TTCN-3

Abstract

In this chapter a detailed introduction into TTCN-3 is provided. It argues why TTCN-3 language was created and presents its practical importance. The chapter sums up in several sections the concepts behind TTCN-3, the TTCN-3 core language, the implementation and execution of TTCN-3 test systems. A complete example describes the steps the user shall follow in order to run a TTCN-3 test system. First, the user defines the test cases in TTCN-3 language. It uses components, ports and connections in order to define a test configuration, defines data types (records, sets, basic types etc), defines test data (templates) and describe test behaviors (testcases, functions, altsteps). In Section1.3 we concentrated on the most important concepts and constructs used in TTCN-3 abstract test specifications. In parallel, a minimal test suite was developed to the Dino web-service in order to exemplify the practical use of the language. Secondly, an Adapter must be implemented. The adapter implements the TRI (TTCN-3 Runtime Interface). The adapter is SUT specific and shall be implemented for each tested SUT. It contains basically all needed operations to communicate with the SUT (call, send, etc). Third, the user must specify how to distribute the tests if many hosts are used. A particular solution was introduced and discussed (note that the distribution language is only an example not a standard). Beside the main flow (how to develop test systems with TTCN-3) we discussed several important issues related to implementation of TTCN-3 execution environments based on TCI (TTCN-3 Control Interfaces), deployment and distribution. Nowadays, TTCN-3 is more and more used, its applicability being extended to many domains. Thanks to its powerful constructs it is perhaps the most suitable technology for testing and makes it easy to apply to any testing needs. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.