Plum Hall

Compiler and library validation suites

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Validation suites for C and C++ compiler and standard library developers

The Plum Hall suites cover C up to C23 and C++ up to C++26

The suites are complete validation environments including:

Hand-Crafted Tests

A large volume of hand-crafted tests

Test Driver

A configurable test driver to run validation for any combination of compiler, compiler options, and target architecture

Report Generator

A report generator that provides a detailed overview of validation results in HTML and plain text

Portable Tests

Portable tests designed to validate any conforming implementation

Quick Tests

Fast, simple tests in seconds

Optimized for any Environment

Only requires a minimal execution environment

Plum Hall Suites in Detail

Plum Hall C Base

 

C compiler and library validation suite


It includes positive and negative tests for any compiler and library implementations:

  • Language conformance tests for the preprocessor and language behavior
  • C Standard Library tests
  • Undefined behavior tests
  • Implementation limits tests
  • Tests for the optional bounds-checking (Annex K) library
  • A large body of generated tests for permutations of operators, data types, and arbitrarily nested expressions

Plum Hall C++

 

C++ compiler validation suite for verifying the implementation of the C++ Language

Because C++ is built on top of C, it includes the C base suite.

Additionally, Plum Hall C++ contains both positive and negative conformance tests for the C++ language.

Plum Hall Lib++

 

C++ standard library implementation validation suite

It helps C++ library developers to ensure conformance of their implementation to the ISO C++ specifications.

Quality Assurance

The Plum Hall test suites support rigorous quality assurance for the validation of C and C++ compilers and libraries during development and maintenance. It offers great support for regression testing integration and teams that value stability, continuity, and proven workflows. They are designed for established development environments where correctness and consistency of compiler and library behavior must be continuously verified.

History

Founded in 1979 by Dr. Thomas Plum and Joan Hall, Plum Hall initially provided a series of popular seminars and courses to commercial C language programmers and developers. Plum Hall expanded their business in 1982 to include publishing technical textbooks on both C and C++.

When the C Standards Committee (WG14) was formed in 1983, Plum Hall became actively involved in that standardization, followed by its participation in the C++ Standards Committee (WG21).

In 1986, Plum Hall began to support the market demand for validation test suite products. With its first software offering in 1986, the C compiler and library validation suite, Plum Hall won the only technical competition ever held between C test suite products. Plum Hall later introduced the Plum Hall validation suite for the C++ Language, and the Plum Hall validation suite for the C++ Library.

In 2025, the Plum Hall test suite portfolio was taken under the wing of Solid Sands. Solid Sands is proud to continue the legacy of Plum Hall’s founders. Integrating and upgrading these renowned suites allows Solid Sands to deliver broader test coverage. Customers can expect seamless, ongoing support for the Plum Hall suite, backed by Solid Sands’ professional and highly experienced engineering team.

Plum Hall test suites are a product of Plum Hall B.V. All commercial inquiries, maintenance,  and support services are managed by Solid Sands B.V.

Plum Hall® is a registered trademark of Plum Hall B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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