FitNesse
Encyclopedia
FitNesse is a web server
, a wiki
, and an automated testing tool for software. It is based on Ward Cunningham
's Framework for Integrated Test. FitNesse is designed to support acceptance testing rather than unit testing in that it facilitates detailed readable description of system function.
FitNesse allows users of a developed system to enter specially formatted input (its format is accessible to non-programmers). This input is interpreted and tests are created automatically. These tests are then executed by the system and output is returned back to the user. The advantage of this approach is very fast feedback from users. The developer of the system to be tested needs to provide some support (classes named "fixtures", conforming to certain conventions).
FitNesse is written in Java
(by Robert C. Martin
and others). The program first supported only Java, but versions for several other languages have been added over time (C++, Python, Ruby, Delphi, C#, etc).
style of black-box testing acceptance and regression testing. In this style of testing the functional testers in a software development project collaborate with the software developers to develop a testing suite.
FitNesse testing is based around the notion of black-box testing, in which a system under test is considered to be a black box and is tested in terms of the outputs generated in response to predetermined inputs. A functional tester is responsible for designing the tests in a functional sense and expressing them within the FitNesse tool, whereas the software developer is responsible for connecting the FitNesse tool to the system under test so that FitNesse can execute the test and compare the output to the expected output.
The idea behind this testing method, as described in Fit for Developing Software, is that the forced collaboration of testers and developers will improve mutual understanding of the system and requirements by forcing the two groups to develop a common language as they learn to communicate together.
. The FitNesse tool supports several of these variations, ranging from literal decision tables to tables that execute queries to tables that express testing scripts (i.e. a literal ordering of steps that must be followed to reach a result). The most generic form is a fully free-form table that can be interpreted in any way the test designers like. All tests are expressed in the shape of some sort of table, however.
FitNesse is focused entirely on easily creating tests, allowing testers and developers to focus on creating high-quality tests rather than getting lost in the mechanics of executing a test. Given the way FitNesse works, creating tests easily involves three factors:
In order to meet these requirements, FitNesse leverages the wiki mechanism. Wikis classically allow for the easy and rapid creation of HTML pages and particularly simplify the expression of tables. These qualities make the basic WikiWiki language an ideal choice for a "user interface" for FitNesse: on the one hand it allows for the simple expression of very free-form tables, on the other hand it limits the contents of those tables to rather simple text. This means that the WikiWiki language can handle whatever shape of table is required for a particular test and at the same time limits the contents of those tables to alphanumeric text that can easily be mapped into a call to a piece of software. Finally, since each test in FitNesse is a wiki page it is possible to embed each testing table within wiki text; this allows a functional tester to include descriptive text with a reasonable layout quickly.
. It ships as a single, executable jar file. The executable includes a wiki engine, an embedded web server
, a testing engine and all the resources (images, stylesheets and so on) required to create a web site in FitNesse's own style.
FitNesse is focused very much on ease of use as a testing tool. As such it ships with all required components on board: upon execution the tool launches an embedded web server which allows test pages to be exposed locally or across the Internet with equal ease. The embedded server is quite lightweight and can be run from a laptop as well as full server machine.
Upon launch the tool deploys its own Wiki engine into its embedded server. This Wiki engine is similarly focused on simplicity, meaning that it does not require a backing database to run — it simply creates a file-based collection Wiki pages which are interpreted by the Wiki engine and served by the embedded web server. The default wiki created by the tool includes the FitNesse user guide and some examples. The default document repository is created complete with an everything needed to publish a default wiki in the FitNesse style (that is, all the images, stylesheets, javascript files and so on are created together with the basic wiki page repository).
The wiki engine is quite basic, but does offer all the basic facilities common among wiki engines: a search engine
, revision history per page and a file overview. It also offers some refactoring operations that allow for deleting, moving and renaming files. In addition the wiki engine offers some test-specific facilities, such as standard buttons to run tests, ways of defining individual test pages and suites of tests and a historic overview of test results for trend analysis. Finally the engine offers some minor security facilities for locking pages and securing access to the wiki.
