ConsoleCompare

A Visual Studio extension for comparing the result of a console application to a given output set.

A custom file format, a Console Simile (stored in a .simile file), defines the expected console application output and user input.

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For Students & Graders

• Load a pre-made Console Simile file (provided by an instructor or TA) that defines expected console output.
• Press "Run" to build your C# console application and automatically compare its output to the simile.

• Additionally, the extension scans code files within the project for XML comments and displays a summary of found vs. expected comments.
  • Further details, such as which types of code elements (class defintions, methods or properties) are lacking XML comments, are also available.

For Instructors/TAs

• Easily create new simile files in Visual Studio with Project > Add New Item...
• Simile file editing made easy with syntax highlighting and error checking.
• Simile syntax quick reference available at the top of each simile file tab.

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Simile File Syntax

General

• Lines beginning with # are comments and are ignored.
• All other lines are processed as expected program output, including blank lines.

Input Tags

• User input fed into the program is represented by a string inside {{ }}.
• Examples: {{Hello there}} or {{12345}} or {{Jimmy}}.
• Input tags MUST appear at the end of a line or on a line by themselves.
• Input tags CANNOT appear on a line with a numeric tag (see below), as text before an input tag must have a finite length.

Numeric Tags

• Numeric data that needs to be parsed and checked for validity can be denoted inside [[ ]].
• Several options exist for data validation (see below).
• Multiple options can appear in a single [[ ]], separated by semicolons.
• Multiple numeric tags may appear on the same line.
• Numeric tags appearing before the end of a line must be followed by a space.
• Numeric tags CANNOT appear on a line with an input tag, as text before an input tag must have a finite length.

Numeric Tag Syntax

• type or t (required)

  • Supported data types: byte, sbyte, short, ushort, int, uint, long, ulong, float, double, char
  • Short names: b, sb, s, us, i, ui, l, ul, f, d, c
  • Examples: [[t=s]] or [[type=s]] or [[t=short]] or [[type=short]] would be parsed as a short

• min & max (optional)

  • Inclusive minimum and/or inclusive maximum for parsed numeric value
  • Values will be parsed in accordance with the type option
  • Examples: [[t=int;min=-10]] or [[t=double;min=3.14159]] or [[t=double;max=99]] or [[t=sbyte;min=-5;max=5]]

• values or v (optional)

  • A set of one or more expected values
  • Values will be parsed in accordance with the type option
  • Examples: [[t=int;v={1,2,3,4}]] or [[t=int;values={5,10,15,20}]] or [[t=short;v={88}]]

• precision or p (optional)

  • Rounds the results to the given precision for checking
  • Value must be an integer between 0-15 (inclusive)
  • Only used if overall data type is float or double
  • examples: [[t=double;precision=3]] or [[t=d;p=5]]

Complex Numeric Tag Examples

The circle has a radius of [[t=double;min=0;max=100;p=3]] inches.

• This line of output expects a double between the words "of" and "inches".
• Additionally, that value will be rounded to 3 decimal places and verified to be between 0-100 (inclusive)

Player [[t=int;v={1,2,3,4}]] has a score of [[t=int;min=5]].

• This line of output expects two integers
• The first must be the number 1, 2, 3 or 4
• The second can be any integer >= 5