Towards a BPEL unit testing framework

ABSTRACT

The Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) is emerging as the new standard in Web service composition. As more and more workflows are modelled using BPEL, unit-testing these compositions becomes increasingly important. However, little research has been done in this area and no frameworks comparable to the xUnit family are available. In this paper, we propose a layer-based approach to creating frameworks for repeatable, white-box BPEL unit testing, which we use for the development of a new testing framework. This framework uses a specialized BPEL-level testing language to describe interactions with a BPEL process to be carried out in a test case. The framework supports automated test execution and offers test management capabilities in a standardized and open way via well-defined interfaces -- even to third-party applications.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.5 Testing and Debugging
          Subjects: Testing tools (e.g., data generators, coverage testing)

Keywords:
BPEL, BPELUnit, composition, orchestration, testing, unit testing