Automating property-based testing of evolving web services

Web services are the most widely used service technology that drives the Service-Oriented Computing~(SOC) paradigm. As a result, effective testing of web services is getting increasingly important. In this paper, we present a framework and toolset for testing web services and for evolving test code in sync with the evolution of web services. Our approach to testing web services is based on the Erlang programming language and QuviQ QuickCheck, a property-based testing tool written in Erlang, and our support for test code evolution is added to Wrangler, the Erlang refactoring tool. The key components of our system include the automatic generation of initial test code, the inference of web service interface changes between versions, the provision of a number of domain specific refactorings and the automatic generation of refactoring scripts for evolving the test code. Our framework provides users with a powerful and expressive web service testing framework, while minimising users' effort in creating, maintaining and evolving the test model. The framework presented in this paper can be used by both web service providers and consumers, and can be used to test web services written in whatever language; the approach advocated here could also be adopted in other property-based testing frameworks and refactoring tools

Invest to Save: Report and Recommendations of the NSF-DELOS Working Group on Digital Archiving and Preservation

Digital archiving and preservation are important areas for research and development, but there is no agreed upon set of priorities or coherent plan for research in this area. Research projects in this area tend to be small and driven by particular institutional problems or concerns. As a consequence, proposed solutions from experimental projects and prototypes tend not to scale to millions of digital objects, nor do the results from disparate projects readily build on each other. It is also unclear whether it is worthwhile to seek general solutions or whether different strategies are needed for different types of digital objects and collections. The lack of coordination in both research and development means that there are some areas where researchers are reinventing the wheel while other areas are neglected. Digital archiving and preservation is an area that will benefit from an exercise in analysis, priority setting, and planning for future research. The WG aims to survey current research activities, identify gaps, and develop a white paper proposing future research directions in the area of digital preservation. Some of the potential areas for research include repository architectures and inter-operability among digital archives; automated tools for capture, ingest, and normalization of digital objects; and harmonization of preservation formats and metadata. There can also be opportunities for development of commercial products in the areas of mass storage systems, repositories and repository management systems, and data management software and tools.

Cloud engineering is search based software engineering too

Many of the problems posed by the migration of computation to cloud platforms can be formulated and solved using techniques associated with Search Based Software Engineering (SBSE). Much of cloud software engineering involves problems of optimisation: performance, allocation, assignment and the dynamic balancing of resources to achieve pragmatic trade-offs between many competing technical and business objectives. SBSE is concerned with the application of computational search and optimisation to solve precisely these kinds of software engineering challenges. Interest in both cloud computing and SBSE has grown rapidly in the past five years, yet there has been little work on SBSE as a means of addressing cloud computing challenges. Like many computationally demanding activities, SBSE has the potential to benefit from the cloud; ‘SBSE in the cloud’. However, this paper focuses, instead, of the ways in which SBSE can benefit cloud computing. It thus develops the theme of ‘SBSE for the cloud’, formulating cloud computing challenges in ways that can be addressed using SBSE

