-Suite's executed.

In Artima SuiteRunner's API contracts, "test" is used abstractly. A test method is one kind of test, but not the only kind. Executing test methods, as performed by Suite's implementation of execute, is one way to execute tests -- but not the only way. To execute tests in a different way, Suite subclasses can override execute. When execute is invoked on such a Suite subclass, its own execute implementation can execute tests in a custom way.

This article shows an example of a Suite subclass whose execute method:

• Reads in a file, written in a simple custom scripting language, that contains test commands
• Interprets the commands in the file, and executes the requested tests
• Invokes execute on each sub-Suite