Generating Reports in Clover-for-Eclipse

Introduction

The Clover-for-Eclipse plugin allows you to generate HTML, PDF or XML reports from one or more Clover-enabled projects in the current workspace.

Generating a Report

To create a report, select a project or source file then click the left-hand side of the Report Button in Eclipse. The 'Generate Report: Report Format' dialog opens.

It doesn't matter whether you select a project or an element of a project — the reports operate at the project level. Currently, Clover doesn't support reporting on the sub-sets of a project.

Screenshot: Generating a New Report in Clover-for-Eclipse

Select an Output Format

For your report, you can select an output format of HTML, PDF or XML.

To select the desired output format, click the corresponding radio button in the 'Generate Report: Report Format' dialog and click 'Next'. The 'Generate Report: Project Selection' dialog opens.

Screenshot: Selecting a Report Format in Clover-for-Eclipse

Select the Source Project

A list of available projects will be displayed. To choose one, click the tick box shown next to the desired project and click 'Next'. A dialog box with specific settings for the chosen report type opens.

More than one project can be selected (this would be used for instance if the user has multiple related projects or has application code in one project, with test code in another).

Screenshot: Selecting a Source Project for the Report in Clover-for-Eclipse

Configure General Settings for the Report

Your report can make use of the following settings: report title, output directory location, use current filter settings, include failed coverage, threads allocated, include source, JVM selection.

Setting	Default	Description
Include failed coverage	True	Tests from failed tests are included by default but can be excluded if they wish to discount this as worthy of being reported.
Include line info (only for XML reports)	False	Whether line by line coverage information is added to the report.
Include source (only for HTML reports)	True	Whether to include source code in the HTML reports. Not including source will mean users can't see per-line coverage information but report generation will run faster.
JVM selection	Fork	Whether to fork a separate JVM for report generation or not. Forking is generally recommended in all cases.
Threads allocated (only for HTML reports)	1 (range: 1-4)	Using more threads may product the report faster but will use more memory. 1 is recommended for large projects.
Use current filter settings	True	If the user un-checks this they will be given the opportunity to set a custom context. Explore why.

Screenshot: PDF Report Settings in Clover for Eclipse

Configuring a Report Filter

Report Filter Configuration is only shown if you choose not to accept default filter settings. This lets you select any of the predefined pre-defined filters or any of the custom method or statement filters you have previously configured.

Configuring Your Report JVM

Report JVM Configuration is only shown if you chose to fork a separate JVM. Sets your maximum heap size (default: 512 MB) and additional JVM arguments (users won't need to supply these unless support tells them to).

Finalise the Report

Clicking 'Finish' will start the report generation process.

If not forked, no output will appear but there will be a progress dialog to show progress. If forked, output may appear in the Eclipse console area.

Opening the Generated Report

When report generation is complete, a dialog box will prompt you to open one of the following options:

HTML report
HTML reports will be viewed either via the system web browser or Eclipse's embedded web browser (on supported platforms).
XML report
XML files will be viewed in either the system's default editor or Eclipse's XML editor. Give more information)
PDF report
PDF files will be viewed in the system's default PDF viewer.

After a report is generated, an entry is added to the drop-down on the right-hand side of the report button in the Clover views which allow users to quickly re-open the report.

Screenshot: Quick Link for Opening a Generated Report

Screenshot: A Generated PDF Report from Clover-for-Eclipse