Of these components the software development team produces two: the wiki page and the fixture (of course it also produces the system under test, but from the point of view of the black-box test only two). The wiki page includes some form of decision table which expresses a test. For example, it might express tests for a component that performs division (the example is based on the one given in the FitNesse Two Minute Example):
The link between the generic testing engine and the system under test is made by a piece of Java code called a fixture. In the case of the table above this code might look like this:
public class DivisionComponentTest {
private double num;
private double denom;
public void setNumeratorValue (double numerator) {
num = numerator;
}
public void setDenominatorValue (double denominator) {
denom = denominator;
}
public double result {
return SystemUnderTest.divide (num, denom);
}
}
The mapping between the wiki page and the fixture is a straightforward convert-to-camel case mapping. This mapping applies to all table headings and is used to identify the name of the fixture class as well as the methods of the fixture. A heading ending in a question mark is interpreted as a value to be read from the fixture, other headers are considered inputs to the fixture. Methods of the fixture are called in column order of the decision table, from left to right.
FIT is a framework that combines many responsibilities in testing rather than separating responsibilities neatly. The software developer pays a price for this fact in that fixtures for the FIT engine must inherit from FIT framework base classes. This can be inconvenient in Java, as it means that the framework claims a developers one chance at class inheritance. It also means that a fixture, by its nature, is a heavyweight construct. These considerations have prompted the FitNesse team in recent years to move to the SLIM testing engine.
The SLIM engine is an implementation of the Slim Protocol. Rather than combining all the elements of wiki-based testing, the SLIM engine concentrates only on invoking the fixture; it runs as a separate server which is invoked remotely by the FitNesse wiki engine. The interpretation of the wiki page and the generation of the result page is now part of the wiki engine.
The SLIM engine allows for far more light-weight fixtures which are simple POJO
s. These fixtures are not required to extend or use any framework classes, which simplifies their design and allows the fixture designer to concentrate on calling the system under test properly and in the simplest way possible. It also keeps the inheritance route open, allowing fixture developers to create fixture hierarchies if necessary.
.
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
, a wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
, and an automated testing tool for software. It is based on Ward Cunningham
Ward Cunningham
Howard G. "Ward" Cunningham is an American computer programmer who developed the first wiki. A pioneer in both design patterns and Extreme Programming, he started programming the software WikiWikiWeb in 1994 and installed it on the website of his software consultancy, Cunningham & Cunningham , on...
's Framework for Integrated Test. FitNesse is designed to support acceptance testing rather than unit testing in that it facilitates detailed readable description of system function.
FitNesse allows users of a developed system to enter specially formatted input (its format is accessible to non-programmers). This input is interpreted and tests are created automatically. These tests are then executed by the system and output is returned back to the user. The advantage of this approach is very fast feedback from users. The developer of the system to be tested needs to provide some support (classes named "fixtures", conforming to certain conventions).
FitNesse is written in Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
(by Robert C. Martin
Robert Cecil Martin
Robert Cecil Martin, known colloquially as "Uncle Bob", is an American software consultant and author. Martin has been a software professional since 1970 and an international software consultant since 1990. In 2001, he initiated the meeting of the group that created Agile software development from...
and others). The program first supported only Java, but versions for several other languages have been added over time (C++, Python, Ruby, Delphi, C#, etc).
FitNesse as a testing method
FitNesse was originally designed as a highly usable interface around the Fit framework. As such its intention is to support an agileAgile software development
Agile software development is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams...
style of black-box testing acceptance and regression testing. In this style of testing the functional testers in a software development project collaborate with the software developers to develop a testing suite.
FitNesse testing is based around the notion of black-box testing, in which a system under test is considered to be a black box and is tested in terms of the outputs generated in response to predetermined inputs. A functional tester is responsible for designing the tests in a functional sense and expressing them within the FitNesse tool, whereas the software developer is responsible for connecting the FitNesse tool to the system under test so that FitNesse can execute the test and compare the output to the expected output.
