The Analyzer allows you to test all operations on the fly via SOAP, and to work with any backends (e.g. databases, Web Services, etc). It traces the execution path of a deployed xUML service and you can review this trace graphically in order to debug your service, or verify its correct functionality.

The xUML Trace Analyzer is the interface to the tracing feature. With the Trace Analyzer you can test

  • each operation defined on a port type of an xUML service
  • class operations of classes that have been marked as to be testable

The tracing data can be collected synchronously or asynchronously.

Import the Service Description

To test a service, you must first import its characteristics from a WSDL file. The Web Service Definition Language according to the definition of the W3C is "an XML format for describing network services as a set of endpoints operating on messages containing either document-oriented or procedure-oriented information".

In terms that are more practical, WSDL is a markup language, which describes the public API of a Web Service, including the parameters for calling services and the types of return values.

Consider the web or some other resources for more information on WSDL files. When you compile an xUML service in the Builder, a WSDL file is generated.

The Trace Analyzer supports both SOAP RPC (remote procedure call) encoding and SOAP document-style encoding.

Define the Test Data

Each operation defined on a port type of an xUML service can be tested with the Trace Analyzer. In order to test an operation, you must define a test case, which will also be used to store the last request and response.

It is possible to create multiple test cases for a single operation. Each test case runs with specific input data that you enter in the Trace Analyzer. The SOAP request and the SOAP response will be saved to disk together with the test case, so they are not lost when you close the Trace Analyzer.

Run the Test

A test case can be run. When a test case is run, its response is updated, and a graphical view of the service execution is generated.

If you wish to compare the results of two tests (e.g. before and after a correction), copy the test case and run it again. Both request and response are copied as well.