Patent Publication Number: US-6983400-B2

Title: Distributed test harness model

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/953,223 filed on Sep. 11, 2001 and entitled “Distributed Processing Framework System,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to distributed software execution, and more particularly to a remote execution model that provides remote application launch and control. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Software is used to perform daily tasks at a rapidly increasing rate. New software is therefore being developed at an even more increasing rate. Assessing software reliability through software testing has therefore become an imperative stage in software development cycle. Software testing finds and eliminates defects (i.e., bugs) in software, which if undetected, can cause the software to operate improperly. In general, a stand-alone computer or a network of computer resources can be used to perform software testing. When a stand-alone computer system is used to perform the software testing, the computer system is programmed to run a test selected by the software user. When a network of computer resources is used, the user must manually add and delete the computer resources to the network, program the master computer system and the server, initiate the running of a user-selected test, and run the test on the group of dedicated computer systems coupled to the server. A distributed testing of this sort presents launch and control problems, as described next with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a prior art distributed test configuration  100 . The distributed test configuration  100  includes several test systems  102   a – 102   c , each executing a test application  104   a – 104   c . During launch and subsequent execution, the distributed test configuration  100  cannot provide any control related to the launch and execution. That is, the user cannot control the launch order and execution of the test applications  104   a – 104   c  using the prior art distributed test configuration  100 . As a result, errors can occur when the test applications depend on each other for proper execution. 
     For example, during a particular test, test application B  104   b  may depend on an output from or other interaction with test application A  104   a . In particular, test application A  104   a  may need to access test application B  104   b  to perform a particular test. However, the prior art distributed test configuration  100  generally launches all the application simultaneously, or close to simultaneously. If test system A  102   a  processes test application A  104   a  faster than test system B  102   b  processes test application B  104   b , then test application A  104   a  may attempt to establish communication before test application B  104   b  is ready to establish or receive the communication. In such a situation, the communication attempt will fail, and as a result, the test will fail. 
     Failure can also occur when an application depends on the output of another application. For example, test application C  104   c  may depend on data that is output from test application A  104   a  for proper execution. If test application C  104   c  attempts to use the data output from test application A  104   a  before test application A  104   a  has generated the requested data, then application C  104   c  can fail the test. 
     In addition, the prior art distributed test configuration  100  cannot perform multiple tests because the distributed test configuration  100  cannot control or abort the test applications  104   a–c  that are being executed. The prior art distributed test configuration  100  also cannot perform multiple tests also because each test must be manually programmed into the test systems  102   a–c.    
     In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a remote execution model for distributed application launch and control. The remote execution model should provide a mechanism for automated testing of multiple remote test applications. The remote execution model should also provide the facility for the test applications to interact and communicate and to provide control of the test applications. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Broadly speaking, the present invention fills these needs by providing a distributed test harness model. It should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, computer readable media, or a device. Several inventive embodiments of the present invention are described below. 
     In one embodiment a distributed test harness model includes a system and method for remotely testing an application includes providing a harness server and providing a first harness client. The first harness client is in communication with the harness server. Also a test script is provided to the harness server. A first application is executed by the first harness client and according to the test script. The first application outputs data to a central location. The output data can be monitored and the execution of first application controlled according to the output data. 
     In one embodiment, at least one of the harness client and the harness server can be launched by a distributed processing framework. 
     In one embodiment output data includes error data. The output data can also include a test log. The test log can include an interpreted test script. The interpreted test script can include the test results that can be interpreted without executing the first application. 
     In one embodiment, the test script includes one or more test configurations to be applied to the first application. 
     The first harness client and the first application can be on a first computer resource and the harness server can be on a second computer resource. 
     In one embodiment, the test script includes a deploy command that causes the first application to be deployed by the first client. Deploying the first application can include receiving one or more first application parameters in the harness server and determining if the first computing resource meets the first application parameters. If the first computing resource meets the first application parameters then the first computing resource is configured in accordance with the first application parameters and the first application is executed on the first computing resource. If the first computing resource does not meet the first application parameters then a fourth computing resource that meets the first application parameters can be selected with a distributed processing framework. A harness client can be launched on the fourth computing resource via the distributed processing framework. The successful launch of the harness client on the fourth computing resource is confirmed and the fourth computing resource is configured in accordance with the first application parameters. The first application can be launched on the fourth computing resource. 
