What is Latka?

Latka is a functional (end-to-end) testing tool. It is implemented in Java, and uses an XML syntax to define a series of HTTP (or HTTPS) requests and a set of validations used to verify that the request was processed correctly.

Although Latka currently supports only HTTP and HTTPS request/response validations, it may be expanded to perform other sorts of functional testing as warranted.

A simple example of a Latka XML test suite is shown in A Sample Latka Test Suite. When processed, this example would verify that the Jakarta Commons homepage is present and that all the Commons Components have online documenation.

Installing Latka

Requirements

JDK 1.3 or better
(for optional web application) Tomcat 4.0 B7 or better - does not work in Tomcat 3.2, untested in other containers
(for optional SSL support) Sun JSSE library

General installation

Download and uncompress the Latka distribution.
If you wish to perform Latka test over SSL, you need to configure your JVM with the Sun JSSE library.

Optional web application installation

Copy the "webapp/latka-webapp.war" file from the distribution to the "webapp" directory of Tomcat.
If you have already configured log4j for Tomcat, you should remove log4j.jar from the /WEB-INF/lib directory of the Latka webapp.

Using Latka

Running the sample tests

Command-line interface

Open a command prompt inside the "bin" directory of the distribution.
Run the Latka batch script on one of the sample XML test suites:

latka file:../tests/samples/TestCommonsWebsite.xml

Web application

Go to the index page of the Latka web application.
Select "Run a test from the server"
In the test directory dialog box, enter the directory: <latka distrubution directory>/tests/samples
Click on one of the tests to execute it.

Creating your own tests

(More to come...) Examine the Latka DTD in the conf directory for a list of all available elements. See the samples for typical syntax.

Running tests

Command-line interface

Open a command prompt inside the "bin" directory of the distribution.
Run the Latka script with no arguments for information on usage.

Web application

Go to the index page of the Latka web application.
Select "Run a test from the server"
In the test directory dialog box, enter the directory where your tests are located.
Click on one of the tests to execute it.

Creating your custom validations

(More to come...)

XML Reference

Table of Contents

byteLength
cookie
credentials
maxRequestTime
param
paramName
paramValue
regexp
request
session
statusCode
suite
validate

byteLength

Name

byteLength — validates the length of an HTTP(S) response

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT byteLength EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST byteLength min   CDATA "0"
                      max   CDATA #IMPLIED
                      label CDATA #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`min`	NUMBER	`0`	Minimum number of bytes required for a valid response. Implied. Defaults to `0`.
`max`	NUMBER	none	Maximum number of bytes required for a valid response. Optional. When absent, there is no upper limit on the number of bytes in a valid response.
`label`	CDATA	none	Label associated with this validation, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

validate

Description

A byteLength validation passes if the HTTP(S) response is at least min bytes long, and (when specified) at most max bytes long.

cookie

Name

cookie — validates the presence of an HTTP(S) cookie in a response

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT cookie EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST cookie name  CDATA #REQUIRED
                 value CDATA #IMPLIED
                 label CDATA #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`name`	CDATA	none, but required	The name of the cookie to look for. Required.
`value`	CDATA	none, optional	The value that the cookie with the specified name should have (if any).
`label`	CDATA	none	Label associated with this validation, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

validate

Description

A cookie validation passes if the HTTP(S) response contains a cookie with the specified name. If a value is provided, the cookie must also have the specified value.

credentials

Name

credentials — username/password credentials for Basic HTTP authentication.

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT credentials EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST credentials userName CDATA #REQUIRED
                      password  CDATA #REQUIRED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`userName`	CDATA	none, required	User name. Required.
`password`	CDATA	none, required	Password. Required.

Parents

request

Description

Contains credentials for HTTP Basic Authentication.

maxRequestTime

Name

maxRequestTime — validates the response time for an HTTP(S) request

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT maxRequestTime EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST maxRequestTime millis CDATA "30000"
                           message  CDATA #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`millis`	NUMBER	`30000`	Maximum amount of time, in milliseconds, in which a response must be returned to be considered a valid response. Implied. Defaults to `30000` milliseconds, or 30 seconds.
`label`	CDATA	none	Label associated with this validation, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

validate

Description

A maxRequestTime validation passes if the HTTP(S) response is obtained in no more than millis milliseconds.

param

Name

param — indicates a request parameter as part of an HTTP(S) request to be executed

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT request (paramName, paramValue)>

Attributes

None.

