50 Automating Testing of SOA Composite Applications

The test framework supports testing at the SOA composite application level. In this type of testing, wires, service binding components, service components (such as BPEL processes and Oracle Mediator service components), and reference binding components are tested.

For more information, see Creating Test Suites and Test Cases with the Create Composite Test Wizard.

Test suites consist of a logical collection of one or more test cases. Each test case contains a set of commands to perform as the test instance is executed. The execution of a test suite is known as a test run. Each test corresponds to a single SOA composite application instance.

For more information, see the following:

• Creating Test Suites and Test Cases with the Create Composite Test Wizard

• Editing the Contents of Test Cases in Test Mode in the SOA Composite Editor

Emulations enable you to simulate the behavior of the following components with which your SOA composite application interacts during execution:

• Internal service components inside the composite

• Binding components outside the composite

Instead of invoking another service component or binding component, you can specify a response from the component or reference.

For more information, see the following:

• Emulations

• Editing the Contents of Test Cases in Test Mode in the SOA Composite Editor

Assertions enable you to verify variable data or process flow. You can perform the following types of assertions:

• Entire XML document assertions:

  Compare the element values of an entire XML document to the expected element values. For example, compare the exact contents of an entire loan request XML document to another document. The XMLTestCase class in the XMLUnit package includes a collection of methods for performing assertions between XML files. For more information about these methods, visit the following URL:

  http://xmlunit.sourceforge.net
  

• Part section of message assertions:

  Compare the values of a part section of a message to the expected values. An example is a payload part of an entire XML document message.

• Nonleaf element assertions:

  Compare the values of an XML fragment to the expected values. An example is a loan application, which includes leaf elements SSN, email, customerName, and loanAmount.

• Leaf element assertions:

  Compare the value of a selected string or number element or a regular expression pattern to an expected value. An example is the SSN of a loan application.

For more information about asserts, see Assertions.

You first define the operation of your process in a binding component service such as a SOAP web service. The following example defines the operation of initiate to initiate the TestFwk SOA composite application. The initiation payload is also defined in this section:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!-- Generated by Oracle SCA Test Modeler version 1.0 at [6/13/07 10:50 AM]. -->
<compositeTest compositeDN="TestFwk"
 xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test">
  <about></about>
  <initiate serviceName="client" operation="initiate" isAsync="true">
    <message>
      <part partName="payload">
        <content>
          <loanApplication xmlns="http://www.autoloan.com/ns/autoloan">
            <SSN>111222333</SSN>
            <email>[email protected]</email>
            <customerName>Joe Smith</customerName>
            <loanAmount>20000</loanAmount>
            <carModel>Camry</carModel>
            <carYear>2007</carYear>
            <creditRating>800</creditRating>
          </loanApplication>
        </content>
      </part>
    </message>
  </initiate>
</compositeTest>

You create emulations to simulate the message data that your SOA composite application receives from web service partners.

In the test code in the following example, the loan request is initiated with an error. A fault message is received in return from a web service partner:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!-- Generated by Oracle SCA Test Modeler version 1.0 at [7/3/07 3:29 PM]. -->
<compositeTest compositeDN="CompositeTest"
 xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test">
  <about></about>
  <initiate serviceName="client" operation="initiate" isAsync="true">
    <message>
      <part partName="payload">
        <filePath>loanApplication.xml</filePath>
      </part>
    </message>
  </initiate>
  <wireActions wireSource="LoanBroker/CreditRatingService" operation="process">
    <emulate duration="PT0S">
      <fault faultName="ser:NegativeCredit" xmlns:ser="http://services.otn.com">
        <message>
          <part partName="payload">
            <filePath>creditRatingFault.xml</filePath>
          </part>
        </message>
      </fault>
    </emulate>
  </wireActions>
</compositeTest>

Two message files, loanApplication.xml and creditRatingFault.xml, are invoked in this emulation. If the loan application request in loanApplication.xml contains a social security number beginning with 0, the creditRatingFault.xml file returns the fault message shown in the following example:

<error xmlns="http://services.otn.com">
  Invalid SSN, SSN cannot start with digit '0'.
</error>

For more information, see Editing the Contents of Test Cases in Test Mode in the SOA Composite Editor.

