Commits on Dec 24, 2023

1. Add new ParallelTests::RSpec::VerboseFormatter for enhanced debugging …

   The new formatter allows users of parallel_rspec to more easily obtain
   detailed information about the examples running as they occur in real
   time.
   
   Background:
   
   In my project, it was observed that an RSpec example would hang
   intermittently on CI. At first, no team member was able to make this
   reliably fail enough on CI to facilitate debugging and no one was able
   to reproduce locally at all. The hang only occurred with parallel tests
   running and never with just the "rspec" command.
   
   In an attempt to gather more information, we began using the RSpec
   "documentation" formatter which outputs the "description", "context",
   and "it" strings. Unfortunately, when running in parallel, the output
   from different processes will interleave with one another making it
   extremely difficult to understand which example is responsible for the
   observed hang.
   
   Solution:
   
   Build a "documentation-like" formatter that plays nicely with the
   parallel_tests framework. The new formatter always ouputs all
   information on a single line to avoid important details from different
   processes interleaving with one another. This means the "describe" and
   "context" strings will be repeated across multiple "it" blocks.
   
   To further assist, the formatter include the PID and parallel process
   number to help identify which subprocess hangs and which one continues.
   The output will look something like:
   
   ```
   [14403] [2] [STARTED] Foo foo
   [14402] [1] [STARTED] Bar bar
   [14402] [1] [PASSED] Bar bar
   ```
   
   In the output above, it is clear the "Foo foo" example is still running.
   
   Using this formatter, our project's team was able to successfully
   identify the example causing the intermittent hang and then address it.
   As such, I'm hoping that this may be useful for a larger audience.

   

   jdufresne committed Dec 24, 2023
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