Autolink — Putting SDL-based test generation into practice

Abstract

AUTOLINK is a tool for automatic test generation. It allows to generate TTCN test suites based on a given SDL specification and MSC requirements. The first big challenge for AUTOLINK was the creation of a test suite for the Intelligent Network Application Protocol at ETSI. In this paper we discuss our experience in applying AUTO LINK to a real-life protocol and the improvements of AUTOLINK which were developed during this project. We also present future enhancements which will further ease the work of test suite developers.

Ad-Hoc Protocol Modelling, Validation and Automated Test Suite Generation

“…The Telelogic TAU tools were used for TTCN test suite generation [4]. The starting point of the generation is the SDL specification and the goal is to get a TTCN test suite in an automated way.…”

“…Generating a TTCN test suite [6] from the MSC test purposes and the SDL specification. The second part of the generation procedure is implemented in the TAU Validator in a fully automated way [4] (on demand some translating rules can be defined to personalize the test suite) but the automation of the first part is not so trivial.…”

“…However it is very positive that naming of constraints can be controlled with configuration of the generator tool and concurrent TICN is also supported in the Validator [4].…”

TimedTTCN-3 Based Graphical Real-Time Test Specification

“…In most cases, the testing process is not only based on one, but on several languages: Graphical languages like Message Sequence Chart (MSC), the Specification and Description Language (SDL) or the Unified Modelling Language (UML) are used as a basis for test generation, test specification or test visualisation [1,10,15,20] and data languages like the Interface Definition Language (IDL) or the Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) define the information to be exchanged between the System Under Test (SUT) and the test system during the test execution.…”

Using formal specifications to support testing

“…An alternative, more restricted, type of test purpose is a required sequence of interactions which can be described as a message sequence chart (MSC). There are tools such as AUTOLINK that apply reachability analysis to the product of the specification and an MSC in order to produce a test sequence [Schmitt et al 1998]. …”