ACATS 3.1 User's Guide
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4.4 Test Program Format

Each test file is composed of a test prologue, documenting the test, and the test code proper. All prologue lines are marked as comments. (The prologue in files containing non-Ada code is marked according to the comment conventions of the foreign language.)
The prologue for all tests is based on that of legacy tests. Legacy tests are generally, but not entirely, consistent in their use of the prologue. The format of the prologue between test files and foundation files is slightly different.
The general format of the prologue is as follows: 
<file name>
The distribution name of the file containing this prologue.
DISCLAIMER

Use restrictions for ACATS tests; included in all tests.
OBJECTIVE
A statement of the test objective; included in all tests.
TEST DESCRIPTION

A short description of the design or strategy of the test or other pertinent information. Included in most newer tests but not generally included in legacy tests.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

optional – Included if the test has any special requirements for processing. Normally, this section will be found only in Specialized Needs Annex tests. For example, an Annex E test may check for the correct implementation of partitions; the requirements for test partitioning and what to use as a main subprogram in each partition would be documented in this section.
TEST FILES

optional – Included if the test depends on multiple files; identifies the component files of a multi-file test.
APPLICABILITY CRITERIA

optional – Specifies the conditions under which the test can be ruled inapplicable.
PASS/FAIL CRITERIA

optional – Explains how to interpret compilation, binding, and/or run-time results for grading the test.
MACRO SUBSTITUTIONS

optional – Identifies the macro symbol(s) in the file that must be replaced and provides a brief description of what the replacement(s) represent. Appears only in legacy tests.
CHANGE HISTORY

History of the test file. Included in all tests.
All tests have the line immediately after the disclaimer marked --*. Modern tests have the line after the last prologue line (before the first line of executable code) marked --! No other comment lines are marked with those conventions, so the next line after the disclaimer and the first line of code may be found quickly with an editor search.
Some tests are composed of multiple files (other than foundation code). Rather than repeating the complete prologue in each file, an alternate approach has been used. One file (usually the one containing the main subprogram or the first file in the set) has the complete prologue; the other, related files have those sections that apply to files (TEST FILES, CHANGE HISTORY) and refer to the file with the complete prologue for the other sections.

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