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diff --git a/Help/prop_test/PROCESSES.rst b/Help/prop_test/PROCESSES.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d09c6d1 --- /dev/null +++ b/Help/prop_test/PROCESSES.rst @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +PROCESSES +---------- + +Set to specify the number of processes spawned by a test, and the resources +that they require. See :ref:`hardware allocation <ctest-hardware-allocation>` +for more information on how this property integrates into the CTest hardware +allocation feature. + +The ``PROCESSES`` property is a :ref:`semicolon-separated list <CMake Language +Lists>` of process descriptions. Each process description consists of an +optional number of processes for the description followed by a series of +resource requirements for those processes. These requirements (and the number +of processes) are separated by commas. The resource requirements consist of the +name of a resource type, followed by a colon, followed by an unsigned integer +specifying the number of slots required on one resource of the given type. + +Please note that these processes are not spawned by CTest. The ``PROCESSES`` +property merely tells CTest what processes the test expects to launch. It is up +to the test itself to do this process spawning, and read the :ref:`environment +variables <ctest-hardware-environment-variables>` to determine which resources +each process has been allocated. + +Consider the following example: + +.. code-block:: cmake + + add_test(NAME MyTest COMMAND MyExe) + set_property(TEST MyTest PROPERTY PROCESSES + "2,gpus:2" + "gpus:4,crypto_chips:2") + +In this example, there are two process descriptions (implicitly separated by a +semicolon.) The content of the first description is ``2,gpus:2``. This +description spawns 2 processes, each of which requires 2 slots from a single +GPU. The content of the second description is ``gpus:4,crypto_chips:2``. This +description does not specify a process count, so a default of 1 is assumed. +This single process requires 4 slots from a single GPU and 2 slots from a +single cryptography chip. In total, 3 processes are spawned from this test, +each with their own unique requirements. + +When CTest sets the :ref:`environment variables +<ctest-hardware-environment-variables>` for a test, it assigns a process number +based on the process description, starting at 0 on the left and the number of +processes minus 1 on the right. For example, in the example above, the two +processes in the first description would have IDs of 0 and 1, and the single +process in the second description would have an ID of 2. + +Both the ``PROCESSES`` and :prop_test:`RESOURCE_LOCK` properties serve similar +purposes, but they are distinct and orthogonal. Resources specified by +``PROCESSES`` do not affect :prop_test:`RESOURCE_LOCK`, and vice versa. Whereas +:prop_test:`RESOURCE_LOCK` is a simpler property that is used for locking one +global resource, ``PROCESSES`` is a more advanced property that allows multiple +tests to simultaneously use multiple resources of the same type, specifying +their requirements in a fine-grained manner. |