     In one embodiment, the first harness client and the harness server are in communication via a computer network. 
     In one embodiment, the second computer resource also includes the central location. 
     One embodiment includes a second harness client on a third computer resource, the second harness client being in communication with the harness server. A second application is provided on the third computer resource. The second application is controlled according to the output data. The first application and the second application can be controlled substantially simultaneously. The first application can also depend on the second application. In one embodiment, the first application depends on the second application when the first application requires data that is received from central location which received the data from the second application. 
     In one embodiment controlling the execution of first application includes pausing the execution of the first application according to the test script. The first harness client can continue execution of the first application (i.e., unpause the execution) by posting a message from the harness server according to the test script and receiving the message in the first harness client. 
     In another embodiment a distributed test harness includes a harness server on a first computer, the harness server including a test script. A memory for storing data is also included. A distributed test harness also includes a first harness client on a second computer, the first harness client being in communication with the harness server. The first harness client for controlling execution of a first application on the second computer. The first application can output data to the memory. The first harness client controls execution of a first application on the second computer according to the test script and the data stored in the memory. 
     Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and like reference numerals designate like structural elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a prior art distributed test configuration. 
         FIG. 2A  is a block diagram showing a distributed harness system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2B  is a flowchart diagram of the method operations of deploying an application, in accordance with one embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of a distributed test framework (DTF) system, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates the capability of the present invention to intelligently locate a test system available to execute a test suite, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing a DTF launched distributed harness system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Several exemplary embodiments of a distributed test harness model will now be described. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. As mentioned above, embodiments of the present invention provide efficient control and execution of applications on remote resources using. In particular, a harness server can centrally control and coordinate several applications that are running on separate remote computing resources through a harness client on each of the remote computing resources. 
     The present invention provides the ability to remotely execute and control one or more applications on remote computer systems. This ability can be especially useful in testing software applications that must be compatible with numerous computer system types and configurations. Of course software testing is not the only use for remotely executing and controlling applications on remote computer systems. 
       FIG. 2A  is a block diagram showing a distributed harness system  200 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The distributed harness system  200  includes several computer systems  202   a – 202   c , each executing a portion of the distributed harness system  200 . In the example of  FIG. 2A , computer systems  202   a  and  202   b  each execute a harness client  204   a  and  204   b . Computer system  202   c  executes a harness server  206 , which is in communication with the two harness clients  204   a – 204   b . Although the two harness clients  204   a – 204   b  are shown in  FIG. 2A , it should be noted that any number of additional harness clients and applications can be included in at least one embodiment of the distributed harness system  200 . 
     The exemplary distributed harness system  200  also includes several remote applications  208   a – 208   c , each executing on the respective computer systems  202   a – 202   c . Execution and launch control for the applications  208   a – 208   c  is provided by the harness server  206  and the harness clients  204   a – 204   b . In particular, the harness server  206  provides overall control for the distributed harness system  200  by establishing communication with each harness client  204   a – 204   b  and providing control commands to each harness client  204   a – 204   b . The harness server  206  can also include multiple applications and tests that can be automatically deployed to the test computer systems  202   a – 202   c  and which can be executed in a predetermined order on the computer systems  202   a – 202   c.    
     In operation, the harness server  206  initializes itself by reading a configuration file that provides information concerning the particular distributed operating environment in which the distributed harness system  200  is operating. The configuration file includes information such as the particular applications to be launched, special control commands for the applications (e.g., coordinating parameters to coordinate multiple applications), and other information needed for proper execution of the distributed operating environment. After initialization, the harness server  206  listens for the harness clients  204   a – 204   b  included the distributed harness system  200 . 
