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Conformance Tests

Conformance tests verify that an ALX implementation produces the expected protocol-defined results for canonical test inputs.

Shared test vectors allow independent implementations to detect behavioral differences before exchanging or verifying Blocks across implementation boundaries.

Conformance Coverage​

Core conformance tests evaluate deterministic protocol behavior including:

  • Canonicalization
  • Parent normalization
  • contentHash derivation
  • blockHash derivation
  • Block validation
  • Graph validation
  • Lineage traversal

Where an implementation supports optional protocol capabilities, applicable tests can additionally cover signature verification, replay handling, and Merkle proof behavior.

Why Conformance Testing Matters​

Two implementations can accept equivalent JSON input while producing different canonical bytes, normalized parent sets, or hashes.

Differences in serialization, numeric handling, Unicode encoding, object-key ordering, parent normalization, or cryptographic implementation can produce incompatible Block identities.

Run the JavaScript Suite​

From the ALX Protocol source repository, which carries the shared vectors and an adapter for each implementation:

pnpm run test:conformance

The JavaScript test suite also covers package-specific capabilities such as Block attestations, replay windows, and Merkle helpers. Passing those tests evaluates the corresponding JavaScript package behavior; those capabilities are not requirements for core ALX conformance unless the protocol specification defines them.

When to Run Conformance Tests​

Run the applicable conformance tests when:

  • Implementing ALX in another language or runtime
  • Changing canonicalization behavior
  • Changing parent normalization
  • Changing hash derivation
  • Updating Block or graph validation
  • Modifying lineage traversal
  • Updating supported signing or replay behavior
  • Changing supported Merkle proof behavior
  • Upgrading serialization or cryptographic dependencies
  • Preparing an implementation for release

Conformance tests should also run in continuous integration for implementations that create or verify ALX Blocks.

Explore​