feat: add comprehensive unit tests for bittensor.core.timelock module for SDKv10

[jworth008]

Pull Request: Add Comprehensive Unit Tests for Timelock Module

Bug

Missing unit test coverage for bittensor/core/timelock.py. While integration tests exist in tests/integration_tests/test_timelock.py, there are no unit tests that can run without network access to Drand. This leaves the module's logic untested in isolation and makes CI slower due to network-dependent tests.

Description of the Change

This PR adds a comprehensive unit test suite (tests/unit_tests/test_timelock.py) with 47 unit tests covering all aspects of the timelock module using mocked dependencies for fast, isolated testing.

Test Coverage Added:

TLE Constants (3 tests)

• TLE_ENCRYPTED_DATA_SUFFIX type and value validation
• Module __all__ exports verification

encrypt() Function (12 tests)

• String to bytes conversion
• Bytes data passthrough
• Default and custom block_time handling
• Fast-blocks mode (block_time=0.25)
• Integer and float block_time support
• Return type validation
• Empty string/bytes handling
• Unicode string support
• Large n_blocks values

decrypt() Function (8 tests)

• Return type validation (bytes by default)
• None return before reveal round
• no_errors flag handling
• return_str flag handling
• Unicode result decoding

wait_reveal_and_decrypt() Function (9 tests)

• Explicit reveal_round parameter
• Automatic round parsing from encrypted data
• Waiting loop behavior
• return_str and no_errors parameter passing
• Error handling for invalid/malformed data
• Immediate return when past reveal round

Round Parsing (4 tests)

• Valid encrypted data parsing
• Little-endian format verification
• Maximum value (2^64 - 1) handling
• Zero value handling

Edge Cases (7 tests)

• Zero and negative n_blocks
• Float and very small block_time
• Large data handling
• Exact round match behavior
• Binary data with null bytes

Module Imports (5 tests)

• Function importability verification
• Constant exportability

Alternate Designs

Alternative approaches considered:

1. Extend existing integration tests - Rejected because integration tests require network access to Drand and are slower (~3s per test vs 0.06s for all unit tests)
2. Fewer tests with broader scope - Rejected to ensure comprehensive coverage of all code paths and parameter combinations
3. No mocking, use real Drand - Rejected because unit tests should be fast, isolated, and not depend on external services

The chosen approach provides thorough unit-level testing while maintaining test independence and fast execution.

Possible Drawbacks

• Adds ~500 lines of test code to maintain
• Uses mocking which may need updates if internal implementation changes
• Some overlap with existing integration tests (different testing approach, same functionality)

Verification Process

1. Ran the full test suite:

pytest tests/unit_tests/test_timelock.py -v

Result: 47 passed in 0.06s

2. Verified lint compliance:

ruff check tests/unit_tests/test_timelock.py

Result: All checks passed!

3. Verified format compliance:

ruff format --check tests/unit_tests/test_timelock.py

Result: 1 file already formatted

4. Test Categories Verified:

• ✅ encrypt() input handling and parameter passing
• ✅ decrypt() return types and error handling
• ✅ wait_reveal_and_decrypt() waiting logic and round parsing
• ✅ Edge cases and boundary conditions
• ✅ Module exports and imports

Release Notes

N/A - This change adds test coverage only and does not affect user-facing functionality.

Branch Acknowledgement

[x] I am acknowledging that I am opening this branch against staging

[jworth008]

@basfroman Hope you had a great weekend. Could you please check the PR and give me your feedback when you are available?

[basfroman]

@basfroman Hope you had a great weekend. Could you please check the PR and give me your feedback when you are available?

All the coverage you're providing in this PR is already available/covered in the current SDKv10 codebase and in bittensor-drand one.
Conclusion: this PR is redundant.
Pls close this PR.