[webkit-dev] Simplifying syntax in test_expectations.txt (bug 86691)

[Dimitri Glazkov]

Sorry, didn't mean to come across as flip. To illustrate, here's an example:

WIN SNOWLEOPARD : foo.html = TEXT IMAGE # on all windows platforms and
SL, test foo.html is flaky -- fails either with text or pixel results.

Easy.

TEXT WIN SNOWLEOPARD IMAGE foo.html # fails with text on all windows
platforms and SL, oh, and actually it's flaky with pixel results, the
foo.html test does.

Less easy.

Worse yet, since the expectations are commonly updated, you now need
to fish through the whole set of specifiers and mentally separate them
into expectations and modifiers, then update. It's more likely that
this will happen:

TEXT WIN SNOWLEOPARD IMAGE LINUX foo.html #test foo.html fails with
text on all windows platforms and SL, oh, and actually it's flaky with
pixel results, oh, and also on linux, the foo.html test does.

:DG<

On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 4:43 PM, Dimitri Glazkov <dglazkov at chromium.org> wrote:
> Could that be because you haven't actually tried using it? :)
>
> On Thu, May 17, 2012 at 4:40 PM, Darin Adler <darin at apple.com> wrote:
>> Seriously, syntax is a significant barrier. Having to know which special characters to use. I don’t see this “clear delineation” you speak of. Just special punctuation I have to use to satisfy the computer.
>>
>> -- Darin