You create assertions to validate an entire XML document, a part section of a message, a nonleaf element, or a leaf element at a point during SOA composite application execution. The following example instructs Oracle SOA Suite to ensure that the content of the customerName variable matches the content specified.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!-- Generated by Oracle SCA Test Modeler version 1.0 at [6/13/07 10:51 AM]. -->
<compositeTest compositeDN="TestFwk"
 xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test">
  <about></about>
  <initiate serviceName="client" operation="initiate" isAsync="true">
    <message>
      <part partName="payload">
        <content>
          <loanApplication xmlns="http://www.autoloan.com/ns/autoloan">
            <SSN>111222333</SSN>
            <email>[email protected]</email>
            <customerName>Joe Smith</customerName>
            <loanAmount>20000</loanAmount>
            <carModel>Camry</carModel>
            <carYear>2007</carYear>
            <creditRating>800</creditRating>
          </loanApplication>
        </content>
      </part>
    </message>
  </initiate>
  <wireActions wireSource="client" operation="initiate">
    <assert comparisonMethod="string">
      <expected>
        <location key="input" partName="payload"
 xpath="/s1:loanApplication/s1:customerName"
 xmlns:s1="http://www.autoloan.com/ns/autoloan"/>
        <simple>Joe Smith</simple>
      </expected>
    </assert>
  </wireActions>
</compositeTest>

For more information, see Editing the Contents of Test Cases in Test Mode in the SOA Composite Editor.

Message instance files provide a method for simulating the message data received back from web service partners. You can manually enter the received message data into this XML file or load a file through the test mode of the SOA Composite Editor. For example, the following message file simulates a credit rating result of 900 returned from a partner:

<rating xmlns="http://services.otn.com">900</rating>

For more information about loading message files into test mode, see Editing the Contents of Test Cases in Test Mode in the SOA Composite Editor.

1. Go to the SOA Composite application in test mode.
2. Double-click the service binding component shown in Figure 50-8.

   Figure 50-8 Service Binding Component Access

   
   Description of "Figure 50-8 Service Binding Component Access"

   The Initiate Messages dialog appears.

3. Enter the details shown in Table 50-6:

   Table 50-6 Initiate Messages Dialog Fields and Values

   Field	Value
   Service	Displays the name of the binding component service (client).
   Operation	Displays the operation type of the service binding component (initiate).
   Part	Select the type of inbound message to send (for example, payload).
   Value	Create a simulated message to send from a client:
   Enter Manually	Click to manually enter message data in the Enter Value field. A Generate Sample button enables you to automatically generate a sample file for testing. Click Save As to save the sample file.
   Load From File	Click the Browse icon to load message data from a file. The file is added to the messages folder in the Applications window.

   Figure 50-9 shows this dialog:

   Figure 50-9 Initiate Messages Dialog

   
   Description of "Figure 50-9 Initiate Messages Dialog"

   The inbound process initiation message from a client looks as follows:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
   <!-- Generated by Oracle SCA Test Modeler version 1.0 at [7/12/07 8:36 AM]. -->
   <compositeTest compositeDN="CompositeTest"
    xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test">
     <about/>
     <initiate serviceName="client" operation="initiate" isAsync="true">
       <message>
         <part partName="payload">
           <filePath>loanApplication.xml</filePath>
         </part>
       </message>
     </initiate>
   . . .
   . . .
   

   The loanApplication.xml referenced in the process initiation file contains a loan application payload:

   <loanApplication xmlns="http://www.autoloan.com/ns/autoloan">
     <SSN>111222333</SSN>
     <email>[email protected]</email>
     <customerName>Joe Smith</customerName>
     <loanAmount>20000</loanAmount>
     <carModel>Camry</carModel>
     <carYear>2007</carYear>
     <creditRating>800</creditRating>
   </loanApplication>
   

4. Click OK.

1. Go to the SOA composite application in test mode.
2. Beneath the testsuites folder in the Applications window, double-click a test case. Figure 50-10 provides details.

