JPH1065762A - Automatic testing simulator for communication software and automatic testing method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic testing simulator for communication software capable of executing the operation confirming test of the plural different communication protocols of communication software. SOLUTION: A template file 123 previously holds each communication form of the plural protocols. A message editing part 122 refers to the template file 23 and edits transmitting information and reception expected information according to a communication form corresponding to one protocol received by an input part 140. A message transmitting part 124 transmits transmitting information edited by the message editing part 122 to a program to be tested 102. A message receiving part 125 receives received information sent from the program to be tested 102. An editing and outputting part 128 judges whether reception expected information and received information are coincident with each other and outputs the result of judgement.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic test simulator and an automatic test method for performing an operation check test of communication software developed in a network management system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an operation check test of communication software, a tester sends a message to the communication software, receives a message transmitted as a response from the communication software, and examines the received message contents. It checks directly to determine whether normal communication has been performed.

[0003] In some cases, communication software dedicated to an operation confirmation test is prepared and a test is performed by simulation. In this case, in order to perform one operation check test, two pieces of communication software must be created: actual communication software as software under test and communication software dedicated to the operation check test depending on the communication protocol of the communication software. Must.

In this case, the operation confirmation communication software must incorporate a means for comparing whether or not the test result message is a correct message in order to confirm normality. When the content is changed or when the specification is changed, the message to be transmitted and the received message corresponding thereto must be recreated.

To solve such a problem, there is a conventional technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-53864. In this conventional technique, a simulation tool for performing a test is prepared. The tool receives a command input from a tester, transmits the command to a process under test, and receives a response to the transmitted command from the process under test. By using this tool, the test is performed without creating communication software dedicated to the operation check test.

[0006]

In the above-described method of creating two communication softwares, when performing another operation confirmation test using a different communication protocol, the same communication software dedicated to the operation confirmation test cannot be used. The test-specific communication software must be modified to support a different communication protocol, or a new one must be created. For this reason, the tester needs to create dedicated communication software for testing the operation of the communication software to be checked, by the number of communication protocols.

The prior art as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-53864 does not describe performing an operation check test of communication software having a plurality of different communication protocols.

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication software automatic test simulator capable of performing an operation confirmation test of a plurality of different communication protocols of communication software, and a method therefor, in order to solve such a problem. I do. It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication software automatic test simulator and a method thereof that can flexibly respond to a change in specifications.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic communication software test simulator for performing an operation check test of communication software.
A holding unit for holding a communication format of each of a plurality of protocols, and for communicating with the communication software, one of the plurality of protocols, transmission information to be transmitted, and a response to the transmission information. A reception unit that receives expected reception expectation information; and the transmission that is received by the reception unit according to a communication format that is held in the storage unit and that corresponds to the one protocol that is received by the reception unit. An editing unit for editing information and the expected reception information, a transmission unit for transmitting the transmission information edited by the editing unit to the communication software, and a response to the transmission information sent from the communication software. A receiving unit that receives certain information as reception information, reception expectation information edited by the editing unit, and reception information received by the reception unit; Whether determined, and an output unit for outputting the result of the determination.

[0010] The holding unit previously holds the communication format of each of the plurality of protocols. The receiving unit receives one of the plurality of protocols, transmission information to be transmitted, and expected reception information expected as a response to the transmission information, for performing communication with the communication software. The editing unit edits the transmission information and the expected reception information received by the reception unit according to the communication format stored in the storage unit and corresponding to the one protocol received by the reception unit. I do. The transmitting unit transmits the transmission information edited by the editing unit to the communication software. The receiving unit receives, as reception information, information transmitted from the communication software, which is a response to the transmission information. The output unit determines whether the reception expectation information edited by the editing unit matches the reception information received by the reception unit, and outputs a result of the determination. When communicating with communication software using different protocols, the receiving unit may instruct different protocols.

According to the present invention, an operation check test of a plurality of different communication protocols of communication software can be performed. Therefore, it is not necessary for the tester to create communication software dedicated to the operation check test by the number of communication protocols. Further, even when the specification of the communication software under test is changed, it is possible to flexibly cope with the change only by instructing the transmission information corresponding to the change from the reception unit.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a simulator unit 101 is an automatic test simulator of communication software, and a transmitting unit 111 that creates and transmits a message for the purpose of testing a logic of the program under test 102, and a message transmitted from the program under test 102. And a receiving unit 112 for determining the normality of the received message.

The program under test 102 is software under test, and sends and receives messages to and from the simulator unit 101.

