IBM Rational Service Tester
Encyclopedia
IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality is a tool for automated functional testing of web services and service-oriented architecture
(SOA) software components from the Rational Software
division of IBM
. It is primarily used by Software Quality Assurance
teams to perform automated regression testing
of web services.
(SOA) based applications. Using Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality, users can interact with one or several services under test via a graphical user interface
and create a sequence of service operation calls to define a test scenario. IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality is an Eclipse
based test tool.
(SOA) software components under test. Users point the Generic Service Client to the service interface definition, such as a Web Services Description Language
(WSDL) file. The Generic Service Client then automatically and dynamically creates a graphical user interface
that exposes the operations of that service. The Generic Service Client can also retrieve service interface definition from an Universal Description Discovery and Integration
(UDDI) server.
Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality offers many options for validating web service responses, from static baselines to the use of regular expression
patterns for validating dynamic data. These methods automatically parse Web service responses to ensure proper SOA functionality.
Should a custom coding solution be required, users can insert Java code modules to perform complex computations.
Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality performs automatic test editing for data pooling and data correlation. With datapooling, Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality automatically edits tests to separate test data from the test actions. Test data, such as a user login id and password values that were typed in by the user during the test, are stored in a spreadsheet like datapool. This enables to reuse the same test scenario with several sets of data values, to perform data-driven testing
.
Data correlation is the process by which Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality ensures continuity between test actions. Often in a test a value is created at one step of a test and subsequently used during a later step. Whenever such a value is created, Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality stores that value in a variable, and uses that variable later on the test when the data is accessed. This prevents hard coding of values, and ensures that tests will play back correctly in dynamic data environments.
are automatically generated from WSDL files and will be automatically deployed before test execution. After the generation of service stubs, users can modify stub behavior to meet specific testing scenarios. For example, simulation of error conditions such as an external service being unavailable or answering with a fault message are typical uses.
Service-oriented architecture
In software engineering, a Service-Oriented Architecture is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services. These services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for...
(SOA) software components from the Rational Software
Rational Software
Rational Machines was founded by Paul Levy and Mike Devlin in 1981 to provide tools to expand the use of modern software engineering practices, particularly explicit modular architecture and iterative development...
division of IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
. It is primarily used by Software Quality Assurance
Software quality assurance
Software quality assurance consists of a means of monitoring the software engineering processes and methods used to ensure quality. The methods by which this is accomplished are many and varied, and may include ensuring conformance to one or more standards, such as ISO 9000 or a model such as...
teams to perform automated regression testing
Regression testing
Regression testing is any type of software testing that seeks to uncover new errors, or regressions, in existing functionality after changes have been made to a system, such as functional enhancements, patches or configuration changes....
of web services.
Overview
IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality is a tool for ensuring the quality of service-oriented architectureService-oriented architecture
In software engineering, a Service-Oriented Architecture is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services. These services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for...
(SOA) based applications. Using Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality, users can interact with one or several services under test via a graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
and create a sequence of service operation calls to define a test scenario. IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality is an Eclipse
Eclipse (software)
Eclipse is a multi-language software development environment comprising an integrated development environment and an extensible plug-in system...
based test tool.
Web Service Testing Process
The following is an overview of the process of web service validation with IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA QualityTest Creation
Tests are created using the IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality recording mechanism, the Generic Service Client. The Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality recorder captures all transactions between web services client application or the generic service client and an application server. The resulting test is displayed as a tree view, where each branch of the tree represents a client service operation call and response.Generic Service Client
The Generic Service Client is a component of Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality which enable users to interact with web services and other service-oriented architectureService-oriented architecture
In software engineering, a Service-Oriented Architecture is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services. These services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for...
(SOA) software components under test. Users point the Generic Service Client to the service interface definition, such as a Web Services Description Language
Web Services Description Language
The Web Services Description Language is an XML-based language that is used for describing the functionality offered by a Web service. A WSDL description of a web service provides a machine-readable description of how the service can be called, what parameters it expects and what data structures...
(WSDL) file. The Generic Service Client then automatically and dynamically creates a graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
that exposes the operations of that service. The Generic Service Client can also retrieve service interface definition from an Universal Description Discovery and Integration
Universal Description Discovery and Integration
Universal Description, Discovery and Integration is a platform-independent, Extensible Markup Language -based registry for businesses worldwide to list themselves on the Internet and a mechanism to register and locate web service applications...
(UDDI) server.
Test Editing
Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality tests are not represented as code. Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality tests are represented as a tree view, where each branch of the tree represents a client service operation call and response. To edit the test, the user selects menu options which allow for insertion of loops, "if-then" type decision structures, and response verification.Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality offers many options for validating web service responses, from static baselines to the use of regular expression
Regular expression
In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means for "matching" strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters. Abbreviations for "regular expression" include "regex" and "regexp"...
patterns for validating dynamic data. These methods automatically parse Web service responses to ensure proper SOA functionality.
Should a custom coding solution be required, users can insert Java code modules to perform complex computations.
Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality performs automatic test editing for data pooling and data correlation. With datapooling, Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality automatically edits tests to separate test data from the test actions. Test data, such as a user login id and password values that were typed in by the user during the test, are stored in a spreadsheet like datapool. This enables to reuse the same test scenario with several sets of data values, to perform data-driven testing
Data-driven testing
Data-driven testing is a term used in the testing of computer software to describe testing done using a table of conditions directly as test inputs and verifiable outputs as well as the process where test environment settings and control are not hard-coded...
.
Data correlation is the process by which Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality ensures continuity between test actions. Often in a test a value is created at one step of a test and subsequently used during a later step. Whenever such a value is created, Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality stores that value in a variable, and uses that variable later on the test when the data is accessed. This prevents hard coding of values, and ensures that tests will play back correctly in dynamic data environments.
Service Stubbing
Service Stubbing with Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality enables the testing of your SOA application prior to the creation of all services. Test stubsTest stubs
In computer science, test stubs are programs which simulate the behaviors of software components that are the dependent modules of the module being tested.Test Stubs are mainly used in incremental testing's Top-Down approach...
are automatically generated from WSDL files and will be automatically deployed before test execution. After the generation of service stubs, users can modify stub behavior to meet specific testing scenarios. For example, simulation of error conditions such as an external service being unavailable or answering with a fault message are typical uses.
Test Reporting
Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality offers a customizable functional test report which provides a global test verdict, and shows all the executed test steps, service operation calls and answers, as well as the detailed results of each verification points.Release history
The following is a release history of IBM Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality.- Rational Tester for SOA Quality 7.0 Released February, 2007. Initial release.
- Rational Tester for SOA Quality 7.0.1 Released October, 2007.
- Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality v8.0 Released October, 2008. Name changed to Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality.
- Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality v8.1 Released July, 2009.