Properly import missing functions in PyNEST hl_api

[babsey]

This PR fixes the bug that load_help is missing in pynest/nest/lib/hl_api_info.py.

Updated: Also sli_func is missing in pynest/nest/lib/hl_api_helper.py.

These bugs exist since this PR: #2135

[jougs]

LGTM!

[Helveg]

Could you add some regression tests that cover the logic that use these functions? I implemented #2135 shotgun style with the unit tests, and these weren't covered 😛

[babsey]

It seems that #2135 produces more bugs than I registered.
Not everything can be tested, e.g. show_help_with_pager function.

However I added two functions test_load_help and test_help,
but without make html for the test, my added test functions might be obsolete.

[Helveg]

What's this function? It looks autocorrect-suspiciously much like assertIsNone ;p

[Helveg]

Unit tests are usually deterministic and based on a-priori knowledge, how come you need to check what help_text is? Shouldn't we find a case that is always str, and one that is always None so that we can confirm both cases?

[heplesser]

A general comment: Since we now use PyTest, please use plain asserts instead of self.assertXYZ.

[Helveg]

It seems that #2135 produces more bugs than I registered. Not everything can be tested, e.g. show_help_with_pager function.

However I added two functions test_load_help and test_help, but without make html for the test, my added test functions might be obsolete.

What kind of bugs are they? The nest root module has undergone some cleanup and attribute magic has been added. Without tests, users and devs will probably have to bump into these bugs to find out what attributes got swept under the rug. That is unless we export all the attributes on the nest module before the changes, and copy paste them into a unit test that getattrs them?

[babsey]

The functionnest.help('ac_generator')' opens a pager to show documentation of the requested object and will return None.
I did not apply test for this case.
With an additional argument return_text=True, it should load text from the nest/share/doc/nest/html/models/ac_generator.rst.

In the testsuite html/rst files are not built (no make html), I conclude that the function nest.help('ac_generator', return_text=True)returns None.
But the help text exists in the deployment/production.

[jougs]

I tend to agree with @babsey that testing the help system in this way is not so easy, as it requires a full make doc to actually be of use. My suggestion is to remove the tests again, merge this PR and open an issue that could then be solved with a broader scope.

[jougs]

hl_api is gone and the load_help function is merely meant as a helper, so I'm not sure we actually should test it in this way.

[jougs]

Of course, I meant to request changes instead of approving ;-)

[Helveg]

Thanks for spotting these :)