Captures the testing patterns surfaced from the three-module
pattern bench (anchor_prg / phi_alignment_probe /
t3_bound_calculator) as a docs/ architecture reference. Future
blackops shifts find it via grep instead of having to read commit
messages from de997f7 + a4b3056 + 35aeebb to reconstruct the
discipline.
Eight patterns codified:
1. KAT (known-answer-test) regression — pin (input, expected)
fixtures under bench/fixtures/<module>/
2. Hand-computed formula assertion — compute the spec's math
in the test file from first principles, assert agreement
3. Monotonicity per input axis — scaling one knob while
holding others fixed verifies the function responds in
the expected direction
4. Closure / sum-of-parts invariants — A + B + C ≡ total;
no missing terms, no double-counting
5. Parametrized invalid-input cones — collapse N
test_rejects_X functions into one @parametrize per
validation class
6. CLI subprocess end-to-end — argparse + main() drift the
import-only tests miss
7. Doc parity — pin the spec's worked-example numbers
against the function's actual output (catches doc drift,
which surfaced today as fox's calibration-pass note on the
T3 bound doc §11)
8. Module-export shape — version constants, asdict round-trip,
JSON-serializability, "v1" version-string discipline
Includes:
- "When to use" header that explicitly limits applicability to
calculator-style code (math-heavy, closed-form output, JSON-
serializing CLI)
- "When NOT to use" disclaimer that verifier / parser /
state-machine tests have their own appropriate structures
and shouldn't be retrofitted (saves future shifts the same
realization I had today walking warrant_resolver tests)
- A 9-item checklist for new calculator-style modules to land
with consistent test density
- Concrete code excerpts from the three exemplar test files
Architecture-reference convention followed (per docs/TICKETS.md
§ "Distinction from other docs"): docs/<filename>.md, no ticket
number, listed in the architecture-reference block. Joins
concept-relations-design.md, warrant-substrate-cookbook.md, and
the cti-architecture.md / mesh.md / etc. set.
docs/TICKETS.md amended with the new entry under "Distinction
from other docs".
russell@unturf.com
0725eb418b