Parents

request

Description

A parameter to be submitted as part of a request.

paramName

Name

paramName — the name part of a name/value pair parameter

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT paramName (#PCDATA)>

Attributes

None.

Parents

param

Description

The name part of param to be submitted as part of a request.

paramValue

Name

paramValue — the value part of a name/value pair parameter

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT paramValue (#PCDATA)>

Attributes

None.

Parents

param

Description

The value part of param to be submitted as part of a request.

regexp

Name

regexp — validates the presence or absence of a regular expression within an HTTP(S) response

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT regexp EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST regexp pattern    CDATA          #REQUIRED
                 cond       (true | false) "true"
                 ignoreCase (true | false) "false"
                 label       CDATA         #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name Type Default Description

pattern CDATA none, but required. The regular expression to look for.

cond

Enumeration:

true

false

true

When true, the given pattern must match within the response. When false, the given pattern must not match within the response.

ignoreCase

Enumeration:

true

false

When true, case is ignored within the given pattern.

label CDATA none Label associated with this validation, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

validate

Description

A maxRequestTime validation passes if the HTTP(S) response is obtained in no more than millis milliseconds.

request

Name

request — indicates an HTTP(S) request to be executed

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT request (credentials?, param*, validate?)>
<!ATTLIST request path   CDATA        #REQUIRED
                  method (post | get) "get"
                  host   CDATA        #IMPLIED
                  port   CDATA        #IMPLIED
                  label  CDATA        #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name Type Default Description

path CDATA none, but required Request path. Required.

method

enumeration:

get

post

get

HTTP method. Implied. Defaults to get.

host CDATA none Host to submit request to. Optional. When absent, uses default from suite.

port NUMBER depends upon protocol Port to submit request to. Optional. When absent, uses default from suite.

label CDATA none Label associated with this validation, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

suite, session

Description

An HTTP(S) request to be executed.

session

Name

suite — wrapper for a sequence of requests associated with the same state (session)

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT session (request+)>
<!ATTLIST session sessionId CDATA #IMPLIED
                  label      CDATA #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`sessionId`	CDATA	none	Unique identifier for this `session`. Sessions with the same `sessionId` will share the same underlying state (e.g., cookies, etc.)
`label`	CDATA	none	Label associated with this `session`, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

suite

Description

A session is a collection of requests that share the same underlying state. For example, a cookie that returned in the response to one request will be included in subsequent requests.

statusCode

Name

statusCode — validates an HTTP response code

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT statusCode EMPTY>
<!ATTLIST statusCode code  CDATA "200"
                message CDATA #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`code`	NUMBER	`200`	Numeric HTTP response code to expect. Implied. Defaults to `200`.
`label`	CDATA	none	Label associated with this validation, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

validate

Description

A statusCode validation passes if the HTTP(S) response code for the given request matches the value specified by code.

suite

Name

suite — root element for a suite of tests

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT suite ( (session | request)+ )>
<!ATTLIST suite defaultHost CDATA #IMPLIED
                defaultPort CDATA #IMPLIED
                label        CDATA #IMPLIED>

Attributes

Name	Type	Default	Description
`defaultHost`	CDATA	none	Default hostname for `request`s. Optional.
`defaultPort`	NUMBER	none	Default port for `request`s. Optional.
`label`	CDATA	none	Label associated with this `suite`, which may be used in programatically generated documentation or reports. Optional.

Parents

None.

Description

A suite is a collection of requests and sessions to execute.

validate

Name

validate — indicates the suite of validations to apply to the current request (and its response)

Synopsis

DTD

<!ELEMENT validate (byteLength | cookie | maxRequestTime | regexp | statusCode )+>

Attributes

None.

Parents

request

Description

Contains the set of validations to apply to the current request (and its response).