   Figure 50-10 Test Case Access

   
   Description of "Figure 50-10 Test Case Access"

   The SOA composite application in the is refreshed to display in test mode. This mode enables you to define test information.

3. Double-click the wire of the SOA composite application area to test. For the example shown in Figure 50-11, the wire between the LoanBroker process and the synchronous CreditRating web service is selected.

   Figure 50-11 Wire Access

   
   Description of "Figure 50-11 Wire Access"

   This displays the Wire Actions dialog shown in Figure 50-12, from which you can design emulations and assertions for the selected part of the SOA composite application.

   Figure 50-12 Wire Actions Dialog

   
   Description of "Figure 50-12 Wire Actions Dialog"
4. Click the Emulates tab.
5. Click the Add icon.
6. Click Emulate Output.
7. Enter the details described in Table 50-7:

   Table 50-7 Emulate Output Message Dialog Fields and Values

   Field	Value
   Part	Select the message part containing the output (for example, payload).
   Value	Create a simulated output message to return from a web service partner:
   Enter Manually	Click to manually enter message data in the Enter Value field. A Generate Sample button enables you to automatically generate a sample file for testing. Click Save As to save the sample file.
   Load From File	Click the Browse icon to load message data from a file. The file is added to the messages folder in the Applications window.
   Duration	Enter the maximum amount of time to wait for the message to be delivered from the web service partner.

   Figure 50-13 shows this dialog:

   Figure 50-13 Emulate Dialog with Emulate Output Selected

   
   Description of "Figure 50-13 Emulate Dialog with Emulate Output Selected"

   A simulated output message from a synchronous web service partner that you enter manually or load from a file looks as follows:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
   <!-- Generated by Oracle SCA Test Modeler version 1.0 at [7/3/07 3:26 PM]. -->
   <compositeTest compositeDN="CompositeTest"
    xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test">
     <about></about>
     <initiate serviceName="client" operation="initiate" isAsync="true">
       <message>
         <part partName="payload">
           <filePath>loanApplication.xml</filePath>
         </part>
       </message>
     </initiate>
     <wireActions wireSource="LoanBroker/CreditRatingService" operation="process">
       <emulate duration="PT0S">
         <message>
           <part partName="payload">
             <filePath>creditRatingResult.xml</filePath>
           </part>
         </message>
       </emulate>
     </wireActions>
   </compositeTest>
   

   The creditRatingResult.xml message file referenced in the output message provides details about the credit rating result.

   <rating xmlns="http://services.otn.com">900</rating>
   

8. Click OK.

1. Access the Wire Actions dialog by following Step 1 through Step 3 of How to Emulate Outbound Messages.
2. Click the Emulates tab.
3. Click the Add icon.
4. Click Emulate Callback. This field is only enabled for asynchronous processes.
5. Enter the details described in Table 50-8:

   Table 50-8 Emulate Callback Message Fields

   Field	Value
   Callback Operation	Select the callback operation (for example, onResult).
   Callback Message	Displays the callback message name of the asynchronous process.
   Part	Select the message part containing the callback (for example, payload).
   Value	Create a simulated callback message to return from an asynchronous web service partner:
   Enter Manually	Click to manually enter message data in the Enter Value field. A Generate Sample button enables you to automatically generate a sample file for testing. Click Save As to save the sample file.
   Load From File	Click the Browse icon to load message data from a file. The file is added to the messages folder in the Applications window.
   Duration	Enter the maximum amount of time to wait for the callback message to be delivered from the web service partner.

