A SOAP XML based service TTCN-3 test case
the SOAP XML based service TTCN-3 test case example execution trace
Testing Web content using TTCN-3
TTCN is a standard and formal notation that was originally invented to specify telecommunications Protocols test cases. Since then it has been used in many different fields of application other than telecommunications.
TTCN-3 has been defined by ETSI with strong Industry contributions.
It uses all the basic concepts of the original TTCN language defined in the '80s but added an array of enhancements and even brand new concepts.
While the previous versions of TTCN were exclusively GUI tools oriented, the new TTCN-3 version includes a core notation that is fully text based exactly like any other general purpose language (GPL). The previous table and tree graphic interfaces are still supported by TTCN-3 and are defined in the standard. A new graphic version consists in using Message Sequence Charts like diagrams. For some obscure reasons, most of today's users prefer to use the core text notation.
However, TTCN-3 is not to be confused with a GPL. Its central concepts of templates and behavior trees and related matching mechanism is unique to TTCN-3. Also, the concept of parallel test components with its concise syntax and clear semantics makes the use of multi-threading for complex test architectures purposes extremely easy to use. These concepts lead to considerable reductions in test development and debugging time. Moreover, TTCN-3 provides the tester with a model, the separation of concerns between an abstract and a concrete layer. The abstract layer is where the tester would specify the abstract test suite, free of any implementation details while the concrete layer is where the link between the abstract layer and the real world is performed. The concrete layer is where tradition GPL are used.
The TTCN-3 model has a very clear benefit: test specifications can be understood by people other than the ones who developed them and thus can be exchanged among the user community. This in turn increases the confidence in a product by potential customers because they can have access to the test suites that were used to test the product that they purchased or about to purchase and actually understand them. This property also lead many industries to require that test systems be written in TTCN-3 to speed up the purchasing approval process.
TTCN-3 is also not to be confused with a framework. TTCN-3 is a strongly typed language with precise syntax and test semantics. Strong typing enables to detect specification errors at compile time rather than at run time, thus potentially reducing considerably time to market and freeing resources for more in-depth testing.
More important is the fact that there are now open source tools for compiling TTCN-3 test specification, thus eliminating the absolute use of vendor tools that prevailed for the old version. TRex by University of Goettingen is such a tool. Any new user can use it to explore this language.
This is a simple request/response example of someone playing ping pong. You send a ping and you expect a pong back. Alternative responses are a net or totally unexpected responses. click here to download PingPong.html
2. The SOAP XML based service TTCN-3 example consist in an abstract test suite that enables to test the responses of a weather forecast service to requests of weather conditions for various cities. It illustrates the TTCN-3 features of typing, data templates definitions, data template parametrization, the use of timers, the mismatch of responses, the re-use of data template definitions.
3. Simple Web testing example from the T3UC'06 tutorial
This example consist in testing a simple web page with content and links.
click here to download the web pages testing example. This is the example discussed in the T3UC Stockholm conference (see turorial slides in the tutorials section of this page).
4. A minimal SIP fully executable Abstract Test Suite without the need for a Test Adapter
TTCN specification come in two forms, tools internal representation that is usually not human readable and MP format that is text based. However the text based representation is very complex with a large number (over a hundred) keywords and thus is in a way not more readable than internal binary versions.
There are many TTCN-2 test suites freely available from a number of international bodies that the user community can download. However, some of the users are not familiar with TTCN and mostly do not have TTCN tools at hand.
view_behav.exe is a handy tool when away from the office and you need to view a TTCN behavior part if you don't have a copy of Telelogic's itex installed on your laptop. You need to first transform your ttcn specification from itex format to the mp format using Telelogic's itex2mp command, then download the resulting mp file and view it with viewbehav.
An example of TTCN-2 MP format test suite
The result of view_behav after transformation of the MP format
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