The transmitting unit 111 of the simulator unit 101
An input unit 140 for receiving a type of protocol and a message to be transmitted, a type of protocol received by the input unit 140, and a transmission information file 121 for storing a transmission text message in which a message to be transmitted is described in text format; And a message editing unit that generates a transmission message by editing the transmission text message stored in the transmission information file 121 according to the type of the communication protocol with reference to the template file 123. 122, and a transmission message unit 124 for transmitting the transmission message generated by the message editing unit 122.

The template file 123 is, for example,
Each has a format according to a plurality of predetermined communication protocols such as p1, p2, and SNMP. For example, the protocol type is different even when the OSI layer is different.

The message editing unit 122 refers to the template file 123, converts the transmission text message into a format conforming to the communication protocol according to the communication protocol type received by the transmission information file 121, and converts the communication protocol necessary for transmitting the message. To generate a transmission message. The information of the communication protocol necessary for transmitting the message is predetermined information such as a communication header. The transmission message unit 124 transmits the transmission message generated by the message editing unit 122 to the program under test 102. Transmission information file 121
The message editing unit 122 is a general-purpose one that does not depend on the communication protocol.

On the other hand, the receiving section 112 includes a receiving message section 125 for receiving a received message from the program under test 102, an input section 140 for receiving the type of protocol and a message to be received, and a protocol for receiving the message to be received. The expected expected value file 126 holding the expected expected value text message described in the type and the text format, the template file 123 holding the format according to a plurality of communication protocols, and the expected expected value File 1
26, a message editing unit 122 that edits the received text message according to the type of the communication protocol and generates an expected reception value message;
2, a reception expectation message part 127 holding the reception expectation message edited in step 2, and an reception expectation message part 1
An edit output unit 128 that compares the expected reception value message held at 27 with the received message received at the receive message unit 125, a screen output unit 129 that displays the result of the comparison at the edit output unit on the screen, and a comparison at the edit output unit And a file output unit 130 for holding the result.

The message editing unit 122 is the same means as that for editing the transmission message. The message editing unit 122 refers to the template file 123 according to the received communication protocol type previously received in the expected reception value file 125, and The text message is converted into a format conforming to the communication protocol, and information on the communication protocol is added to generate a reception expectation value message. Editing output unit 1
At 28, the received message received by the received message unit 125 is received, the received message is compared with the expected reception value message, and the comparison result is output to the screen output unit 129 and / or the file output unit 130.

The exchange of messages according to the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the objects to be transmitted and received and the number thereof, and the direction of transmission and reception has no particular meaning. The present invention is not limited to a specific communication means, but can be applied to various communication functions and protocols for performing communication using a numeric string, a character string, and the like, and is also applicable to internal communication within one device.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, a description will be given of a method of describing the type of the protocol stored in the transmission information file 121 and the expected reception value file 126 and the transmission text message. FIGS. 2 to 5 show the transmission information file 12.
1 shows an example of the description of the protocol type and the transmission text message held in the expected value file 126 and the reception expectation file 126. The transmission information file and the expected reception value file include a protocol type, a keyword of a message corresponding to the protocol type, and contents (text) corresponding to the keyword. Keywords vary by protocol. The type of the protocol accepted by the input unit 140 and the transmission text message in which the message to be transmitted is described in text format as shown in FIGS.
Keep in text format. The message can be regarded as a list of contents corresponding to the keywords in a predetermined order of the keywords. The content corresponding to the keyword is created in a text format such as a character string or a numeric string in association with the keyword. The tester may directly input the keyword and its contents from the input unit 140, or the tester may input the protocol type from the input unit 140 to cause the keyword to be displayed on the display of the screen output 129. The tester may input the content corresponding to the keyword from the input unit 140. Further, all the protocol types held in the template file 123 are displayed on the display of the screen output 129, any one of the protocol types is selected, and a keyword corresponding to the selected protocol type is displayed. The tester may input the corresponding content from the input unit 140.

FIG. 2 shows a case where the type of p1 is input among a plurality of communication protocols, and the transmission information file and the expected reception value file are the same. In addition, a communication management header, a message number, a chain pointer, an individual manager pointer, an individual manager keyword, and their contents are held. In the example 201, the contents of the keyword are described by a numeral string “8” after the keyword of the message number. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the content corresponding to the keyword includes a character string (character code), a numeric string (decimal code),
Which of the hexadecimal code and the binary code is indicated as the attribute of the content corresponding to the keyword, and it is determined whether the attribute matches the attribute indicated in the template file described later.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which a transmission information file of the p2 communication protocol is input, and FIG. 4 shows an example of a reception expectation value file as a response. Further, in FIG. 5, among a plurality of communication protocols, S
5 shows an example of a transmission information file of a communication protocol type of NMP.

