result cache file created by default

[kubawerlos]

Q	A
PHPUnit version	7.3.0
PHP version	7.2.8
Installation Method	Composer

After upgrading from PHPUnit 7.2 when running tests the .phpunit.result.cache was created. Shouldn't be check here for not defined?

[sebastianbergmann]

@epdenouden ping

[epdenouden]

@sebastianbergmann @kubawerlos will look into it this weekend!

[keradus]

the variable is hack/trick to NOT save cache file when running tests for PHPUnit itself during PHPUnit development (maybe a comment there would be nice, for now it's hidden knowledge, and each hack deserves a comment)

By default, the new caching feature is enabled:

phpunit/src/TextUI/TestRunner.php

Line 1160 in 00d26bb

$arguments['cacheResult'] = $arguments['cacheResult'] ?? true;

, as it's hard to discover the feature by users if you don't track the changes, while starting taking benefits from it is super nice

[kubawerlos]

Changelog claims it's disabled by default.

[epdenouden]

@kubawerlos Quick question: would you be fine with a revised changelog or you have a use case where the creation of the cachefile causes trouble? We would like to have the feature enabled if it doesn't interfere with use cases I didn't think of during development.

[kubawerlos]

@epdenouden it's totally fine to have it enabled by default, only it came as surprise after reading Changelog.

[dmitry-ivanov]

+1

@epdenouden What is the reason to have that .phpunit.result.cache file not deleted by default?
I think that for the most of the users - we don't need it, as it was before. No?

[keradus]

delete cache by default? you mean to not create it by default, i believe ?

no cache = no possibility to execute tests faster = new feature not in use

[epdenouden]

@dmitry-ivanov The answer to your question has two parts:

1. the file is not deleted as it is a cache to store information about test results between runs.
2. it is currently created by default as it takes up little space and the cache needs to be active to support the 'run failed tests first' (--order-by=defects) feature. See Breakfast: rerun defects first #3147 for more details

[dmitry-ivanov]

@keradus "possibility to execute tests faster"? How do results from the previous run can help to execute tests faster?

The file is used for the new feature to run failed tests first, as @epdenouden mentioned.
Nice feature, thanks guys! Now I get it.

[epdenouden]

@dmitry-ivanov During development I often use --order-by=depends,defects --stop-on-defect to quickly halt PHPUnit when getting tests green. Some IDEs like IntelliJ have this feature built into their user interface:

[RinkAttendant6]

@epdenouden Regarding

Quick question: would you be fine with a revised changelog or you have a use case where the creation of the cachefile causes trouble? We would like to have the feature enabled if it doesn't interfere with use cases I didn't think of during development.

It works fine in PhpStorm as you mentioned, but when I run the tests using the command line on a read-only filesystem then it will fail trying to write the cache file. Example of a read-only filesystem include shared folders on a Vagrant dev environment.

[rtek]

@epdenouden I love the feature and just enabled it for my tests, but agree with @RinkAttendant6 that it should be disabled by default since it could be a BC break depending on where phpunit is executed.