Interoperability Test Bed Guides
The Interoperability Test Bed Guides provide hands-on, step-by-step instructions to help with common tasks for various steps of the conformance testing process. Each guide is designed to take between 5 and 30 minutes with minimal prerequisite knowledge or tools.
How to use these guides
These guides are designed to be used in two ways:
As a training resource to improve your understanding of steps in the conformance testing process.
As hands-on and focused documentation on how to achieve common tasks.
Prerequisites in terms of knowledge and tools are listed at the beginning of each guide (in What you will need sections) but are typically minimal. In addition, the purpose of each guide is to help you on specific tasks, not provide complete documentation or cover all possibilities. Further and more complete resources are listed in each guide’s summary (in See also sections) and also in the Further information section at the end of this overview.
Available guides
The available guides are organised thematically in tracks that typically have a logical order. You can follow these in sequence or you can jump directly to the one that interests you. When a guide builds upon the results of a previous one you will always be presented the choice to go back and complete it step-by-step or skip the details and download any required resources you would need.
Track: Test bed setup
Determine the conformance testing solution that best suites your needs and proceed with its design and implementation. This includes evaluating the test bed, configuring available services, developing test components and authoring test suites using the GITB Test Description Language (TDL).
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator. |
Description |
Learn about the test bed’s value proposition. This also includes a high-level overview of the test bed’s key elements and operation, as well as a description of its use cases and available services. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator. |
Description |
Learn how to get started using the test bed from the perspective of a project’s management. This explains how you can start using the test bed for your project and walks you through the different options and steps to expect. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer. |
Description |
Learn how to get started using the test bed as a test developer. This is the entry point to explain the test bed’s main concepts in a simple manner and get you started developing your own tests. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer. |
Description |
Create a GITB TDL test suite with one test case to address a fictional testing scenario. The test case includes requesting input from the user and validating it. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer. |
Description |
Create a GITB TDL test suite to include test cases for sending and receiving content over HTTP. Properties of the communication are validated as well as the exchanged content. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer. |
Description |
Create a complex GITB TDL test suite involving message exchanges and custom test services. This guide also covers advanced topics and setting up an effective test development workflow. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test developer. |
Description |
Setup validation for a XML-based specification defined by your project. Includes the options to consider and the practical steps to launch your service for data validation or conformance testing purposes. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test developer. |
Description |
Setup validation for a RDF-based specification defined by your project using SHACL shapes. Includes the options to consider and the practical steps to launch your service for data validation or conformance testing purposes. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test developer. |
Description |
Setup validation for a JSON-based specification defined by your project using JSON schema. Includes the options to consider and the practical steps to launch your service for data validation or conformance testing purposes. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test developer. |
Description |
Setup validation for a CSV-based specification defined by your project using Table Schema. Includes the options to consider and the practical steps to launch your service for data validation or conformance testing purposes. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test developer. |
Description |
Setup validation for a YAML-based specification defined by your project using JSON schema. Includes the options to consider and the practical steps to launch your service for data validation or conformance testing purposes. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer. |
Description |
Extend a validator with a plugin to contribute custom-developed checks that go beyond what would normally be possible. Explains how such plugins work and provides step-by-step instructions to develop, configure and use a simple plugin. |
Title |
Guide: Governance interoperability design and conformance testing |
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Audience |
Community administrator. |
Description |
Learn about the topics to consider when designing and testing a solution for interoperability from a governance perspective. Guidelines are provided for each discussed topic as well as practical tips on how to cover them through conformance test cases. |
Track: Test bed operation
Manage a test bed’s installation and operation as well as its supporting services.
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer, test bed operations’ staff. |
Description |
Install a new test bed instance for development use. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer, test bed operations’ staff. |
Description |
Install a new test bed instance for production use. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer, test bed operations’ staff. |
Description |
Update a test bed instance to the latest release. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer, test bed operations’ staff. |
Description |
Install a validator for production use. |
Title |
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Audience |
Test developer, test bed operations’ staff. |
Description |
Enable collection of usage statistics for on-premise validator instances. |
Track: Test bed use
Use the test bed as a tester or an administrator to carry out conformance testing and monitor progress.
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test bed administrator. |
Description |
Use the test bed’s interface to define the specification you want to support and upload a test suite for it. Manage also your user community by create an organisation and user account for users to start testing with. |
Title |
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Audience |
Community administrator, test bed administrator. |
Description |
Define a test bed setup as a sandbox instance to be shared with your users. A sandbox instance can be installed by users on-premise to carry out testing locally and make available tools (validators, simulators) to facilitate development. |
Title |
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Audience |
Tester (organisation administrator or user). |
Description |
Connect to the test bed to select the specification you want to conform to, execute a test and inspect its results. |
Title |
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Audience |
All users of a test bed offered by the European Commission. |
Description |
Migrate your legacy test bed account to use EU Login and understand when and why such a migration is needed. |
Title |
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Audience |
All users of a test bed offered by the European Commission. |
Description |
Check whether you have an EU Login account, create one if not, and use it to sign-in. |
Title |
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Audience |
Developer. |
Description |
Call a validator via its GITB validation service SOAP API using Java. |
Further information
The available guides cover specific tasks and consider typically simplified scenarios that showcase only a fraction of what could be achieved. To explore the full potential of the test bed and access its complete documentation you are invited to check the resources listed below for further information:
The Interoperability Test Bed site on Joinup: The central hub for everything related to the test bed. Provides access to further documentation sources, news and the latest release notes.
The GITB Test Description Language (TDL) documentation: Complete reference on the GITB TDL, the XML-based language used to author test suites.
The GITB test services documentation: Complete reference on the implementation and use of GITB test services, used to extend the test bed for domain-specific needs.
The GITB test service templates: Executable templates (Maven Archetypes) to get up and running with new test services.
The test bed user guide: Full documentation of the test bed’s interface and features, split per user role for:
Test bed administrators: Responsible for the overall management of the test bed.
Community administrators: Responsible for the configuration and monitoring of a specific user community.
Organisation administrators: Responsible for the testing configuration of a single organisation within a community.
Organisation users: Responsible for executing an organisation’s tests.
The DIGIT test bed: The shared test bed instance operated by the European Commission’s DIGIT D.2 Unit.
Test bed source code: The source code for the GITB test bed software on GitHub.
The GITB Test Registry and Repository (TRR) on Joinup: A repository of hosted and federated reusable test resources.