   Figure 50-14 shows this dialog:

   Figure 50-14 Emulate Dialog with Emulate Callback Selected

   
   Description of "Figure 50-14 Emulate Dialog with Emulate Callback Selected"

   The simulated callback message from a web service partner looks as follows. You enter this message manually or load it from a file:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
   <!-- Generated by Oracle SCA Test Modeler version 1.0 at [7/3/07 3:27 PM]. -->
   <compositeTest compositeDN="CompositeTest"
    xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test">
     <about></about>
     <initiate serviceName="client" operation="initiate" isAsync="true">
       <message>
         <part partName="payload">
           <filePath>loanApplication.xml</filePath>
         </part>
       </message>
     </initiate>
     <wireActions wireSource="LoanBroker/LoanService" operation="initiate">
       <emulate callbackOperation="onResult" duration="PT0S">
         <message>
           <part partName="payload">
             <filePath>loanOffer.xml</filePath>
           </part>
         </message>
       </emulate>
     </wireActions>
   </compositeTest>
   

   The loanOffer.xml message file referenced in the callback message provides details about the credit rating approval.

   <loanOffer xmlns="http://www.autoloan.com/ns/autoloan">
     <providerName>Bank Of America</providerName>
     <selected>false</selected>
     <approved>true</approved>
     <APR>1.9</APR>
   </loanOffer>
   

6. Click OK.

1. Access the Wire Actions dialog by following Step 1 through Step 3 of How to Emulate Outbound Messages.
2. Click the Emulates tab.
3. Click the Add icon.
4. Click Emulate Fault.
5. Enter the details described in Table 50-9:

   Table 50-9 Emulate Fault Message Fields

   Field	Value
   Fault	Select the fault type to return from a partner (for example, NegativeCredit).
   Fault Message	Displays the message name.
   Part	Select the message part containing the fault (for example, payload).
   Value	Create a simulated fault message to return from a web service partner:
   Enter Manually	Click to manually enter message data in the Enter Value field. A Generate Sample button enables you to automatically generate a sample file for testing. Click Save As to save the sample file.
   Load From File	Click the Browse icon to load message data from a file. The file is added to the messages folder in the Applications window.
   Duration	Enter the maximum amount of time to wait for the fault message to be delivered from the web service partner.

   Figure 50-15 shows this dialog:

   Figure 50-15 Emulate Dialog with Emulate Fault Selected

   
   Description of "Figure 50-15 Emulate Dialog with Emulate Fault Selected"

   An example of a simulated fault message from a web service partner that you enter manually or load from a file is shown in Emulations.

6. Click OK.

1. Access the Wire Actions dialog by following Step 1 through Step 3 of How to Emulate Outbound Messages.
2. Click the Asserts tab.

   Figure 50-16 shows this dialog:

   Figure 50-16 Wire Actions Dialog with Asserts Tab Selected

   
   Description of "Figure 50-16 Wire Actions Dialog with Asserts Tab Selected"
3. Click the Add icon.

   The Create Assert dialog appears.

4. Select the type of assertion to perform at the top of the dialog, as shown in Table 50-10. If the operation supports only input messages, the Assert Input button is enabled. If the operation supports both input and output messages, the Assert Input and Assert Output buttons are both enabled.

   Table 50-10 Assertion Types

   Type	Description
   Assert Input	Select to create an assertion in the inbound direction.
   Assert Output	Select to create an assertion in the outbound direction.
   Assert Callback	Select to create an assertion on a callback.
   Assert Fault	Select to assert a fault into the application flow.

5. See the section shown in Table 50-11 based on the type of assertion you want to perform.

   Table 50-11 Assertion Types

   For an Assertion on...	See...
   A part section of a document A nonleaf element An entire XML document	Creating Assertions on a Part Section_ Nonleaf Element_ or Entire XML Document
   A leaf element	Creating Assertions on a Leaf Element

When a test is executed, and the response type returned is different from the type expected, the assertion is skipped. For example, you are expecting a fault (RemoteFault) to be returned for a specific message, but a response (BpelResponseMessage) is instead returned.

As a best practice, always assert and emulate the expected behavior.

