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Test2::Manual::Tooling::TestBuilder - This section maps Test::Builder methods to Test2 concepts.
Contents
Context
First thing to do, stop using the Test::Builder singleton, in fact stop using or even loading
Test::Builder. Instead of Test::Builder each tool you write should follow this template:
use Test2::API qw/context/;
sub my_tool {
my $ctx = context();
... do work ...
$ctx->ok(1, "a passing assertion");
$ctx->release;
return $whatever;
}
The original Test::Builder style was this:
use Test::Builder;
my $tb = Test::Builder->new; # gets the singleton
sub my_tool {
... do work ...
$tb->ok(1, "a passing assertion");
return $whatever;
}
Copyright
Copyright 2018 Chad Granum <exodist@cpan.org>.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl
itself.
See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/
perl v5.40.1 2025-07-03 Test2::Manual:...ng::TestBuilder(3perl)
Description
With Test::Builder tools were encouraged to use methods on the Test::Builder singleton object. Test2 has
a different approach, every tool should get a new Test2::API::Context object, and call methods on that.
This document maps several concepts from Test::Builder to Test2.
Level
Test::Builder had the $Test::Builder::Level variable that you could modify in order to set the stack
depth. This was useful if you needed to nest tools and wanted to make sure your file and line number were
correct. It was also frustrating and prone to errors. Some people never even discovered the level
variable and always had incorrect line numbers when their tools would fail.
Test2 uses the context system, which solves the problem a better way. The top-most tool get a context,
and holds on to it until it is done. Any tool nested under the first will find and use the original
context instead of generating a new one. This means the level problem is solved for free, no variables to
mess with.
Test2 is also smart enough to honor $Test::Builder::Level if it is set.
Maintainers
Chad Granum <exodist@cpan.org>
Name
Test2::Manual::Tooling::TestBuilder - This section maps Test::Builder methods to Test2 concepts.
See Also
Test2::Manual - Primary index of the manual.
Source
The source code repository for Test2-Manual can be found at https://github.com/Test-More/Test2-Suite/.
Test Builder Methods
$tb->BAIL_OUT($reason)
The context object has a 'bail' method:
$ctx->bail($reason)
$tb->diag($string)
$tb->note($string)
The context object has diag and note methods:
$ctx->diag($string);
$ctx->note($string);
$tb->done_testing
The context object has a done_testing method:
$ctx->done_testing;
Unlike the Test::Builder version, no arguments are allowed.
$tb->like
$tb->unlike
These are not part of context, instead look at Test2::Compare and Test2::Tools::Compare.
$tb->ok($bool, $name)
# Preferred
$ctx->pass($name);
$ctx->fail($name, @diag);
# Discouraged, but supported:
$ctx->ok($bool, $name, \@failure_diags)
$tb->subtest
use the Test2::API::run_subtest() function instead. See Test2::API for documentation.
$tb->todo_start
$tb->todo_end
See Test2::Tools::Todo instead.
$tb->output, $tb->failure_output, and $tb->todo_output
These are handled via formatters now. See Test2::Formatter and Test2::Formatter::TAP.
Todo
Test::Builder used the $TODO package variable to set the TODO state. This was confusing, and easy to get
wrong. See Test2::Tools::Todo for the modern way to accomplish a TODO state.
PNG Icons
Emojis
