Extending Test Steps

The test steps that DevTest provides include most of the logic that is required to test enterprise software. However, you can create your own test step to accommodate a specific situation.

Each existing test step provides a step-specific Swing user interface to help users develop that type of test step. You can provide this same support by creating a Java class that extends com.itko.lisa.test.TestNode and providing a Swing user interface. However, there is a much simpler way to provide a custom test step.

A set of name-value pairs can adequately represent many testing situations. For example, assume that you want to test a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client package you have written. You do not need a complex wizard to collect the information that is required to test. You need only:

The FTP host
The full path and name of the file
The username and password that is used to access the FTP host

A name-value pair can represent each of these values.

DevTest provides built-in support for custom test steps that fit this profile. To create a custom test step, you create a Java class that implements com.itko.lisa.test.CustJavaNodeInterface. This class specifies the name-value pairs that are associated with the test step and the logic to run when the test step executes. At runtime, the model editor searches the classpath for classes that implement CustJavaNodeInterface. The model editor makes these classes available under the Custom Test Step Execution test step type.

The DevTest SDK provides two ways to enable you to augment the functionality of DevTest with new test cases:

Custom Java Test Steps: This type of test step is faster and easier to develop, so it is often the preferred method that developers use.
Native Test Steps: These test steps are created in precisely the way that CA Technologies develops test steps within DevTest and can appear in their own categories.

This section contains the following topics:

Custom Java Test Steps

Native Test Steps