about edits on TA Guidelines

[Jacques Durand <JDurand@us.fujitsu.com>]

Following today’s discussion:

We could in fact rename both section 3 & 4 titles:

3 Overview of the Test Assertion Model 10 à “The Test Assertion Model: Overview and Best Practices”

3.1 The Structure of a Test Assertion 10

3.1.1 Core Test Assertion Parts 10

3.1.2 Optional Test Assertion Parts 11

3.1.3 General Semantics of a Test Assertion 12

3.1.4 Test Assertion Notation used in the Examples 12

3.2 Best Practices 13

3.2.1 Basic Guidelines for Test Assertions Parts 13

3.2.2 Granularity of Test Assertions 15

3.2.3 Handling Optional Statements 16

3.2.4 About the Testability of Predicates 17

3.2.5 Implicit Test Assertion Parts 18

4 Advanced Features 19 à “Common Challenges in Using Test Assertions”

4.1 Complex Predicates 19

4.2 Prerequisites 20

4.3 Test Assertions for Properties 21

4.4 Prerequisites Referring to Other Test Assertions 22

4.5 Various Normative Sources 23

4.6 Partially Testable Normative Sources 24

4.7 Test Assertion Grouping

So for section 4:

The intro would also be changed from:

Advanced Features

We have considered the five essential elements of the test assertion: identifier, reference, target, predicate and prescription level. In practice there may be a need for further features to better cater for corner cases such as:

 

• Specifications where the normative statements are embedded wholly or partly in tables and diagrams
• Specifications which normatively reference other specifications
• Specification and test assertions versions
• Inheritance and dependencies between specifications
• Redundancy of excessively repeated assertions elements
• Test assertion targets which are categorized and/or related (inheritance, composition).

To:

Common Challenges in Using Test Assertions

We have considered the five essential elements of the test assertion: identifier, reference, target, predicate and prescription level. In many cases these elements are sufficient and their use is straightforward. Other cases are more challenging, such as:  

• Normative statements which entail complex predicates
• Normative statements which are known to only be “partially testable”
• Test assertions for assessing some property of a target rather than general conformance
• Preconditions to exercising a test assertion, including the outcome of other test assertions
• Specifications where the normative statements are embedded wholly or partly in tables and diagrams
• Specifications which normatively reference other specifications
• Relating test assertions to specific versions of a specification
• Reflecting inheritance and dependencies between specifications in test assertions
• Redundancy of excessively repeated test assertions elements
• Test assertion targets which are categorized differently yet related (inheritance, composition).

 

Opinion?

 

-jacques