Clone and graft: Testing scientific applications as they are built

TL;DR

This paper discusses a method for developing automated tests for scientific applications by cloning and grafting existing tests, demonstrated on a Python-based minimal model problem.

Contribution

Introduces a novel approach of cloning and grafting tests to improve testing efficiency in scientific software development.

Findings

Cloning and grafting streamline test creation for scientific applications.

The approach is effective on a Python minimal model problem.

Automated testing benefits from this method in scientific software.

Abstract

This article describes our experience developing and maintaining automated tests for scientific applications. The main idea evolves around building on already existing tests by cloning and grafting. The idea is demonstrated on a minimal model problem written in Python.