The idea behind this testing method, as described in Fit for Developing Software, is that the forced collaboration of testers and developers will improve mutual understanding of the system and requirements by forcing the two groups to develop a common language as they learn to communicate together.
FitNesse as a testing tool
Tests are described in FitNesse as some sort of coupling of inputs and expected output. These couplings are expressed as some sort of variation of a decision tableDecision table
Decision tables are a precise yet compact way to model complicated logic.Decision tables, like flowcharts and if-then-else and switch-case statements, associate conditions with actions to perform, but in many cases do so in a more elegant way....
. The FitNesse tool supports several of these variations, ranging from literal decision tables to tables that execute queries to tables that express testing scripts (i.e. a literal ordering of steps that must be followed to reach a result). The most generic form is a fully free-form table that can be interpreted in any way the test designers like. All tests are expressed in the shape of some sort of table, however.
FitNesse is focused entirely on easily creating tests, allowing testers and developers to focus on creating high-quality tests rather than getting lost in the mechanics of executing a test. Given the way FitNesse works, creating tests easily involves three factors:
- Creating tables easily.
- Easily translating tables into calls to the system under test.
- Allowing ease and flexibility in documenting tests.
In order to meet these requirements, FitNesse leverages the wiki mechanism. Wikis classically allow for the easy and rapid creation of HTML pages and particularly simplify the expression of tables. These qualities make the basic WikiWiki language an ideal choice for a "user interface" for FitNesse: on the one hand it allows for the simple expression of very free-form tables, on the other hand it limits the contents of those tables to rather simple text. This means that the WikiWiki language can handle whatever shape of table is required for a particular test and at the same time limits the contents of those tables to alphanumeric text that can easily be mapped into a call to a piece of software. Finally, since each test in FitNesse is a wiki page it is possible to embed each testing table within wiki text; this allows a functional tester to include descriptive text with a reasonable layout quickly.
FitNesse as a software tool
FitNesse is a tool developed in JavaJava
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
. It ships as a single, executable jar file. The executable includes a wiki engine, an embedded web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
, a testing engine and all the resources (images, stylesheets and so on) required to create a web site in FitNesse's own style.
FitNesse is focused very much on ease of use as a testing tool. As such it ships with all required components on board: upon execution the tool launches an embedded web server which allows test pages to be exposed locally or across the Internet with equal ease. The embedded server is quite lightweight and can be run from a laptop as well as full server machine.
Upon launch the tool deploys its own Wiki engine into its embedded server. This Wiki engine is similarly focused on simplicity, meaning that it does not require a backing database to run — it simply creates a file-based collection Wiki pages which are interpreted by the Wiki engine and served by the embedded web server. The default wiki created by the tool includes the FitNesse user guide and some examples. The default document repository is created complete with an everything needed to publish a default wiki in the FitNesse style (that is, all the images, stylesheets, javascript files and so on are created together with the basic wiki page repository).
The wiki engine is quite basic, but does offer all the basic facilities common among wiki engines: a search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
, revision history per page and a file overview. It also offers some refactoring operations that allow for deleting, moving and renaming files. In addition the wiki engine offers some test-specific facilities, such as standard buttons to run tests, ways of defining individual test pages and suites of tests and a historic overview of test results for trend analysis. Finally the engine offers some minor security facilities for locking pages and securing access to the wiki.
Test execution
Testing within the FitNesse system involves four components per test:- The wiki page which expresses the test as a decision table.
- A testing engine, which interprets the wiki page.
- A test fixture, which is invoked by the testing engine and in turn invokes the system under test.
- The system under test, which is being tested.