     Similar to the harness server  206 , each harness client  204   a – 204   b  initializes itself using a client configuration file. Each client configuration file includes information needed by the particular harness client for initialization, such as the location of the harness server  206  and specific configuration parameters needed for a particular test. The harness clients  204   a – 204   b  also register with the harness server  206 . The registration can include providing system specific information to the harness server  206 , such as the computer system type and the operating system executing on the client computer system. The harness server  206  can then use this information to determine the types of operations that the client computer systems  208   a – 208   b  can perform. 
     Once the harness clients  204   a – 204   b  are initialized and registered with the harness server  206 , the harness server  206  can begin to launch, monitor and control applications  208   a–c  on the client computer systems  202   a – 202   b  and on the server computer system  202   c . Specifically, the harness server  206  processes a script file that defines what operations the harness server  206  should perform, and any parameters for the operations. These operations can include launching applications on both the client computer systems  202   a – 202   b  and on the server computer system  202   c , and control commands for launched applications. 
     For example, in  FIG. 2A , the harness server  206  receives a command to launch application A  208   a , application B  208   b , and application C  208   c . The command further includes parameters defining on which computer system  202   a – 202   c  the applications  208   a – 208   c  should be launched. In response, the harness server  206  transmits a command to the harness client  204   a  to launch application A  208   a . The harness server  206  also transmits a command to the harness client  204   b  to launch application B  208   b . Further, the harness server  206  prepares to launch application C  208   c  on the server computer system  202   c . Each harness client  204   a – 204   b  then launches the respective application  208   a – 208   b  on its computer system  202   a – 202   b . In addition, the harness server  206  launches application C  208   c  on the server computer system  202   c . The script that is processed by the harness server  206  can also define the order and timing of the above application launches. 
     In addition to launching applications in a controlled manner, embodiments of the present invention monitor the application execution and output to provide further execution control. In particular, each of the harness clients  204   a–b  and harness server  206  monitor the execution of and data output from the applications that the respective harness clients  204   a–b  and harness server  206  launches. For example, the harness client  204   a  monitors the execution and data output from application A  208   a , the harness client  204   b  monitors the execution and data output from application B  208   b , and the harness server  206  monitors the execution and data output from application C  208   c.    
     This information is transmitted to the harness server  206 , which can also monitor the information. For example, the harness client  204   a  provides the execution and output information of application A  208   a  to the harness server  206 . In this manner, the harness server  206  can perform predefined operations based on the execution and output information from the various applications under the control of the harness server  206 . 
     In addition to analyzing the monitored information, the harness server  206  can store the monitored information for each application in a central, captured data storage  210 . In one embodiment, for each application  208   a – 208   c , the central captured data storage  210  includes an application output file, an application error data file, and an application log file. The centrally stored application output file, application error data file and the application log file for each application under test can be used for post-test analysis of the data stored therein. 
     The application output file can store the data output generated by the respective application. The application error data file stores errors that occur during execution of the respective application, and the application log file stores a record of the execution of the application. For example, when the application is a test, the application log file stores a test log. 
     In one embodiment, the centrally stored application output file, application error data file and the application log file for each application under test are stored in a sub directory under directory where the application under test is stored. By way of example, if the application under test (i.e., application1) were located at the following example file location where the harness server is executing applications in a tcp suite: 
     &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 
     Where &lt;OS&gt;identifies the operating system (e.g., SunOS) and &lt;arch&gt;identifies architecture (e.g., sparc). 
     The application output file, application error data file and the application log file for application1 would be located in the following file respective locations: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1/application1.out 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1/application1.err 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1/application1.tlog 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Where application1.out includes the application output file and the application1.err includes the application error data file and the application1.tlog includes the application log. 
     Storing the application output file, application error data file and the application log file in subdirectories under the application under test allows multiple instances of the same application under test to be tested and the results stored separately. If the of an application were to be tested, each instance of the application could be differentiated by adding a number (e.g., “ — 1” for a first instance) to the application file name. For example, if two instances of application1 were tested, then the application and output files would be located in the following file locations: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 1 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 1/application1 — 1.out 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 1/application1 — 1.err 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 1/application1 — 1.tlog 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 2 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 2/application1 — 2.out 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 2/application1 — 2.err 
               
