[PATCH] tests: environment variable to specify that tests should be serialized

[Daniel Kahn Gillmor]

On Mon 2019-05-06 22:15:49 +0300, Tomi Ollila wrote:
> While I like this parallelization option, and hope a version (could be even 
> David's smtp_dummy change) of it could be available in notmuch repository
> as soon as possible, I would not like it being default -- just like make -J
> is not default...
>
> ... it being default, unsuspicious user running `make test` might have his
> multitasking maching eating too much resources for a particular purpose and
> slowing everything else. 

if we're voting, i vote in favor of parallel defaults wherever possible,
with a way to force serialization.  I'd much rather have my machine
finish the thing i just asked it to do in less time by default, than
wait around twiddling my thumbs while the machine has spare cycles.  The
context switch for my mind is way more expensive than the context
switches going on within the computer.

The change from 2 minutes to < 30 seconds is a game-changer in terms of
keeping me focused while i'm developing.  make it easy to do that!

        --dkg
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