You can create variable and fault assertions on BPEL process activities. The following example instructs the BPEL process to ensure that the contents of textVar and crOutput match the contents specified:

 <bpelTest xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
               xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test"
               componentName="LoanBroker">
 <activityActions activityName="elementAssign">
    <assert comparisonMethod="number">
      <description>Some other assertion.</description>
      <expected>
        <location key="textVar"
                  xmlns:loan="http://www.autoloan.com/ns/autoloan"/>
        <simple>111222333</simple>
      </expected>
    </assert>
  </activityActions>
 <activityActions activityName="invokeCR">
    <assert comparisonMethod="number">
      <description>Make sure we got the output.</description>
      <expected>
        <location key="crOutput" partName="payload" xpath="/tns:rating"
 xmlns:tns="http://services.otn.com"/>
        <simple>560</simple>
      </expected>
    </assert>
  </activityActions>
</bpelTest>

For more information about creating assertions on BPEL process activities, see How to Create Assertions.

A wait activity allows a process to wait for a given time period or until a time limit has been reached. When testing a BPEL process service component, you may want to bypass the wait activity to continue with testing. A fast forward action enables you to specify the amount of time for which to bypass a wait activity and move forward in the test scenario. The following example instructs the BPEL process to bypass the wait activity for 1 second.

<bpelTest xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
               xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test
 TestFwk.xsd"
               xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test"
               componentName="LoanBroker">
    <activityActions activityName="wait1">
      <fastForward duration="PT1S"/>
    </activityActions>
</bpelTest>

For more information about creating fast forward actions on wait activities, see How to Bypass a Wait Activity.

You can specify and validate the number of times an activity is executed in a BPEL process. The following example instructs the BPEL process to execute the invoke, elementAssign, invokeCR, and replyOutput activities one time each.

<bpelTest xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
               xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/sca/2006/test"
               componentName="LoanBroker">
    <assertActivityExecuted activityName="invoke" executionCount="1"/>
    <assertActivityExecuted activityName="elementAssign" executionCount="1"/>
    <assertActivityExecuted activityName="invokeCR" executionCount="1"/>
    <assertActivityExecuted activityName="replyOutput" executionCount="1"/>
</bpelTest>

For more information about creating assert activity executions, see How to Specify the Number of Times to Execute an Activity.

1. Double-click a BPEL process in a test suite (for this example, LoanBroker).

   If you have not yet created a test suite, see Creating Test Suites and Test Cases with the Create Composite Test Wizard. The BPEL process service component test that you create is included in the overall test suite for the SOA composite application.

   The Create Component Test dialog is displayed, as shown in Figure 50-23.

   Figure 50-23 Create Component Test Dialog

   
   Description of "Figure 50-23 Create Component Test Dialog"
2. Accept the default name or enter a different name, as shown in Figure 50-23.
3. Click OK.

   The BPEL process in test mode is displayed, as shown in Figure 50-24.

   In the lower left section, the Structure window displays the Asserts, Fast Forwards, and Assert Execution Counts folders. You can right-click these folders to create assertions, fast forwards (to bypass executions of wait activities), and assertion execution counts, respectively.

   Above the designer, the following buttons are displayed:

   • BPEL: Click to access the BPEL process service component in design mode of Oracle BPEL Designer (that is, in nontest mode). This button is currently enabled in Figure 50-24 because you are in test mode for the BPEL process.

   • Monitor: Click to configure BPEL process monitors in Oracle BPEL Designer. BPEL process monitors can send data to Oracle BAM for analysis and graphical display through the Oracle BAM adapter.

   • Test: This button is currently disabled because you are in test mode for the BPEL process service component. This button is enabled when you click the BPEL button to enter design mode in Oracle BPEL Designer.

   • Analytics: Click to create a uniform measurement mechanism across Oracle SOA Suite components such as Oracle BPMN, human workflow, and BPEL processes for collecting disparate data.

   Figure 50-24 BPEL Process Service Component in Test Mode

   
   Description of "Figure 50-24 BPEL Process Service Component in Test Mode"

For information about deploying a SOA composite application and running a test suite from Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control, see Administering Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle Business Process Management Suite.

For information about using the sca_test WLST command to execute a test suite, see Section "sca_test" of WLST Command Reference for SOA Suite.

For information about using the ant-sca-test.xml ant script to execute a test suite, see How to Use ant to Automate the Testing of a SOA Composite Application.