               
                   
                 &lt;username&gt;.&lt;OS&gt;.&lt;arch&gt;/tcp/application1 — 2/application1 — 2.tlog 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In one embodiment, the script can also include a test list that identifies the tests to be run by the distributed harness system  200 . For each test, the harness server  206  copies the data to a test work directory and executes the test. If there are application deployment instructions included in the test script, then the application can be deployed as described in  FIG. 2B . 
       FIG. 2B  is a flowchart diagram of the method operations of deploying an application  250 , in accordance with one embodiment. In operation  260 , the harness server  206  receives the application parameters for the application to be launched. The application parameters include the requirements of the application such as the type of the computing resource (e.g., operating system, processor type, hardware configuration, software configuration, etc.) required to execute the application. In operation  262  the available computer resources (e.g., computer systems  202   a – 202   c  with the harness clients  204   a–b ) are examined to determine if they meet the application parameters. For example, if the application parameters include an Intel x86 processor and the Linux operating system, and the computer system  202   a  is an Intel 486 processor with Linux operating system, then the computer system  202   a  meets the application parameters. If one of the available computer systems  202   a – 202   c  meets the application parameters then the operations continue in operation  264 . 
     In operation  264 , the computer resource that meets the application parameters (e.g., computer system  202   a ) is selected and configured in accordance with the application parameters in operation  266 . For example, the application parameters may include the requirement that another application be running and available on the computer system  202   a . Alternatively, the computer system may be busy executing an other application that is undesirable to execute on the same computer system as the application under test and the undesired application must be ended (e.g., aborted) or the execution of the application under test may be delayed until the undesired application has ended. In operation  268 , the application is executed on the selected computer resource (e.g., computer system  202   a ) and the method operations for deploying the application under test end. 
     Returning to operation  262  above, if none of the available computer resources (e.g., computer systems  202   a – 202   c ) meet the application parameters, then in operation  270  a harness client is launched on fourth computer resource that does meet the application parameters. In operation  272 , the launch of the harness client on the fourth computer resource is confirmed. If the harness client was successfully launched on the fourth computer resource, the method operations return to operation  262  described above. If the harness client was not successfully launched on the fourth computer resource, a test failure response is output to the harness server in operation  274  and the method operations end. 
     An example of a deploy statement for deploying an application such as application1 could include: 
     deploy application1 tcp — server 
     Which instructs the harness server to deploy an instance of the application tcp — server with the virtual name of application1. If the deploy statement deploys multiple instances of the application tcp — server, then a LOOPY symbol in an initialization file can be set with the value “1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10” and the deploy statement could use a loop function as follows: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 for i in ${LOOPY}; do 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 deploy tcp — client${i} tcp — client 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 done 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The test script will deploy ten distinct instances of tcp — client identified as tcp — client1 through tcp — client10. 
     An application, that has been deployed on a computer running an instance of a harness client, can be controlled by the harness server through the test scripts. For example if the deployed application must finish before one of the steps of the application can be executed, then the test script can use a “wait completion” statement. The use of wait completion causes the script to wait for an application or for all applications that match a pattern. By way of example to wait for the harness server a script such as: 
     wait completion myserver 
     To wait for all of the clients to finish, an asterisk or other wild card can be used. For example the following statement can be used to cause the script to wait for all instances of the application tcp — client to finish before proceeding: 
     wait completion tcp — client* 
     Applications under test can also be synchronized by passing string values between a harness client and the harness server. An application can output an event and pass the event to the respective harness client that can send the event to the harness server. Scripts in the harness server can receive the events from the harness client. For example a test script can include a wait statement that is waiting for an event output from an application. 
     Similarly, an application can receive an event from a post statement in the harness server. The post statement is output from the harness server to a harness client. The harness client filters the post statement from the harness server to meet the input requirements of the application. In one embodiment an application that communicates with the harness server and harness client can be deployed with a “-sync flag argument. For example: 
     deploy tcp — server-virtual — name tcp — server-sysnc 
     The harness can pause (e.g., temporarily stop execution) or wait until the tcp — server instance has reached a point in execution where the tcp — server instance is ready to receive data from other applications. In one instance, the test script can be set to wait for a message from tcp — server before continuing to the method operations that deploy harness clients or before harness clients launch applications on the respective computer systems. In on embodiment, the tcp — server instance can send a “server-ready” string to the harness clients to indicate that tcp — server is ready to receive messages. Such a wait statement can use two arguments. The first argument is the application&#39;s virtual name and the second argument is the message string. For example: 
     wait tcp — server server — ready 
     The above statement will cause the application with the virtual name tcp — server to wait for the string “server — ready”. 
     Sending a string to an application can be accomplished with a post statement. A post statement can take two arguments. The first argument is the virtual name of the application that is to receive the string and the second argument is the string. For example the following script will send the “server — ready” string to harness clients with virtual names tcp — client1, tcp — client2 . . . tcp client10: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 for i in ${LOOPY}; do 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 post tcp — clients${i} server — ready 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 done 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     A test list can include several tests to be executed on the applications under test. Unlike prior art distributed processing frameworks, the present invention can include multiple tests to be applied in succession on one or more applications under test. In one embodiment a test list contains two columns. The first column includes a test name and the second column contains a test type. The test name can include a directory name and the respective paths starting at the suite directory which will identify the location of the test. For example a test list of: 
     suite — dir/stuff/morestuff/test/test — dir dtonga 
     The above test list will list the sequence of tests that are scheduled for execution. 
     A test list can also include additional columns. A third column could be used to assign keyword lists to tests so that the test lists can be filtered. An example of a three column test list with a keyword list follows: 
     suite — dir/stuff/morestuff/test/test — dir dtonga ‘compiler runtime’ 
     The harness server can interpret script code between test list entries, therefore the tests can be assigned environmental and command line information in a reasonably direct manner. In the following example a test named test — dir is run twice, one time with JAVA — OTS set to -server and a second time with JAVA — OPTS set to -client. This is followed by the execution of a test named another — test. The test another — test can be run without any setting of JAVA — OPTS: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 JAVA — OPTS=-server 
               
