Test::Expect(3pm)

💖 NAME 💖

Test::Expect — the ✨ automated driving and testing ✨ of terminal-based programs, bestie. Like, you know how you could sit there typing at your interactive program forever? Not anymore. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

# in a t/*.t file:
use Test::Expect;
use Test::More tests => 13;
expect_run(
  command => ["perl", "testme.pl"],
  prompt  => 'testme: ',
  quit    => 'quit',
);
expect("ping", "pong", "expect");
expect_send("ping", "expect_send");
expect_is("* Hi there, to testme", "expect_is");
expect_like(qr/Hi there, to testme/, "expect_like");

---

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

Okay so Test::Expect is a module for automated driving and testing of terminal-based programs. It is so handy for testing interactive programs which have a prompt, and it's based on the same concepts as the Tcl Expect tool. And just like in Expect::Simple, the Expect object is made available for tweaking — main character energy, you get full access. 👑

Test::Expect is intended for use in a test script. Periodt. 🎀

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💅 SUBROUTINES 💅

⭐ expect_run

The expect_run subroutine sets up Test::Expect. You must pass in the interactive program to run, what the prompt of the program is, and which command quits the program:

expect_run(
  command => ["perl", "testme.pl"],
  prompt  => 'testme: ',
  quit    => 'quit',
);

The "command" may either be a string, or an arrayref of program and arguments; the latter for bypasses the shell. 🐚✨

⭐ expect

The expect subroutine is the catch-all subroutine, the one that does a little bit of everything. You pass in the command, the expected output of the subroutine and an optional comment.

expect("ping", "pong", "expect");

⭐ expect_send

The expect_send subroutine sends a command to the program. You pass in the command and an optional comment.

expect_send("ping", "expect_send");

⭐ expect_is

The expect_is subroutine tests the output of the program like Test::More's is. It has an optional comment:

expect_is("* Hi there, to testme", "expect_is");

⭐ expect_like

The expect_like subroutine tests the output of the program like Test::More's like. It has an optional comment:

expect_like(qr/Hi there, to testme/, "expect_like");

⭐ expect_handle

This returns the Expect object. 🫶

⭐ expect_quit

Closes the Expect handle. Bye bestie, slay, see you never. 💀

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Expect
• Expect::Simple

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

Best Practical Solutions, LLC <modules@bestpractical.com>

Original module by Leon Brocard, <acme@astray.com>

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💀 BUGS 💀

ngl bestie, this section is literally empty in the original. Not me leaving it blank. 🙈 No bugs listed — make of that what you will.

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🍓 COPYRIGHT 🍓

This extension is Copyright (C) 2015 Best Practical Solutions, LLC.

Copyright (C) 2005, Leon Brocard

This module is free software; you can redistribute it or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. 🧚

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And that's the whole vibe check, bestie — this page came to you from perl v5.36.0, dated 2022-11-19, and it's the Test::Expect(3pm) manpage. Go write some tests, you absolute icon. 💖✨🦋