py.test: how to automatically detect an exception in a child process?

multiprocessing, pytest, python, testing

Solution

After some further consideration, I think that just catching the expected exception in the child and checking for the child's exit state is a very clean and reliable solution, that does not add an additional IPC component to the tests. Example code:

import multiprocessing
from py.test import raises

class CustomError(Exception):
    pass

def test_mp_expected_fail():
    p = multiprocessing.Process(target=child_expected_fail)
    p.start()
    p.join()
    assert not p.exitcode

def test_mp_success():
    p = multiprocessing.Process(target=child)
    p.start()
    p.join()
    assert not p.exitcode

def test_mp_unexpected_fail():
    p = multiprocessing.Process(target=child_unexpected_fail)
    p.start()
    p.join()
    assert not p.exitcode


def child_expected_fail():
    with raises(CustomError):
        raise CustomError

def child_unexpected_fail():
    raise TypeError

def child():
    pass

Execution:

$ py.test pytest_mp_test.py 
================================== test session starts ===================================
platform linux2 -- Python 2.7.3 -- pytest-2.3.3
plugins: cov
collected 3 items 

pytest_mp_test.py ..F

======================================== FAILURES ========================================
________________________________ test_mp_unexpected_fail _________________________________

    def test_mp_unexpected_fail():
        p = multiprocessing.Process(target=child_unexpected_fail)
        p.start()
        p.join()
>       assert not p.exitcode
E       assert not 1
E        +  where 1 = <Process(Process-3, stopped[1])>.exitcode

pytest_mp_test.py:23: AssertionError
------------------------------------ Captured stderr -------------------------------------
Process Process-3:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/apps11/bioinfp/Python-2.7.3/lib/python2.7/multiprocessing/process.py", line 258, in _bootstrap
    self.run()
  File "/apps11/bioinfp/Python-2.7.3/lib/python2.7/multiprocessing/process.py", line 114, in run
    self._target(*self._args, **self._kwargs)
  File "/home/bioinfp/jang/hobbyproggorn/gevent-messagepipe/gevent-messagepipe/pytest_mp_test.py", line 31, in child_unexpected_fail
    raise TypeError
TypeError
=========================== 1 failed, 2 passed in 0.07 seconds ===========================

Problem

Original source