RE: [tag] Something like RDF and Structure for TAs

[stephen.green@systml.co.uk]

> I'm back to suggesting that instead of saying 'a prerequisite of TA 101.3
> is TA 101.2', there can be a TA 101.1 which states that 'TA 101.2 and TA
> 101.3 have to be tested sequentially'.


Thinking a bit more about this - this isn't really a TA, is it?

Maybe it is metadata but maybe it is something else again - perhaps
more within scope of the TAG than is metadata but not a typical TA as
such.

Maybe the same is true of a trigger which is closer to the TA than
metadata. Maybe both of these are something like parts of a special
type of assertion - not metadata nor test case but an assertion about
one or more test assertions.

Could call it meta-assertion :-)

Is it metadata about an assertion but not the kind of metadata which is out
of scope? Is it metadata which is at the same level as a TA or set of TAs
and is required along with the TAs? Maybe there needs to be an assertion
which isn't necessarily a test assertion as such but says something
necessary about certain TA(s).

If the TA Anatomy allows for such assertions, e.g. by allowing assertions
to be made about assertions, e.g. by suggesting how they do it, not
necessarily by providing any special structure as such (the assertion could
refer to other TAs within the main body of it's expression, say).

case 1
  * How about a TA which says that two other TAs have to apply one after the
other? (or that the tests written for TA B have to be run after those for
TA A - or is that metadata?)
    This seems like a special case - an assertion which isn't essentially
a test assertion but has equal status and requires a way to refer to a TA

case 2
  * How about a TA A which says that TA C is triggered by TA B?
    I think this need not be a special type of TA but it might require
the facilitation of referring to another TA from within it

case 3
  * How about a TA A which says that the IUT of TA A combines those
of TA B and TA C?
    e.g a TA A says an Invoice has a structure which has to be the
IUT of TA B followed by the IUT of TA C
    I'm not sure this is at all a special type of TA


- Steve