Question 1

How do I debug a failing test in ParaTest?

Accepted Answer

Use the --verbose flag for detailed output; the failing sub-process command is shown and can be copy-pasted to run individually. Remove the --printer option to see PHPUnit's original output for deeper inspection, as per the Troubleshooting section.

Question 2

ParaTest or PHPUnit's built-in parallel testing: which is better?

Accepted Answer

ParaTest offers zero-configuration parallelization for existing PHPUnit suites, making it faster to adopt. However, PHPUnit's native parallel features might be more stable for projects deeply integrated with the latest PHPUnit, as ParaTest relies on internal classes that can change.

Question 3

How to set up separate databases for each test with ParaTest?

Accepted Answer

Use the TEST_TOKEN environment variable provided by ParaTest to generate unique database names per process. In your test setup, check for TEST_TOKEN and append it to the database name, as shown in the README example with testdb_TOKEN.

Question 4

Does ParaTest work well with Laravel or Symfony test suites?

Accepted Answer

ParaTest can work, but you may need to adjust configurations for database isolation using TEST_TOKEN. Be cautious of framework-specific state management, as shared static variables or service containers might not behave correctly in parallel processes.

Question 5

How to speed up ParaTest on a CI server with limited CPU cores?

Accepted Answer

Adjust the number of processes with the -p or --processes option to match available cores. Use parallelization by test (--functional) for finer control, but monitor resource usage to avoid contention, as too many processes can degrade performance.

Question 6

What are the performance trade-offs of using ParaTest?

Accepted Answer

ParaTest reduces wall-clock time by running tests in parallel, but increases CPU and memory usage due to multiple PHP processes. For small test suites, the overhead of process spawning might outweigh the speed benefits.

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