Test descriptions with ETSI TDL

Abstract

To address the need for abstract, high-level test descriptions that can be shared among different stakeholders, the ETSI commissioned the design of the Test Description Language (TDL). TDL is designed as a domain-specific language for testing, consisting of a standardised abstract syntax (meta-model) and concrete syntaxes for textual specification, graphical design, and model exchange between tools. Its main purpose is to support a test methodology that is followed in the standardisation work for software-intense systems at ETSI and is also applicable in industrial projects. TDL offers a standardised language that enables the formal specification of both test objectives derived from system requirements and test descriptions that refine the test objectives and serve as blueprints for the implementation of executable tests. A standardised mapping of TDL specifications to test scripts in the standardised test execution language Testing and Test Control Notation version 3 (TTCN-3) widens the reach of TDL to ensure compatibility and consistency in generated executable tests. An open-source toolset for TDL has been developed as a common platform to accelerate the adoption of TDL and lower the barrier to entry for both, users and tool-vendors. Reports from pilot applications of TDL within three ETSI standardisation groups demonstrate the practicability of the chosen approach.