Specialist Task Force 409: Conformance tests for TTCN-3 tools

Who we are:

Team Leader: Zeiss, Benjamin, Georg-August University Göttingen, zeiss@cs.uni-goettingen.de
Team Members: Stanca-Kaposta, Bogdan, Testing Technologies, stanca@testingtech.com
Kovacs, Andras, Broadbit Slovakia, andras.kovacs@broadbit.com

What we do:

The purpose of this work is to start the implementation of a TTCN-3 tool conformance test specification for TTCN-3 tools, i.e., we specify ICS, test purposes and TTCN-3 tests for those aspects of the TTCN-3 core language standard, which are considered to be the most critical by the TTCN-3 community.

For more details, see our Terms of Reference

Why we do it:

Over the last 10 years TTCN-3 has become a significantly important testing technology with very high deployment at various ETSI member companies as well as other organizations internationally. With its uptake by 3GPP, OMA and the AUTOSAR (a consortium of car makers and OEM suppliers), its role in standardization is further growing. 3GPP is using TTCN-3 as the test specification language for IMS call control testing from Rel. 8 onward and. TC TISPAN is using TTCN-3 for NGN supplementary service and interworking test specification. TC INT is using TTCN-3 for automating IMS core network interoperability testing. TC ITS is using TTCN-3 to specify all its test suites under the EC mandate M/453. Since 2004, ETSI organizes an annual, international user conference where it collects feedback from the wide TTCN-3 user community. The first ETSI TTCN-3 tools Plugtest has been organized in 2009.

A significant number of TTCN-3 compilers are available on the market (at least 7 commercial tools and 2 internal tools of industrial ETSI members) that also indicate the high interest and use of the language. The TTCN-3 standards which provide the foundation for this testing technology, are however quite complex and encompass multiple hundreds of pages. Part 1 of the TTCN-3 series, the TTCN-3 core language, alone is estimated to contain on the order of 5,000 requirements. Although there has been to this day no evidence of incorrect tool implementations, the TTCN-3 community has been repeatedly requesting over the past 10 years for some kind of assurance that tools comply to the TTCN-3 standards, i.e., a conformance test suite. This STF is intended to create a first TTCN-3 conformance test suite for the purpose of ensuring that TTCN-3 tools actually comply to ETSI TTCN-3 standards.

How we do it:

The total manpower of this STF is 60 working days with one big session from the beginning of October at ETSI and coordinated work outside until the end of December. The basis for the STF 409 work is a proforma for TTCN-3 tool conformance test specification that has been created previously in TC MTS by STF 380 and 393. Decisions are coordinated with both MTS and voluntary review contributors from ISPRAS, the University of Göttingen, Metodos y Technologia, and Elvior. As a result, the STF work is an effort in which many TTCN-3 tool vendors either actively participate or contribute. The coordination is performed by use of the mailing list STF409_MTS_TTCN3_tools @list.etsi.org.

Deliverables:

The STF will provide the following draft ETSI deliverables, to be approved by correspondence during 1Q2011:

• DTS/MTS-00132-1T3 TTCN-3 Conformance Test Suite ; Part 1: ICS

• DTS/MTS-00132-2T3 Conf_TPs     TTCN-3 Conformance Test Suite ; Part 2: TSS&TPs

• DTS/MTS-00132-3T3 Conf_ATS         TTCN-3 Conformance Test Suite ; Part 3: ATS & IXIT

Time plan:

Most of the work will be the result of two main session that will take place on the following dates:

• Session at ETSI from October 4, 2010 until October 15, 2010 at ETSI.

• Coordinated session outside from November 8, 2010 until November 19, 2010.

By December 3, 2010, most of the STF work shall be finished according to the preliminary plan, i.e., a stable draft is planned to exist by December.

How to contact us:

On general inquiries, please contact the team leader Benjamin Zeiss by e-mail (zeiss@cs.uni-goettingen.de). Otherwise, please use the e-mail addresses stated above in the “What we do” section.

This information is based upon STF working assumptions.
The views expressed do not necessarily represent the position of ETSI in this context.

Last updated: 2013-04-13 17:33:47