Of these components the software development team produces two: the wiki page and the fixture (of course it also produces the system under test, but from the point of view of the black-box test only two). The wiki page includes some form of decision table which expresses a test. For example, it might express tests for a component that performs division (the example is based on the one given in the FitNesse Two Minute Example):
| Division component test | ||
|---|---|---|
| numerator value | denominator value | result? |
| 10 | 2 | 5.0 |
| 10 | 5 | 2.0 |
| 5 | 2 | 2.5 |
The link between the generic testing engine and the system under test is made by a piece of Java code called a fixture. In the case of the table above this code might look like this:
private double num;
private double denom;
public void setNumeratorValue (double numerator) {
num = numerator;
}
public void setDenominatorValue (double denominator) {
denom = denominator;
}
public double result {
return SystemUnderTest.divide (num, denom);
}
}
The mapping between the wiki page and the fixture is a straightforward convert-to-camel case mapping. This mapping applies to all table headings and is used to identify the name of the fixture class as well as the methods of the fixture. A heading ending in a question mark is interpreted as a value to be read from the fixture, other headers are considered inputs to the fixture. Methods of the fixture are called in column order of the decision table, from left to right.
Testing engines
The actual mapping as described above (as well as the invocation of fixture methods) is done by a testing engine. FitNesse supports two of these engines: the FIT engine and the SLIM engine.FIT
More than an engine, FIT is a testing framework unto itself. It combines functionality to invoke tests, interpret wiki pages and generate output pages. FitNesse was originally built around FIT as a user interface, which inspired the name of the tool.FIT is a framework that combines many responsibilities in testing rather than separating responsibilities neatly. The software developer pays a price for this fact in that fixtures for the FIT engine must inherit from FIT framework base classes. This can be inconvenient in Java, as it means that the framework claims a developers one chance at class inheritance. It also means that a fixture, by its nature, is a heavyweight construct. These considerations have prompted the FitNesse team in recent years to move to the SLIM testing engine.
SLIM
SLIM (Simple List Invocation Method) is an alternative to Fit.The SLIM engine is an implementation of the Slim Protocol. Rather than combining all the elements of wiki-based testing, the SLIM engine concentrates only on invoking the fixture; it runs as a separate server which is invoked remotely by the FitNesse wiki engine. The interpretation of the wiki page and the generation of the result page is now part of the wiki engine.
The SLIM engine allows for far more light-weight fixtures which are simple POJO
Pojo
Pojo may refer to:* Pohja, the Swedish name for the Finnish municipality* POJO, abbreviation of Plain Old Java Object in computer programming...
s. These fixtures are not required to extend or use any framework classes, which simplifies their design and allows the fixture designer to concentrate on calling the system under test properly and in the simplest way possible. It also keeps the inheritance route open, allowing fixture developers to create fixture hierarchies if necessary.
External links
- Tool website
- Languages supported by FitNesse
- Alternative download site and a list of FitNesse related resources
- Discussion group dedicated to FitNesse
- FitNesse presentation
See also
- Acceptance testing (also referred to as functional testing)
- Performance testingPerformance testingIn software engineering, performance testing is in general testing performed to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a particular workload...
- Regression testingRegression testingRegression testing is any type of software testing that seeks to uncover new errors, or regressions, in existing functionality after changes have been made to a system, such as functional enhancements, patches or configuration changes....
- WatirWatirWeb Application Testing in Ruby is a toolkit used to automate browser-based tests during web application development. This automated test tool uses the Ruby scripting language to drive Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera and Safari, and is available as a RubyGems gem...
- StoryTestIQ (STIQ) a mash-up of Selenium and the Fitness wiki (Please note: Wikipedia does not exist anymore (deleted in 2009), left here for reference only)
Books
- Fit for Developing Software: Framework for Integrated Tests by Rick Mugridge; Ward Cunningham (ISBN 978-0-321-26934-8) published by Prentice Hall in June 2005
- Test Driven .NET Development with FitNesse by Gojko AdzicGojko AdzicGojko Adzic is an agile testing and development proponent, author of several books, coach and mentor.His book, "Specification by Example", presented the idea of moving to 'living documentation' and 'active specification'...
(ISBN 978-0-9556836-0-2) published by Neuri Limited (February 28, 2008)
Other meanings
Fitnesse is also a breakfast cereal marketed in the United Kingdom since 2003 by NestléNestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
.