MATLAB: How to use the unit-test framework in parallel with shared Simulink data dictionaries

datadictionaryruninparallelsimulinksimulink.data.dictionary.setupworkercache

How do I use the unit-test framework in parallel with shared Simulink data dictionaries? I'm calling "runInParallel" to perform some tests on Simulink models with a shared data dictionary, and the tests fail because the data dictionary cannot be accessed concurrently by all parallel workers.

Best Answer

The "runInParallel" function does not support all kinds of data access due to its multi-threaded nature. However, Simulink has the "Simulink.data.dictionary.setupWorkerCache" function which can be ran before the data dictionary is modified to ensure each parallel worker is only modifying their copy of the data dictionary.

To embed this function into the test suite, first create a TestRunnerPlugin that calls this function and then calls the superclass to run the actual tests. This way we ensure that the parallel pool has been initialized, the "setupWorkerCache" function called, and then the actual tests are ran. Save the below code in a file called "CacheSetupPlugin.m":

classdef CacheSetupPlugin < matlab.unittest.plugins.TestRunnerPlugin
    methods (Access = protected)
        %%overload the superclass' method
              function runTestSuite(plugin, pluginData)
                  Simulink.data.dictionary.setupWorkerCache
                    % Once setup is complete, invoke super class method to run the test suite
                    runTestSuite@matlab.unittest.plugins.TestRunnerPlugin(plugin, pluginData);
                    Simulink.data.dictionary.cleanupWorkerCache   
                end
      end
      methods (Hidden)
          function bool = supportsParallel(~) 
             bool = true; 
          end
      end
  end

Now run the test suite like so:

>> suite = matlab.unittest.TestSuite.fromClass(?testDataDictionaryInteractions)
>> runner = matlab.unittest.TestRunner.withTextOutput()
>> runner.addPlugin(CacheSetupPlugin)
>> result = runInParallel(runner,suite)

See the following links for added information:

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/create-custom-plugin.html

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_prog/customizing-a-testrunner-with-plugins.html

Related Solutions

MATLAB: How to publish the “matlab.unittest.TestResult” objects to a PDF report

One solution is to create a plugin, "TestReportPlugin", that directs the "TestRunner" to produce a test result report in PDF file format. Please refer to the following link for more information on using the plugin, "TestReportPlugin":

https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2016b/matlab/ref/matlab.unittest.plugins.testreportplugin-class.html

Adding the following lines before running the tests produces the test results report in PDF file format:

>> pdfFile = 'MyTestReport.pdf';
>> pluginPdf = TestReportPlugin.producingPDF(pdfFile,...
    'IncludingPassingDiagnostics',true,'IncludingCommandWindowText',true);
>> runner.addPlugin(pluginPdf);

Also, make sure that the "TestReportPlugin" is imported.

MATLAB: How to pass values from inside a TestRunner run

You can use a TestRunnerPlugin to store data from the test run. I've included some example code below to show how this might work. The basic outline is as follows:

The test logs information using a Diagnostic subclass and TestCase.log
A plugin listens to the DiagnosticLogged event and stores the logged data on itself
After running the test, you can then access the data on the plugin

Example test code:

classdef MyTest < matlab.unittest.TestCase
    properties (ClassSetupParameter)
        idx = num2cell(1:3);
    end
    properties
        MyData;
    end
    methods(TestClassSetup)
        function createData(testCase,idx)
            testCase.MyData = idx;
            testCase.log(4, DataDiagnostic(testCase.MyData));
        end
    end
    methods(Test)
        function a(testCase)
        end
    end
end

Plugin code:

classdef MyPlugin < matlab.unittest.plugins.TestRunnerPlugin
    properties(SetAccess=private)
        Data = {};
    end
    methods(Access=protected)
        function testCase = createTestClassInstance(plugin, pluginData)
            testCase = createTestClassInstance@matlab.unittest.plugins.TestRunnerPlugin(plugin, pluginData);
            testCase.addlistener('DiagnosticLogged', @plugin.logDiagnostic);
        end
    end
    methods(Access=private)
        function logDiagnostic(plugin, src, evd)
            if isa(evd.Diagnostic, 'DataDiagnostic')
                plugin.Data{end+1} = evd.Diagnostic.Data;
            end
        end
    end
end

Diagnostic class code:

classdef DataDiagnostic < matlab.unittest.diagnostics.Diagnostic
    properties(SetAccess=immutable)
        Data;
    end
    methods
        function diag = DataDiagnostic(data)
            diag.Data = data;
        end
        function diagnose(~)
        end
    end
end

Usage:

>> suite = testsuite('MyTest');
>> runner = matlab.unittest.TestRunner.withTextOutput;
>> plugin = MyPlugin;
>> runner.addPlugin(plugin);
>> runner.run(suite);
Running MyTest
...
Done MyTest
__________
>> plugin.Data
ans =
    1×3 cell array
      {[1]}    {[2]}    {[3]}

References:

Best Answer

Related Solutions

MATLAB: How to publish the “matlab.un​ittest.Tes​tResult” objects to a PDF report

MATLAB: How to pass values from inside a TestRunner run

Related Question

MATLAB: How to publish the “matlab.unittest.TestResult” objects to a PDF report