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9 Testing: Conformance and Interoperability

This sections is largely a placeholder for future developments. We expect strong support for test facilities as interoperability becomes more the norm amongst NRIMS agencies. Testing facilities will allow developers and users to demonstrate an unambiguous conformance to the relevant technical standards as well as demonstrating interoperability in the relevant context.

9.1 Utilities and testcases

Software developers often provide test pages to validate a particular aspect of configuration. For example, WFSLite is packaged with a JSP page that generates WFS requests to the local installation. At a more general level, Cubewerx provide a WMS checking interface at: www.cubewerx.com/demo/cubeview/cubeview.cgi . Using this page, you should be able to verify that your WMS server is functioning properly.

For more complex systems, you can develop testcases to demonstrate a system's functionality over several steps in a scenario. Testcases should include "pre-conditions" and "post-conditions" to clarify the intended boundary interactions.

9.2 WMT program

The OGC use a testbed process to develop and refine candidate standards. A review of this process can help you see the characteristics being demonstrated and validated. A similar process should be adopted when specifying a solution in your DIY project.

9.3 ConformIT

ConformIT is an Australian initiative for providing a service bureau interface that allows developers to test their product's conformance to OpenGIS implementation specifications, as well as getting an interoperability report for connecting with various CANRI resources. The project is being undertaken by Social Change Online.