Improvements to the integration tests framework

[mozzieongit]

• Introduce a custom Docker image based on the slimmed down act image (and an accompanying wrapper script) to reduce image size, build time, and test run time.
  • The act-wrapper script first generates an updates container image with a freshly built cascade (making use of caching; if no source file changed, a cached container is re-used for the next test run making test iteration more efficient)
• Add installed binaries (cascade{,d}/dnst) to PATH for easier use
• Add a script to get default paths for cascade configurations
• Add a script to add scaffolding for new tests
• Reduce systemd-tests.yml workflow file verbosity
• Reduce verbosity for successful tests
  • Now only failed tests produce the whole pallet of text (used config file, logs, resolv.conf content, running processes)
• Document the default paths for stuff (Cascade, config, state, ...)
• Document the default paths for stuff (Cascade, config, state, ...)
• Add a build profile selection action
• Remove need/option/docs for standalone artifact server

Consider:

• Replace bind9 with NSD serving .test and provide a script to update the DS RR for example.test? (I had used bind9 for it's DNS UPDATE capability)
• Check that error output from composite actions is visible when running the main workflow
• Provide more errors in the test env management script when components fail (so lots of || { echo "bla"; exit 11; }; to make spotting failing components easier) (obsolete with logging every command run using set -x)

[mozzieongit]

• Fix default shell in composite actions (for GitHub)

This doesn't fix it actually, the defaults.run.shell option doesn't exist for composite actions. Instead I'll have to add the shell to each and every step

[ximon18]

Suggestion: don't tar the entire target directory, it's huge, only built binaries are actually wanted if I understand correctly.

[mozzieongit]

Suggestion: don't tar the entire target directory, it's huge, only built binaries are actually wanted if I understand correctly.

Good idea

[bal-e]

This is really cool! Making the integration tests easier to run would be awesome.

Have you had a chance to test whether this will now work under GitHub Actions? IIRC it hasn't worked thus far.

[mozzieongit]

Have you had a chance to test whether this will now work under GitHub Actions? IIRC it hasn't worked thus far.

It will work even less under GitHub Actions. The container use different users. If that is something we think we should have, I'd make a separate PR. But I would be fine with local only running of integration tests.

[bal-e]

It will work even less under GitHub Actions. The container use different users. If that is something we think we should have, I'd make a separate PR. But I would be fine with local only running of integration tests.

I see. My only concern is that it's easy to forget to run the integration tests; but regardless, your work here is making them easier to use, and that's great. We can continue examining this issue in the future.

[mozzieongit]

My only concern is that it's easy to forget to run the integration tests

We could add a note to a PR template

[bal-e]

Awesome!