Test Suite Guide

The CCL Test Suite provides 375 assertions across 180 tests for validating CCL implementations.

Test Format

Implementers use the flat format in generated_tests/ - one test per validation function with typed fields for filtering.

Test Structure

Each test includes:

• validation: Function being tested (parse, build_hierarchy, etc.)
• functions: Array of required CCL functions
• features: Array of optional language features
• behaviors: Array of implementation behavior choices
• expected: Expected result with count field for assertion verification
• input: CCL text to parse

Test Metadata

Functions - CCL functions by category:

• Core: parse, build_hierarchy
• Typed Access: get_string, get_int, get_bool, get_float, get_list
• Processing: filter, compose, expand_dotted
• Formatting: canonical_format

Features - Optional language features:

• comments, experimental_dotted_keys, empty_keys, multiline, unicode, whitespace

Behaviors - Implementation choices (mutually exclusive):

• crlf_preserve_literal vs crlf_normalize_to_lf
• boolean_strict vs boolean_lenient
• list_coercion_enabled vs list_coercion_disabled

Progressive Implementation

Phase 1: Core Parsing

Validation: parse

Filter tests:

tests.filter(t => t.validation === 'parse')

Phase 2: Object Construction

Validation: build_hierarchy

Filter tests:

tests.filter(t => t.validation === 'build_hierarchy')

Phase 3: Typed Access

Validation: get_string, get_int, get_bool, get_float, get_list

Filter tests:

tests.filter(t => t.validation.startsWith('get_'))

Phase 4: Optional Features

Features: comments, experimental_dotted_keys

Filter by supported features:

tests.filter(t => t.features.every(f => supportedFeatures.includes(f)))

Test Filtering

Filter tests by implementation capabilities:

const supportedTests = tests.filter(test => {
  // Check functions
  if (!test.functions.every(f => implementedFunctions.includes(f))) return false;

  // Check features
  if (!test.features.every(f => supportedFeatures.includes(f))) return false;

  // Check behavior conflicts
  if (test.conflicts?.behaviors?.some(b => chosenBehaviors.includes(b))) return false;

  return true;
});

Example Test

{
  "name": "basic_key_value_pairs_parse",
  "validation": "parse",
  "input": "name = Alice\nage = 42",
  "expected": {
    "count": 2,
    "entries": [
      {"key": "name", "value": "Alice"},
      {"key": "age", "value": "42"}
    ]
  },
  "functions": ["parse"],
  "features": [],
  "behaviors": []
}

See CCL Test Suite repository for complete test runner and JSON schema.