               
                   
                 suite — dir/stuff/morestuff/test/test — dir dtonga ‘compiler runtime’ 
               
               
                   
                 JAVA — OPTS=-client 
               
               
                   
                 suite — dir/stuff/morestuff/test/test — dir dtonga ‘compiler runtime’ 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Output directories can be named using the end of the path in the test entry. Duplicates can be disambiguated by automatically appending a numerical suffix. Appending a numerical suffix can be inconvenient when using in-line scripting to pass an argument to a test so that the test will run different test cases because there is no clean way to map from test case to the different output directories. In one embodiment test.case.name is used to start the in-line script for a test case so as to prevent scripts that use in-line symbols to define test.case.name. The following example illustrates this principle: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 test.case.name=test — dir — 001 
               
               
                   
                 JAVA — OPTS=-server 
               
               
                   
                 suite — dir/stuff/morestuff/test/test — dir dtonga ‘compiler runtime’ 
               
               
                   
                 test.case.name=test — dir — 002 
               
               
                   
                 JAVA — OPTS=-client 
               
               
                   
                 suite — dir/stuff/morestuff/test/test — dir dtonga ‘compiler runtime’ 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     In the above example output directories named test — dir — 001 and test — dir — 002 and another — test will be created. The test list entries can also be filtered using key words in the third column. The filter to apply can be defined by a command line argument pair. To illustrate: to run only those test list entries that include the keyword “compiler” could be started with a command line such as: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 java harness-server \ 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 -port &lt;server — port — number&gt; \ 
               
               
                   
                 -inifile &lt;server — ini — file&gt; \ 
               
               
                   
                 -workdir &lt;output — directory&gt; \ 
               
               
                   
                 -filter compiler 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     More complex filters can also be built using Boolean logical operators. Parenthesis pairs can serve as grouping symbol. The following is an example of a more complex filter: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 java harness-server \ 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 -port &lt;server — port — number&gt; \ 
               
               
                   
                 -inifile &lt;server — ini — file&gt; \ 
               
               
                   
                 -workdir &lt;output — directory&gt; \ 
               
               
                   
