Re: [xsl] junit test... for xslt2?

[Dave Pawson <davep@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 08/03/10 10:22, Andrew Welch wrote:
> > > Ultimately though, for checking the "correctness" of the result of a
> > > transform, I think you just need to execute XPaths against it, which
> > > are more tolerant of subtle changes in the output.  That was the idea
> > > behind xchecker, which then became running xquery and transforms to
> > > overcome the limitations of what xpath can check.
> >
> > Would you expand on that a little please Andrew?
> > I can see (initially) that xpath comparisons would
> > be easier (ws etc), but what made you change to
> > 'running xquery and transforms'?
> > What was xpath missing?
>
> The idea behind xchecker is that each test returns true() or a
> sequence of true()s to pass, and fails if any item is the sequence is
> not true(). For example,

So it is convenient to run multiple tests at a single 'call'?
OK, I haven't got that far yet.
I do note you're using something like Schematron ideas,
e.g. simple paras don't have titles.
Are you 'ignoring' text content then? Just comparing
structures... or testing for a particular element present|not  ?

That seems like the poor mans xml diff.
It should be fairly straight forward with xpath alone?
Your additions seem to address test groups rather
than simple tests?




> Allowing transforms or xqueries to be just makes it easier to test
> what you need (say you need a variable) and construct a better failure
> message, and means you can test however you like.. comparing xml if
> you really wanted to, or just simple xpaths.

Yes, I can see that.


> > I'm thinking of testing the output of a single template
> > against an expected 'structure'.
>
> Using a schema aware transform you could add an "as" attribute to the
> template which refers to a custom type, or if using a basic processor
> just validate the result yourself.

So far I'm steering clear of Schema aware transforms.



regards

--
Dave Pawson
XSLT XSL-FO FAQ.
http://www.dpawson.co.uk