To specify the binary log format for a test run, you can use the --mysqld or --combination option to tell mysql-test-run.pl to pass a logging option to mysqld. For example, the following command runs the tests from the rpl suite that have names that begin with rpl_row. The tests are run once with the binary log format set to STATEMENT:

shell> mysql-test-run.pl --suite=rpl --do-test=rpl_row
         --mysqld=--binlog_format=statement

To run tests under multiple log formats, use two or more instances of the --combination option. The following command runs the same tests as the preceding command, but runs them once with the binary log format set to ROW and a second time with the format set to MIXED:

shell> mysql-test-run.pl --suite=rpl --do-test=rpl_row
         --combination=--binlog_format=row
         --combination=--binlog_format=mixed

The --combination option must be given at least two times or it has no effect.

As an alternative to using the --combination option, you can create a file named combinations in the test suite directory and list the options that you would specify via --combination, one line per option. For the preceding mysql-test-run.pl command, the suite name is rpl, so you would create a file named suite/rpt/combinations with these contents:

[row]
--binlog_format=row

[mixed]
--binlog_format=mixed

Then invoke mysql-test-run.pl like this:

shell> mysql-test-run.pl --suite=rpl --do-test=row

The format of the combinations file is similar to that of my.cnf files (section names followed by options for each section), but options listed in the combinations file should include the leading dashes. (Options in my.cnf files are given without the leading dashes.) mysql-test-run.pl displays the section name following the test name when it reports the test result.

Any --combination options specified on the command line override those found in a combinations file.

The --combination option and the combinations file have different scope. The --combination option applies globally to all tests run by a given invocation of mysql-test-run.pl. The combinations file is placed in a test suite directory and applies only to tests in that suite.