                 -filter runtime||compiler 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     The filter runtime∥compiler defines a filter that will select test list entries that specify the runtime keyword, the compiler keyword, or both. 
     In addition to launching the distributed harness system  200  manually, as illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the distributed harness system  200  can be launched in an automated manner, as described next with reference to  FIGS. 3–5 . In particular, a distributed harness system  200  of embodiments of the present invention can be launched using a distributed processing framework (DPF). In one example, the DPF system of the embodiments of the present invention implements the Jini™ (hereinafter “Jini”) technology to provide spontaneous interaction between its components. In this manner, the computer systems attach to and detach from an ad-hoc network of processing resources (e.g., computer resources) without disturbing the DPF system. Accordingly, the computer resources are not limited to executing the distributed harness system of the embodiments of the present invention that is submitted to the DPF system. 
     DPF systems of the embodiments present invention can be distributed test framework (DTF) systems configured to manage test suite execution on cross-platform dynamically networked computer systems. In one implementation, the DTF system can include a server computer system and several ad-hoc network of processing resources configured to spontaneously interact implementing the Jini technology. The server computer system is configured to include a Jini look up service and a system controller configured to manage the processing of the submitted test suites. In one instance, the computer resources join the Jini look up service registering their respective proxies and the corresponding attributes. In one example, the system controller searches the look up service for an available suitable computer resource to process each of the submitted test suites. Once a computer resource is selected to run the test suite, the machine service component of the selected computer resource spawns a second service (e.g., process service) to execute the test suite. 
     As embodiments of the present invention can implement the Jini technology, a brief introduction to Jini is provided below. Nevertheless, this brief introduction to Jini should not be considered as limiting as Jini technology is well known by those skilled in the art. Jini technology is a network architecture that enables the spontaneous assembly and interaction of services and devices on a network of computer systems. Built on the Java platform, Jini technology eliminates the challenges of scale, component integration, and ad-hoc networking encountered in distributed computing environments. Jini simplifies interactions over a network by providing a fast and easy way for clients to use available services. Jini technology is also configured to be wire-protocol and transport-protocol neutral. 
     Summarily, Jini network technology includes a communication and programming model that enables clients and Jini services to discover and connect with each other to form an impromptu (i.e., spontaneous) Jini community. As Jini is written in Java, Jini implements the mechanism, Java Remote Method Invocation Application Program Interface (API), to move objects around the network. 
     In one embodiment, a Jini service is configured to employ a proxy to move around the network. As used herein, the proxy is defined as an object having service attributes and communication instructions. Through implementing discovery and join processes, the Jini services are found and thereafter registered with a look up service on a network. As used herein, registering a service is defined as sending the service proxy to all look up services on the network or a selected subset of the look up services. By way of example, the look up service is equivalent to a directory or an index of available services wherein the proxies for each of the services and their associated code are stored. When a service is requested, the proxy associated with the requested service is sent to the requesting client, thus enabling the client to use the requested service. Once dispatched, the proxy is configured to conduct all communication between the client and the Jini service. 
     In providing an ad-hoc network of computers, in one embodiment, Jini introduces a concept called “leasing.” That is, once a service joins the Jini network, the Jini service registers its availability for a certain period of leased time. This lease period may be renegotiated before the lease time is expired. When a service leaves the Jini network, the service entry in the look up service is removed automatically once the service&#39;s lease is expired. For further details on Jini technology, please refer to K. Arnold et al., The Jini Specification (1999) and W. Keith Edwards, Core Jini (1999). 
     As Jini is implemented in the Java™ (hereinafter “Java”) programming language, in a like manner, an overview of Java is provided below. In operation, a user of a typical Java based system interacts with an application layer of a system generally written by a third party developer. The application layer generally provides the user interface for the system. A Java module is used to process commands received by the application layer. A Java virtual machine is used as an interpreter to provide portability to Java applications. In general, developers design Java applications as hardware independent software modules, which are executed Java virtual machines. The Java virtual machine layer is developed to operate in conjunction with the native operating system of a particular hardware, which represents the physical hardware on which the system operates or runs. In this manner, Java applications can be ported from one hardware device to another without requiring updating of the application code. 
     Unlike most programming languages, in which a program is compiled into machine-dependent, executable program code, Java classes are compiled into machine independent byte code class files which are executed by a machine-dependent virtual machine. The virtual machine provides a level of abstraction between the machine independence of the byte code classes and the machine-dependent instruction set of the underlying computer hardware. A class loader is responsible for loading the byte code class files as needed, and an interpreter or just-in-time compiler provides for the transformation of byte codes into machine code. 