Next, the contents held in the template file 123 will be described. 6 to 8 show examples of a template file 123 used when generating a transmission message from a transmission information file and an expected value message from an expected value file. 6 to 8
In the template file 123, the keyword definition unit 301 defining the attribute and size of the keyword for each protocol type, and the message definition unit 30 defining the order of keywords for each protocol type
2 is held. The template file 12
3 includes a keyword definition unit 3 as shown in FIGS.
01 is a list of keywords for all protocols, and the message definition unit 302 holds a format for each of a plurality of protocol types such as protocol types p1 and p2 and protocol type SNMP. When the protocol type p1 and the protocol type p2 and SNMP are supported, the protocol type p as shown in FIGS.
1, a format corresponding to p2 and SNMP is provided in the template file 123. The contents held in the template file 123 are input from the input unit 140, and the tester can input a required protocol format at any time. When it is desired to change the definition contents held in the keyword definition unit 301 and the message definition unit 302,
The tester can specify the changed content from the input unit 140.

In FIG. 6 to FIG.
In the field 01, a plurality of keywords for the message, and attributes and sizes corresponding to the respective keywords are defined in advance. The plurality of keywords correspond to the keywords described in the transmission information file and the expected reception value file. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the keyword definition unit 301 includes keywords such as a communication management header, a message number, a chain pointer, an individual unit length pointer, an individual unit length, a CS address, and a result. B (decimal code), X (hexadecimal code), shown after keyword
Or, C (character code) indicates the attribute,
The number shown after that indicates the size of the content of the keyword. For example, the attribute and size of the communication management header of the keyword are defined as 1 byte for B and the CS address of the keyword is 8 bytes for C. The message definition unit 302 defines information for conversion into a format conforming to the communication protocol, and a list of keywords indicating the structure of the message. In FIG. 6, for example, the message definition unit 302 indicates that the content of the communication management header is “3”.
Message, the communication management header #CASE
3, the structure of the message is defined in the order of a message number, a chain pointer, an individual unit pointer, and an individual unit length shown under # CASE3. Message editor 1
At 22, search for a keyword in the transmission information file and a keyword in the expected reception value file that match the keyword corresponding to the input protocol type in the template file 123, and search for the matching keyword based on the specified attribute. Generate.

Next, a process for transmitting a transmission message will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows a flow of processing when transmitting a message.

In FIG. 9, the input unit 140 receives a protocol type and a message to be transmitted as a transmission request, and the transmission information file 121 stores a transmission type in which the received protocol type and the message to be transmitted are described in text format. The text message is held (step 410). The message editing unit 122 includes a keyword definition unit 301 of the template file 123 registered in advance corresponding to the type of the received protocol.
(Step 420), and the keyword definition unit 301
, The keyword corresponding to the protocol type and the keyword held in the transmission information file match, and the attribute and size defined in the keyword definition unit 301 of the matched keyword and the transmission information file Then, it is determined whether or not the attribute and the size of the content of the keyword stored in are the same (step 430). For example, the message editing unit 122
It is detected that the communication management header of the keyword defined in the keyword definition unit 301 of the template file 123 shown in FIG. 6 matches the communication management header of the keyword held in the transmission information file shown in FIG. As for the other keywords stored in the transmission information file, a matching keyword defined in the keyword definition unit 301 is detected. Next, in the keyword definition section 301 of the template file 123 shown in FIG. 6, the attribute of the communication management header of the matched keyword is defined as B (decimal code) and the size is 1 byte, and the transmission information shown in FIG. Since the content of the communication management header of the keyword held in the file is “8” and the size is 1 byte in decimal code, it is determined that the attributes match. Further, in FIG. 2, it is shown that the number or character following 0x of 0x28 is a hexadecimal code, and "002f
35 "indicates that a character code is indicated inside"". The attribute and size of other keywords held in the transmission information file are also defined in the keyword definition unit 30.
It is determined whether or not the attribute and the size defined in No. 1 match. If the size of the keyword held in the transmission information file matches or is smaller than the size indicated in the keyword definition unit 301, it is determined that the keyword matches. If the attributes or sizes do not match, an error message is displayed on the display of the screen output 129 (step 450), and the process ends without generating a transmission message.

