tcframe is a C++ framework for generating test cases of competitive programming problems. This framework helps problem writers prepare test cases in a structured manner and ensures that the generated test cases are valid according to the specified constraints.
Consult the complete documentation at http://docs.tcframe.org/.
Example high-level usage:
-
Specify input/output variables.
int A, B; int sum;
-
Specify input/output formats, using a rich set of format macros.
void InputFormat() { LINE(A, B); // A line containing space-separated A and B } void OutputFormat() { LINE(sum); }
-
Specify the grading configuration.
void GradingConfig() { TimeLimit(1); MemoryLimit(64); }
-
Specify the constraints. Subtasks are supported.
void Constraints() { CONS(1 <= A && A <= 1000); CONS(1 <= B && B <= 1000); }
-
Specify the sample test cases.
void SampleTestCase1() { Input({ "2 8" }); Output({ "10" }); } void SampleTestCase2() { Input({ "42 100" }); Output({ "142" }); }
-
Specify the official test cases. Simple random number generator is available.
void TestCases() { CASE(A = 1, B = 1); CASE(A = 77, B = 99); CASE(A = rnd.nextInt(1, 1000), B = rnd.nextInt(1, 1000)); }
-
Write and compile the official solution to this problem, using any programming language you wish. Of course, it is the infamous A+B problem.
#include <iostream> using namespace std; int main() { int A, B; cin >> A >> B; cout << (A + B) << endl; }
-
Run the generator. Actual test cases (
.in
and.out
files) will be generated. Profit! -
If you ever specified an invalid test case, such as
CASE(A = 0, B = 1)
, you will get a nice error message:sum_4: FAILED Description: A = 0, B = 1 Reasons: * Does not satisfy constraints, on: - 1 <= A && A <= 1000
tcframe supports:
- Batch and interactive problems.
- ICPC-style problems and IOI-style problems with subtasks and points.
- Multiple test cases per file.
- Local grading against the generated test cases, with time and memory limits.
- Simple random number generation helper.
tcframe requires:
- Linux/macOS. Windows is not supported.
- GCC ≥ 4.8. tcframe relies heavily on C++11 features.
Why do we need test case generators?
- Writing test cases manually is error-prone and time-consuming.
- To enable distributing the test cases as a single, small generator file. No need to send 20 MB of
testcases.zip
over email anymore. - During problem development, constraints often change. Using a generator, we can easily amend the constraints and rerun the generator when needed.
Why do we need a framework for that?
- Not everyone knows how to write a good test cases generator.
- To avoid writing repetitive and boring tasks. For example: creating test case files with correct suffixes (
foo_1.in
,foo_1.out
), running the official solution against the test case input files, etc. - To have a consistent format for generators, so that problem writers in a contest can better collaborate in writing test case generators.
tcframe is based on a paper submitted to IOI conference in 2015: Introducing tcframe: A Simple and Robust Test Cases Generation Framework, written by Ashar Fuadi.
tcframe was mainly inspired from testlib, written by Mike Mirzayanov et al.
tcframe is released under MIT license.