77: Testing Complex Systems with Maintainable Test Suites
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Creating maintainable test suites for complex systems. The episode describes some complexities involved with hardware testing, then shares techniques for shifting complexity out of the test cases.

• quick overview of what test instruments are

• discussion of API and communication with instruments

• techniques for shifting complexity out of test cases

These techniques should apply to all test suites dealing with complex systems:

• Creating test cases that are easy to read and debug and tell a story about what is being tested.

• Pushing setup complexity into fixtures.

• Pushing lengthy repetitive API call sets into helper functions.

• Using stable, documented, interfaces.

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Links:

• Voltmeter)
• Oscilloscope)
• Spectrum analyzer)
• Function generator)
• Arbitrary waveform generator)
• Wireless Communications Testers & Systems)
• R&S CMW Platform)
• SCPI - Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments)
• VISA - Virtual instrument software architecture)
• PyVISA: Control your instruments with Python)
• pytest)
• pytest book)