If all keywords and attributes held in the transmission information file match, the keyword definition unit 301 and the message definition unit 30 corresponding to the protocol type
Referring to FIG. 2, a transmission message in a format conforming to the communication protocol is generated (step 440). As a method of generating the transmission message, the content is converted into a hexadecimal code according to the attribute and size defined in the keyword definition unit 301, and the content is converted into the hexadecimal code in the order of the keywords defined in the message definition unit 302. List the contents of the keywords that have been entered. For example, in FIG. 6, B of the attribute of the keyword indicates that it is represented by a decimal code. X is 1
It indicates that it is represented by a hexadecimal code.
Since 0x28 of the content of the chain pointer shown in (1) is a hexadecimal code, 28 is taken out as it is. Since the size of the chain pointer defined in the keyword definition unit 301 is 4 bytes, 0 is added before 28 to 4 Make bytes. Further, since C is a character code, the character code is converted into a corresponding hexadecimal code that is determined in advance, and is further adjusted to the size defined in the keyword definition unit 301. After converting the contents of the keywords into hexadecimal codes, the contents of the keywords converted into the hexadecimal codes are listed in the order of the keywords defined in the message definition unit 302. Thus, a transmission message is generated.

In FIG. 9, the generated transmission message is displayed and output on the screen output 129 as shown in FIG. 10 (step 460), and the editor can confirm the transmission message.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the generated transmission message. 10, the transmission message is generated based on the template file 123 from the contents held in the transmission information file shown in FIG. In the transmission message shown in FIG. 10, the first 03 is obtained by converting 3 of the communication management header shown in FIG.
Thereafter, the message number 8 is converted to 08, the chain pointer 0x28 is converted to 00000028, the individual part length pointer 0x1666 is converted to 000016666, and the individual part length 002f35 is converted to 303033263.
335, and is generated. In the embodiment of the present invention, the transmission message or the reception message is indicated by a hexadecimal code as shown in FIG. 10, but the tester confirms the message according to the protocol type. Easy format,
For example, it may be indicated by a character code.

In FIG. 9, the generated transmission message is converted into a binary code by the transmission message unit 124 shown in FIG. 1, and the transmission message unit 124 tests the transmission message according to the converted binary code. It is transmitted to the program 102.

Next, a process for receiving a received message will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 shows the flow of processing when receiving a message.

In FIG. 11, the program under test 10
When the received message is received according to the reception request from Step 2 (Step 610), the reception expected value file 126 is called (Step 611) in order to compare the received message with the expected reception value message of the reception result which can be predicted in advance (Step 611). 127 is generated. The generation method of the expected reception value message is the same as the generation method of the transmission message, and the message editing unit 122 refers to the keyword definition unit 301 of the template file 123 registered in advance corresponding to the type of the received protocol. (Step 612), a keyword defined by the keyword definition unit 301 and corresponding to the protocol type and the keyword held in the expected reception value file are detected, and the keyword is defined in the keyword definition unit 301 of the matched keyword. Then, it is determined whether or not the attribute and size of the keyword match the attribute and size of the content of the keyword held in the expected reception value file (step 613). If the attributes or sizes do not match, an error message is displayed on the display of the screen output 129 (step 615), and the process ends without generating an expected reception value message. If all the keywords and attributes held in the expected reception value file match, the keyword definition unit 301 and the message definition unit 302 corresponding to the protocol type are referred to, and the expected reception value message in a format conforming to the communication protocol is generated (step 61
4). The expected reception value message shown in FIG. 13 is generated from the expected reception value file shown in FIG. 4 and the template file shown in FIG. In the expected reception value message shown in FIG. 13, the first 0002 is obtained by converting the message type 2 shown in FIG. 4, and thereafter, the operation code 1 is converted to 0001, and the source terminal ID and the destination The terminal ID is converted into a hexadecimal number corresponding to the character codes 12 and 11, and similarly, the additional information length, the server request serial number, and the CS address are respectively converted.
In addition, since the message type is 2 in the list order, # CASE2 of the message type in the message definition section is selected, and the operation code is 1, so that
#CASE of the operation code in the message definition section
1 is selected, and the source terminal ID, the destination terminal ID, the additional information length, the server request serial number, and the CS address following the # CASE1 of the operation code are listed in order.

When the expected reception value message is generated, the editing output unit 128 compares the actually received reception message with the expected reception value message (step 616), and determines whether or not they match (step 61).
7). If they match, the received message is displayed on the screen output 129 as shown in FIG.
Also, it is stored in the file output unit 130 (step 61).
8). FIG. 12 shows an output example when it is determined that the communication is normal as a result of the comparison. In the case of normal communication, the received message is displayed as shown in this example.

