Execution Facility

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An Execution Facility is an Operational Resource that interprets or performs Executable Instructions.

An Execution Facility can provide one or more capabilities required to execute instructions, including:

• Processing
• Interpretation
• Scheduling
• Automation
• Communication
• Data access
• State management
• Model execution
• Service invocation
• Device control
• Measurement
• Observation
• Result capture
• Error reporting

An Execution Facility can include:

• A processor
• A physical machine
• A virtual machine
• A container runtime
• A process
• A command processor
• An interpreter
• A compiler runtime
• An automation engine
• A workflow engine
• A test framework
• A model-execution engine
• A database engine
• A service
• A device controller
• A hardware test instrument
• A human-operated execution tool
• A combination of hardware, software, and services

An Execution Facility can identify:

• Its identity
• Its name
• Its description
• Its type
• Its Version
• Its supported instruction languages or formats
• Its supported operations
• Its available interfaces
• Its applicable Endpoints
• Its required dependencies
• Its resource requirements
• Its operating constraints
• Its supported Executable Instructions
• Its applicable Executable Artifacts
• Its applicable Test Environments
• Its applicable Deployment Targets
• Its applicable Governance Policies
• Its Provenance
• Its Traceability

A Test Executable contains or references the Executable Instructions used during Test Execution.

The Execution Facility interprets or performs those Executable Instructions within the applicable Test Environment.

A Test Environment can contain, provide, identify, or provide access to one or more Execution Facilities.

Operational Resource that interprets or performs Executable Instructions

Adapted from:

• OMG Test Information Interchange Format (TestIF), Version 1.0 Beta 3, Section 7.3.7, TestExecutable
• Executable Instruction
• Test Executable
• Test Execution
• Test Environment
• DIDO Reference Implementation Conceptual Model
• DIDO-TE draft Requirements Register

OMG TestIF describes TestExecutable as a low-level procedural definition that supports test automation through executable information such as code and scripts.

OMG TestIF does not define Execution Facility as a separate TestIF model element. This definition introduces Execution Facility to identify the Operational Resource that interprets or performs the Executable Instructions associated with a Test Executable.

An Execution Facility differs from an Executable Instruction:

• An Executable Instruction specifies an operation
• An Execution Facility interprets or performs the operation

An Execution Facility differs from a Test Executable:

• A Test Executable contains, organizes, or references Executable Instructions
• An Execution Facility interprets or performs those Executable Instructions

An Execution Facility differs from an Executable Artifact:

• An Executable Artifact stores, packages, or provides Executable Instructions
• An Execution Facility loads, interprets, invokes, or performs those instructions

An Execution Facility differs from a Test Environment:

• A Test Environment identifies the conditions, resources, configurations, and dependencies required to conduct testing
• An Execution Facility provides a capability for interpreting or performing Executable Instructions within that Test Environment

An Execution Facility differs from a Deployment Target:

• A Deployment Target identifies a destination onto which a deployable artifact can be installed, configured, or activated
• An Execution Facility interprets or performs Executable Instructions

A Deployment Target can provide or host an Execution Facility. The same resource can act as both when it satisfies both definitions.

An Execution Facility differs from a Node:

• A Node is an identifiable participant that performs one or more assigned roles in a distributed system
• An Execution Facility provides the capability to interpret or perform Executable Instructions

A Node can host, use, or provide access to one or more Execution Facilities. An Execution Facility does not become a Node unless it also acts as an identifiable participant with assigned roles in the distributed system.

An Execution Facility can use other Execution Facilities. For example, a test framework can invoke a command processor, which invokes a runtime, which sends a request to a service.

An Execution Facility can operate locally or remotely. Physical location does not determine whether a resource qualifies as an Execution Facility.

An Execution Facility is not necessarily dedicated to testing. The facility qualifies when it interprets or performs Executable Instructions used for the applicable purpose.

A human does not ordinarily constitute an Execution Facility. A human-operated tool can constitute an Execution Facility when the tool interprets or performs the Executable Instructions and the human controls or initiates its operation.

A reproducible Test Run should identify the applicable Execution Facilities and their Versions, configurations, dependencies, and operating conditions.

A Test Executable references a versioned script that submits a proposed transaction to a Node.

The applicable Execution Facilities include:

• A container runtime that starts the test container
• A command processor that invokes the script
• A language interpreter that interprets the script
• A test framework that supplies the applicable Test Argument Values
• A service that processes the resulting request

During Test Execution, the Execution Facilities:

• Load the referenced Executable Artifact
• Interpret or perform its Executable Instructions
• Submit the proposed transaction through the applicable Endpoint
• Capture the response
• Provide the resulting data to the Test Run

The Test Run records:

• The identity of each Execution Facility
• The Version of each Execution Facility
• The applicable configuration
• The applicable dependencies
• The applicable Test Environment
• The resulting Test Result
• The supporting Evidence