Update Lib/test/test_minidom.py to use the unittest module. Also: I noticed the test_minidom.py contains some code (now long dead) to check for reference cycles. The code is active only when Node.allnodes exists; this hasn't existed for over four years now. After re-implementing that test using gc.DEBUG_SAVEALL, I found that many tests failed because of missing unlink() calls. I added them. After that, one test was still failing. This is because expatbuilder.parseString() and friends do not clean up some cyclic references on error. The patch includes a fix for that (in Lib/xml/dom/expatbuilder.py). An alternative would be to ditch the cycle-checking test entirely. I can submit a patch that does that instead, if desired.
OK, I've attached two new patches. test_minidom.second.patch - Changes "confirm" to "assert_" or "assertEquals", breaks multi-line assertions into many one-line assertions, adds convenience methods "assertSameNode" and "assertNotSameNode", etc. Also replaces the Node.allnodes test with gc-based test and adds a few calls to unlink(). expatbuilder.second.patch - Fixes the test failure discovered by the new gc testing. File Added: test_minidom.second.patch
Collin: Thanks for taking the time to look at this. I don't think this change is worth making. I've started working on some new features in minidom and it seems like every time I exercise a new piece of code, the gc finds a small number of objects in cycles. For example, parseFragmentString() seems to leave a few objects (even with expatbuilder.second.patch). We're just going to have to live with it-- I don't think anyone has time or desire to hunt down them all down.
Jason, can you clarify your last comment. Wrt the "change [not] worth making", do you mean this patch or a different change? I just want to know what in this patch is still active and needs review before spending time. Thanks.
