NUnit does not show custom exceptions when running tests in a separate AppDomain

[CharliePoole]

If a test throws one of our custom exception types (e.g., InterfaceBrokerException) and you're running tests via the NUnit GUI, then NUnit shows the following instead of the exception that was actually thrown:

An unhandled System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationException was thrown while executing this test : Unable to find assembly 'Profitstar.Library, Version=2008.2.338.27793, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null'.

This is because the tests get run in one AppDomain, and then the results are marshaled to the main AppDomain via .NET serialization; but the Profitstar.Library assembly isn't loaded into the main AppDomain (nor should it be, because then it couldn't be unloaded), so it can't deserialize the exception.

So we end up with no stack trace, no original exception message, and no idea of even what exception type got thrown.

Is there any way to circumvent the use of a separate AppDomain when using the NUnit GUI? If not, can something be added to configure that feature?

See discussion at https://bugs.launchpad.net/nunit-3.0/+bug/494119

[CharliePoole]

I don't believe this issue is relevant to NUnit 3 any longer. We still create a test AppDomain but exceptions thrown by the tests are no longer allowed to escape. The test execution code is contained in the framework itself and the exception is transformed into an NUnit TestResult in XML format before it is returned to the original AppDomain.

I'm closing the issue but if anyone thinks I have missed something, you can still add a comment here, which the developers will review.