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Test Author Guide
This guide describes how to create test scripts in Rational® Service Tester for SOA Quality and enhances tests by applying different test elements such as dataset, variables, and verification points. This guide is intended for testers.
Editing tests
After you record a test, you can edit it to include datasets (to provide variable data rather than the data that you recorded), verification points (to confirm that the test runs as expected), and data correlation (to ensure that returned data is appropriate for the corresponding request). You can also add protocol-specific elements to a test. When you edit a test, the modified items appear in italic type. The italic type changes to regular type after you save the test.
Editing service tests
After you record a service test, you can edit the calls and message returns to include variable data (rather than the data that you recorded). You can add verification points (to confirm that the test runs as expected), transactions, conditional processing, and custom code.
Adding elements to a socket test
A socket test provides the flexibility to add close, send, and receive elements to the test.
Manually adding a response element
You can add service response elements to specify the received content of a service request. You can use the test editor to create or edit response elements in an existing service test.

Test Author Guide
This guide describes how to create test scripts in Rational® Service Tester for SOA Quality and enhances tests by applying different test elements such as dataset, variables, and verification points. This guide is intended for testers.
- Creating tests
  To create a test, you record representative interactions with an application.
- Editing tests
  After you record a test, you can edit it to include datasets (to provide variable data rather than the data that you recorded), verification points (to confirm that the test runs as expected), and data correlation (to ensure that returned data is appropriate for the corresponding request). You can also add protocol-specific elements to a test. When you edit a test, the modified items appear in italic type. The italic type changes to regular type after you save the test.
  - Editing service tests
    After you record a service test, you can edit the calls and message returns to include variable data (rather than the data that you recorded). You can add verification points (to confirm that the test runs as expected), transactions, conditional processing, and custom code.
    - Web service test editor overview
      With the test editor, you can inspect or customize a test that you recorded.
    - Verifying application behavior
      To check the expected behavior of the application during a service test, you can add verification points after a message return. During the run, verification points produce a pass, fail, error, or inconclusive status in the Web Service Verification Point report.
    - Working with Server Name Indication (SNI) recordings
      If you have recorded against a server that supports Server Name Indication (SNI), an extension of the TLS protocol, the recording session file displays true for the SNI Extension field. There might be a need for you to access both SNI and non-SNI applications from the same server. To run the same test without using the SNI extension, you can manually change the value to false.
    - Adding elements to a socket test
      A socket test provides the flexibility to add close, send, and receive elements to the test.
      - Adding a service request
        You can use service request elements in tests to send a request to the service.
      - Updating a service response from the service
        While you are developing a service test, you can send a request from the test editor to record or update the response element.
      - Manually adding a response element
        You can add service response elements to specify the received content of a service request. You can use the test editor to create or edit response elements in an existing service test.
    - Managing JMS/MQ connections in a service test
      When you run a service test that includes JMS or MQ protocol, the socket connections are created and closed in the background. When you include multiple tests in a compound test or a schedule, in this context, is used to refer to both VU Schedule and Rate Schedule, multiple connections are created and closed. Starting from 9.2, when you run service tests in a schedule, you can select a pooling strategy for these JMS/MQ connections so that when the connections are created, they do not close and are reused subsequently for the other JMS/MQ calls, if required.
    - Editing WSDL security profiles
      To ensure that your service test uses the correct security protocols to access a SOAP-based service, you must specify a security profile for the (Web Service Description Language) WSDL file. After a security profile is set up, it can be reused in multiple web service calls.
    - Testing asynchronous services
      Use the asynchronous callback services for inter-object communications in a service test.
    - Creating a reliable messaging call structure
      You can create a test structure dedicated to testing service calls based on the WS-ReliableMessaging specification.
  - Searching within tests
    Search request data or response content by right-clicking in the data or content and selecting Find. To search for specific element types and to display the results in a table, click Select. For a still more powerful search and replace, use the Test Search function.
  - Exporting a test
    To share the test scripts with manual testers or reviewers who do not have the workbench, export the test scripts to text files. You can export one file at a time.
  - Copying test assets with dependencies
    You can export test assets, and then import them into another project or workspace without losing any dependencies. Test assets include projects, schedules, and tests. You can export and import test assets to collaborate with other testers.
  - Disabling portions of a test
    When you disable portions of a test, you can still see the disabled portion, but it is not executed during a run.
  - Running test elements in random order
    You can record multiple user scenarios in a test and then run each scenario in a random order. To do this, you put each scenario under a random selector and then select the proportion of time that the scenario should be run.
  - Renaming test assets
    As your test assets increase and become more complex, you might want to rename them. Use the Eclipse Rename function or save the assets under a different name.
  - Deleting test assets
    As your test assets grow and become more complicated, you might want to delete the assets that you no longer use.
  - Debugging custom code for tests and compound tests
    If you have custom code added to a test or a compound test, you can debug the custom code for any errors by clicking the Debug button.
  - Providing tests with variable data (datasets)
    You can produce more realistic tests by changing them to use datasets. During execution, a test that uses a dataset replaces a value in the recorded test with variable test data that is stored in the dataset. This substitution allows each virtual user to generate a different request to the server.
  - Test variables
    A test variable is a user-defined, name-value pair that stores and refers to information throughout a test and between tests.
  - Correlating response and request data
    For a test to run correctly, a request that is sent to a server might need to use a value that was returned by a previous request. By ensuring that this data is correlated accurately, you can produce better performance tests.
- Simulating services with stubs
  Service stubs enable you to simulate the behavior of an actual service for a wide variety testing or integration purposes.
- Sending service requests with the generic service client
  The generic service client enables you to send requests to services for which you do not have a convenient client and to view the responses returned by the service.

Manually adding a response element

You can add service response elements to specify the received content of a service request. You can use the test editor to create or edit response elements in an existing service test.

Before you begin

Service response elements are children of service request elements. Service tests use response elements to measure the response time between a call and the corresponding response. Response elements can also contain verification points. IBM® WebSphere® MQ and JMS requests can contain multiple response elements.

Depending on the type of request, you can manually create several types of response elements:

Response from Web Services Description Language (WSDL): For web services, this response type uses the WSDL file to create the specified XML structure of the response.
XML response: This response type creates an empty response element in which you must manually create the expected XML structure. You can use an XML Schema Definition (XSD) document from the XSD catalog to assist you.
Text response: This response type creates an empty response element, which can contain freely formatted text.

Alternatively, you can automatically create and update response content by recording the actual response content that the service returns. See Updating a service response from the service for more information.

Procedure

To add a response element to a service test:

Open the test in the test editor, and select a service request element.
Create one of these elements:
- For web service requests, click Add > Response from WSDL.
- If the expected response contains XML content, click Add > XML Response.
- If the expected response contains plain text, click Add > Text Response.
This action creates the corresponding response element in the test. If the request uses the WebSphere® MQ or JMS format, then you can create multiple responses.
Edit the message content of the response element to reflect to actual content that the service returns.
1. Click the Message tab to view the contents of the response in the Form, Tree or Source view.
2. Click the Attachment tab to view any resource files that were attached to the response.
3. Click the Response Properties tab to view the properties of the response.

What to do next

After creating a message return, you can create verification points on the contents to test the behavior of the service.