Cross-Browser Document Capture System

Veebilehte kuvatakse harva täpselt samasugusena erinevates brauseri ja operatsioonisüsteemi kombinatsioonides. Sellel on mitmeid põhjuseid: veebistandardite tõlgendamine brauseri poolt, brauseri visualiseerimismootor, operatsioonisüsteemi vaikefondid, brauserisse installeeritud pistikprogrammid, ekraani eraldusvõime jms. Nende erinevuste tähelepanuta jätmine võib tekitada probleeme veebilehe kujunduses, mille tagajärjeks on klientide kaotamine. Veebidisaineritele võib tunduda veebilehtede testimine mitmes brauseris tavapärase praktikana, et leida brauseritevahelised kujunduse probleemid. Katsed näitavad, et visuaalsete erinevuste käsitsi leidmine on tülikas ja kohmakas ülesanne. Seda teades on meie meeskonna liige loonud algoritmi, mis on osutunud inimestega võrreldes märkimisväärselt kiiremaks ja täpsemaks kujunduses vigade leidmisel. Algoritm töötab selliselt, et veebilehest tehtud aluspilti (tarkvara testimise mõistes oraaklit) võrreldakse samast veebilehest teiste brauseritega tehtud piltidega, leides nendes paigutuse erinevusi, mida ka inimsilm arvestaks väärana. Käesolev töö keskendub probleemile, kuidas eelnevalt mainitud algoritmile sisendit luua. Töö annab valikulise ülevaate olemasolevatest lahendustest ja teenustest, mis tagastavad veebilehe sisu pildi kujul, ning võimalusel mõõdab nende jõudlust. Tuvastatakse nimekiri nõuetest, mis on vajalikud mitmeplatvormilise veebidokumentide pildistamise lahenduse kommertsialiseerimiseks. Seejärel tutvustab töö kiiret ja mitmeplatvormilist meetodit veebilehe täispikkuses pildistamiseks ning annab ülevaate skaleeritava arhitektuuriga veebiteenusest, mis pildistab veebilehti virtuaalsetes ja füüsilistes masinates ning erinevates brauserites ja operatsioonisüsteemides.A web page is seldom displayed in the exact same manner in different browser and operating system combinations. There are several reasons for different rendering outcomes: interpretation of web standards by the browser, the browser's rendering engine, available fonts in the operating system, plugins installed in the browser, screen resolution etc. Neglecting to consider these differences as a web designer may lead to webpage layout issues that result in lost customers. Web designers might consider it common practice to test webpages on several browsers to eliminate cross-browser layout issues. Experiments show that finding visual differences is a dull and cumbersome task for people. Knowing this, another member working at Browserbite has created an algorithm that has proved to be much faster and more accurate at finding layout issues compared to humans. The algorithm works by comparing a baseline (oracle in software testing terms) webpage in image form to other image captures of the same webpage in different browsers, finding differences in layout and position that a human might consider erroneous. This thesis concentrates on the problem of creating the input to the aforementioned algorithm. A selective overview of existing solutions and services for webpage capture and automation is given, measuring their performance where possible. A list of requirements are established for a cross-platform capture solution to be commercialized. A fast and cross-platform method of capturing full webpages is then introduced, and an overview of a scalable Software-as-a-Service system implemented for cross-browser and cross-platform capture in several virtual and physical machines asynchronously is given

Unified System on Chip RESTAPI Service (USOCRS)

Abstract. This thesis investigates the development of a Unified System on Chip RESTAPI Service (USOCRS) to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of SOC verification reporting. The research aims to overcome the challenges associated with the transfer, utilization, and interpretation of SoC verification reports by creating a unified platform that integrates various tools and technologies. The research methodology used in this study follows a design science approach. A thorough literature review was conducted to explore existing approaches and technologies related to SOC verification reporting, automation, data visualization, and API development. The review revealed gaps in the current state of the field, providing a basis for further investigation. Using the insights gained from the literature review, a system design and implementation plan were developed. This plan makes use of cutting-edge technologies such as FASTAPI, SQL and NoSQL databases, Azure Active Directory for authentication, and Cloud services. The Verification Toolbox was employed to validate SoC reports based on the organization’s standards. The system went through manual testing, and user satisfaction was evaluated to ensure its functionality and usability. The results of this study demonstrate the successful design and implementation of the USOCRS, offering SOC engineers a unified and secure platform for uploading, validating, storing, and retrieving verification reports. The USOCRS facilitates seamless communication between users and the API, granting easy access to vital information including successes, failures, and test coverage derived from submitted SoC verification reports. By automating and standardizing the SOC verification reporting process, the USOCRS eliminates manual and repetitive tasks usually done by developers, thereby enhancing productivity, and establishing a robust and reliable framework for report storage and retrieval. Through the integration of diverse tools and technologies, the USOCRS presents a comprehensive solution that adheres to the required specifications of the SOC schema used within the organization. Furthermore, the USOCRS significantly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of SOC verification reporting. It facilitates the submission process, reduces latency through optimized data storage, and enables meaningful extraction and analysis of report data