RTest.RdThe R package RTest is a software framework for standardized unit testing of R packages developed and maintained by Roche-Diagnostics. It implements a general methods for loading and executing XML-based test cases as well as for reporting. RTest is not exetuable by its own as it provides only the basic and general methods for standardized testing. Therefore, extensions of the RTest package are required, which will implement the detailed and specific requirements of individual projects or packages. These extensions are the test adapters that understand the scheme of a project's test case definitions (i.e. the XML definitions) and impelement the test logic and test execution procedures. This concept allows a flexible usage of unit test framework, however, a common test system and strategy as well as report design will be maintained for all Roche-Diagnostics R-packages and for everybody using RTest.
RTest uses the open source R package 'testthat' implemented by Hadley Wickham. It is a unit testing system for R and provides a set of methods for executing unit tests for checking different types of exceptions. However, it requires that the tests and exceptions are defined in the source code and does not allow a flexibile definition of input and reference values in XML files or any other file format. Therefore, it is used as unit testing system in the RTest package, which itself implements the functionalities to use XML-based test case definitions.