If it is determined in step 617 that there is a difference without a match, as shown in FIG. 13, the difference between the received message and the expected expected value message is clearly indicated on the screen output 129. Is displayed on the display and stored in the file output unit 130 (step 619). FIG. 13 shows an output example when the comparison result does not match and it is determined that the operation is defective. In the case of malfunction, as shown in this example, the message of both the received message and the expected expected value message is displayed, and the places where there is a difference are marked with parentheses, and the difference is clearly displayed. I do.

According to the communication software automatic test simulator in the embodiment of the present invention, when confirming the operation of the communication software, the test data is automatically created and analyzed by using the template file having the information of the communication protocol. Accordingly, it is possible to perform an operation confirmation test of a plurality of different communication protocols of the communication software. Therefore, a process simulation can be realized without creating a process for debugging for each communication protocol.
The man-hours required for the operation check test of the communication software can be greatly reduced. Also, when changing the communication message structure, it is only necessary to change the template file, and there is no need to change the message editing unit. can do. Further, it is possible to check whether there is an error in the format of the transmitted / received message.

[0037]

According to the present invention, according to the communication software automatic test simulator of the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to perform an operation confirmation test of a plurality of different communication protocols of the communication software. Further, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the communication message structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission information file and an expected reception value file described in a text format.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission information file described in a text format.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an expected reception value file described in a text format.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission information file described in a text format.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a template file used when generating a transmission message and a reception message.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a template file used when generating a transmission message and a reception message.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a template file used when generating a transmission message and a reception message.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when sending a message.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission message.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing flow when receiving a message.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an output example when it is determined that normal communication has been performed.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an output example when it is determined that the operation is defective.

[Explanation of symbols]

101: Simulator unit 102: Tested program 111: Transmission unit 112: Receiving unit 121: Transmission information file 122: Message editing unit 123: Template file 124: Transmission Message part 125 ... Received message part 126 ... Received expected value file 127 ... Received expected value message 128 ... Edit output part 129 ... Screen output 130 ... File output 140 ... Input part 201 ... One example of how to write a transmission information file or expected reception value file 301 ... Keyword definition part in template file 302 ... Message definition part in template file 401 ... Processing of generated transmission message 402・ ・ ・ Output error message 601 ・ ・ ・ Error message Output di

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masami Mineo 180, Totsuka-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (5)

[Claims] An automatic test simulator for communication software for performing an operation check test of communication software, comprising: a holding unit for holding a communication format of each of a plurality of protocols; and a plurality of communication units for communicating with the communication software. A receiving unit for receiving one of the protocols, transmission information to be transmitted, and expected reception information expected as a response to the transmission information, and a reception unit corresponding to the one protocol received by the reception unit. An editing unit that edits the transmission information and the expected reception information received by the reception unit in accordance with a communication format held in the holding unit; and transmitting the transmission information edited by the editing unit to the communication software. A transmitting unit for transmitting the information transmitted from the communication software as a response to the transmission information. A receiving unit that receives as, and an output unit that determines whether the expected reception information edited by the editing unit matches the received information received by the receiving unit, and outputs a result of the determination. An automatic test simulator for communication software, comprising: 2. The automatic test simulator for communication software according to claim 1, wherein the output unit further outputs at least one of the transmission information edited by the editing unit and the expected reception information. . 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the output unit determines that, when the determination result indicates that the expected reception information edited by the editing unit does not match the reception information received by the receiving unit,
An automatic test simulator for communication software, further comprising output expectation information edited by the editing unit and reception information received by the reception unit. 4. The reception unit according to claim 3, wherein the output unit outputs the expected reception information edited by the editing unit and the reception information received by the reception unit. An automatic test simulator for communication software, which specifies a part that does not match information. 5. An automatic test method for communication software in a simulator for performing an operation check test of communication software, the method comprising: holding a communication format of each of a plurality of protocols; and performing communication with the communication software. One of the protocols, transmission information to be transmitted, and reception expectation information expected as a response to the transmission information, and corresponding to the one received protocol,
The received transmission information and the expected reception information are edited according to the held communication format, and the edited transmission information is transmitted to the communication software, and is transmitted from the communication software. Communication software that receives information as a response to the transmission information as reception information, determines whether the reception expectation information matches the reception information, and outputs a result of the determination. Automatic test method.