TPTP-Test-Tools-Design-Review-166025-10252007

Date

• October 25, 2007

Attendees

• Present:
  • Alexander Bernstein
  • Joe Toomey
  • Paul Slauenwhite
  • Jerome Bozier
  • Jerome Gout
  • Kurtis Martin
  • Dawn Peters

Background

• Review of enhancement 166025 (Move, Copy, Delete, Rename and Import/Export test assets) to revisit this topic, design, and implementation for transitioning to Jerome B. and review for others.

• Description Document

Minutes

• Problem:
  • The Test Model stores relative references for linkages between test assets (for example, test execution results references a test suite).
  • When test assets are moved, copied, deleted, renamed, and imported/exported, the references need to be updated.

• Requirements:
  • Generic solution for all TPTP models (test, trace, log, and statistical).
  • Recovery of broken references. For example, referenced resource is missing or not loaded.
  • Not dependant on the Test Perspective/Test navigator.

• Jerome G. partially implemented a solution in TPTP 4.3 (September 2006):
  • Handles the delete, move, and rename use cases in the Test Navigator.
  • Requires the copy/paste and import/export use cases.
  • Uses the proxy nodes in the Test Navigator:
    • One proxy node per test suite is loaded to display a minimal amount of information for the tree in the Test Navigator.
    • The information is cached in a marker.
    • When Eclipse is started, only the proxy is loaded from the marker file, not the EMF resource.
    • The proxy stores a bi-directional reference between test assets that is updated for every copy and paste operation in the Test Navigator.

• Proposed Design:
  • Proxy provides APIs for each operation that consumer can extend to contribute actions.
  • Actions would compensate for the side effect (for example, updating references when a test asset is copied) based on the operation.
  • An extension would allow consumers to specify the relationship between test assets.
  • The bi-directional reference between test assets in proxy would be updated based on the relationships defined in the extension point.
  • When test assets are copied/pasted, unique IDs will be regenerated.

• Concerns:
  • Manipulating test assets outside of the Test Navigator (for example, Resource Perspective or file system).
  • Partial solution only applicable for the Test Model.
  • Partial solution is not a generic solution. The other TPTP models (log, trace, and statistical) may not even use references in their model.
  • Requires a call-back for every operation.
  • Compatibility preservation for extension point.
  • How to handle references to unsupported test assets.
  • Performance and scalability (for example, using the TPTP test bucket).

Action items

• Jerome B. to address concerns in the Description Document.

• Jerome B. to define the core use cases (move, copy, delete, rename, and import/export) in the Description Document.

• Jerome G. will attach the partial implementation to the Bugzilla 166025.

• Paul will confirm if the other TPTP models (log, trace, and statistical) use references in their model.