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Tag Inheritance

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How tags accumulate and override

Tags accumulate from Feature → Rule → Scenario levels with specific override rules.

Accumulation Rules

Tags flow down from Feature → Rule → Scenario:

@L2 @deps:docker
Feature: Container Tests

  @ov
  Rule: Container operations

    Scenario: Start container
      # Effective tags: @L2, @deps:docker, @ov

Override Rules

Test Level Tags (@L0-@L4)

  • Scenario level overrides feature level
  • Allows mixing test levels within a feature

Example:

@L2
Feature: Mixed-Level Tests
  # Feature says L2 (emulated system)

  @ov
  Scenario: Fast emulated test
    # Uses L2 from feature
    # Effective tags: @L2, @ov

  @L3 @iv
  Scenario: Deployment test in PLTE
    # Overrides to L3 (PLTE environment)
    # Effective tags: @L3, @iv

Dependencies (@deps:*)

  • Accumulate (additive)
  • Scenario inherits all feature dependencies
  • Can add more dependencies at scenario level

Example:

@deps:docker
Feature: Container Tests

  @deps:git
  Rule: Container builds

    @ov
    Scenario: Build from repository
      # Effective dependencies: @deps:docker, @deps:git

Verification Tags (@ov, @iv, etc.)

  • Accumulate (additive)
  • Scenario can add additional verification types
  • Multiple verification tags can coexist

Example:

@ov
Feature: Deployment Validation

  Rule: Service deployment

    @iv
    Scenario: Deploy and validate
      # Effective tags: @ov, @iv
      # Tests both operational and installation aspects

Effective Tag Calculation

Tags are calculated in this order:

  1. Feature level tags - Base tags for all scenarios
  2. Rule level tags - Add or override feature tags
  3. Scenario level tags - Add or override rule tags

Complete Example

@L2 @deps:docker @ov
Feature: auth_api-service
  API service authentication tests

  @control:ac-2
  Rule: Account management

    @ov
    Scenario: Create account
      # Effective tags:
      # - @L2 (from feature)
      # - @deps:docker (from feature)
      # - @ov (from feature + scenario)
      # - @control:ac-2 (from rule)

    @L3 @iv @deps:kubectl
    Scenario: Deploy to PLTE
      # Effective tags:
      # - @L3 (scenario overrides feature L2)
      # - @deps:docker (from feature)
      # - @deps:kubectl (scenario adds)
      # - @iv (from scenario)
      # - @control:ac-2 (from rule)

Tag Override Priority

From highest to lowest priority:

  1. Scenario tags - Most specific, highest priority
  2. Rule tags - Override feature, but not scenario
  3. Feature tags - Base level, lowest priority

When Tags Override vs Accumulate

Tag Type Behavior Reason
Test Level (@L0-@L4) Override Only one execution environment per test
Verification (@ov, @iv, etc.) Accumulate Tests can verify multiple aspects
Dependencies (@deps:, @depm:, @env:) Accumulate Tests can need multiple tools
Control (@control:) Accumulate Tests can satisfy multiple controls
Execution Control (@ignore, @Manual) Accumulate Multiple execution modifiers allowed

Best Practices

Feature-Level Tags

Use for tags that apply to all scenarios:

@L2 @deps:docker @ov
Feature: Container Operations
  # All scenarios need Docker
  # All scenarios are L2 operational tests

Rule-Level Tags

Use for tags that apply to scenarios in that rule:

Feature: Security Tests

  @control:ac-2
  Rule: Access control
    # All scenarios in this rule relate to AC-2

  @control:au-3
  Rule: Audit logging
    # All scenarios in this rule relate to AU-3

Scenario-Level Tags

Use for tags specific to that scenario:

@L2
Feature: Mixed Tests

  @ov
  Rule: Test operations

    @ov
    Scenario: Normal test
      # Uses L2 from feature

    @L3 @iv @deps:kubectl
    Scenario: Deployment test
      # Overrides to L3
      # Adds kubectl dependency
      # Changes to installation verification

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Common Level, Different Verifications

@L2 @deps:docker
Feature: API Tests

  @ov
  Scenario: Functional test
    # @L2, @deps:docker, @ov

  @pv
  Scenario: Performance test
    # @L2, @deps:docker, @pv

Pattern 2: Different Levels, Same Verification

@ov
Feature: Auth Service

  @L2
  Scenario: Unit test with mocks
    # @L2, @ov

  @L3 @env:plte
  Scenario: Integration test in PLTE
    # @L3, @ov, @env:plte

Pattern 3: Progressive Dependencies

@deps:go
Feature: Build Pipeline

  @deps:git
  Rule: Source builds
    # Needs: go, git

    @deps:docker
    Scenario: Container build
      # Needs: go, git, docker

Debugging Tag Inheritance

Viewing Effective Tags

Use the validation command to see effective tags:

# Show effective tags for all scenarios
r2r eac validate specs --show-effective-tags

# Example output:
# Feature: auth_api-service
#   Scenario: Create account
#     Effective Tags: @L2, @deps:docker, @ov, @control:ac-2

Common Issues

Issue: Scenario not running in expected test suite

Solution: Check if feature-level test level tag is being inherited when you expected a scenario-level override.

Issue: Missing dependencies in test execution

Solution: Verify feature-level dependencies are declared, or add them at scenario level.

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