     More specifically, Java is a programming language designed to generate applications that can run on all hardware platforms, small, medium and large, without modification. Developed by Sun, Java has been promoted and geared heavily for the Web, both for public Web sites and intranets. Generally, Java programs can be called from within HTML documents or launched standalone. When a Java program runs from a Web page, it is called a “Java applet,” and when run on a Web server, the application is called a “servlet.” 
     Java is an interpreted language. The source code of a Java program is compiled into an intermediate language called “byte code.” The byte code is then converted (interpreted) into machine code at runtime. Upon finding a Java applet, the Web browser invokes a Java interpreter (Java Virtual Machine), which translates the byte code into machine code and runs it. Thus, Java programs are not dependent on any specific hardware and will run in any computer with the Java Virtual Machine software. On the server side, Java programs can also be compiled into machine language for faster performance. However a compiled Java program loses hardware independence as a result. 
     Keeping these brief overviews of Jini and Java as they relate to the embodiments of the present invention in mind, reference is now made to  FIG. 3  illustrating a block diagram of a distributed test framework (DTF) system  300 , in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, physically, the DTF system  300  includes two groups of computer systems: (1) a system server group  301 , and (2) a test system group  314 ′. The system server group  301  includes a service component  302  and a system controller  308 . The service component  302  is configured to contain a Jini look up service  304  and a Remote Method Invocation (RMI)  306 . In one embodiment, the RMI is designed to handle various communication needs. Comparatively, the Jini look up service  304  is a dedicated process running on the master computer system, server, and is configured to function as a central registry. As used herein, the master computer system is defined as the computer system running the system controller  308 . As designed, in one embodiment, the master computer is configured to include both the system controller  308  and the service component  302 . However, in a different implementation, each of the system controller  308  and the service component  302  may be included and run by separate computer systems. As designed, the look up service  304  is configured to enable the system controller  308  to locate available computer systems of an ad-hoc network of computer systems to execute a given test execution request using the test system registerable attributes. For instance, the look up service  304  includes registerable attributes, which identify the test machine platform, operating system, and other software and hardware characteristics. 
     The illustrated system controller  308  includes a communication module  310  and a test suite management module  312 . The communication module  310  manages the communication between the system controller  308  and the distributed test systems  314 . For instance, the communication module  310  is responsible for locating available test systems  314 , running test execution requests, and gathering information regarding the status of the test systems  314 . In one example, the system controller  308  manages the communication with the distributed test systems  314  by implementing multiple threads. In this manner, the system controller  308  has the capability to communicate with multiple test systems  314  in parallel. However, it should be noted that in other embodiments, the system controller  308  can implement any suitable mechanism to manage the communication between the system controller  308  and the distributed test systems  314  (e.g., Jini, RMI, TCP/IP Sockets, etc.). 
     The test suite management module  312  is responsible for managing the processing of the submitted test suites and the test execution requests. As used herein a test suite is a comprehensive list of data files having commands specifically programmed to initiate a number of functional aspects of the software product being tested. For instance, if the software product being tested is a word processing program, the test suite may activate a spell check command, a cut test command, a paste command, etc. Thus, once the test suite is executed, the test results reveal whether any of the tested commands failed to operate as intended. Also as used herein, once submitted for processing, each test suite becomes a “test execution request.” As the processing of different portions of the test suite can be assigned to different test machines, the test suites may be divided into several test execution requests (i.e., jobs). 
     By way of example, the test suite management module  312  maintains an inqueue directory designed to include almost all the submitted test execution requests. Once the system controller  308  is initiated, the system controller  308  is configured to read each test execution request from files held in the inqueue directory. Once a test execution request is read, it is put into either a wait queue configured to hold test execution requests waiting to be executed or an execution queue designed to hold test execution requests currently being executed. Further information regarding managing the inqueue directory, wait queue, and execution queue will be provided below. As illustrated, in one example, the test suite management module  312  is configured to manage the software applications and user interfaces implemented for job submission, queue watching, job administration, etc., as shown in  316 . 
     The test system group  314 ′ includes multiple test systems  314  having similar or diverse hardware and software configuration. Although shown as a group, the test systems  314  are not necessarily limited to testing. In fact, the test systems  314  can be computers or systems used by employees of a company for normal desktop work. So long as the test systems  314  are associated with the networked group, the processing power of these test systems  314  can be used. In one embodiment, the test systems  314  can be used during normal working hours when the test systems  314  are running, for example, business applications, or during off hours, thus tapping into potentially huge processing resources that would otherwise be left unused. It should therefore be appreciated that test systems  314  do not necessarily have to be solely dedicated to testing or processing for the system server group  301 . 
     In one embodiment, the test systems  314  are configured to execute the test execution requests dispatched by the system controller  308 . Each of the test systems  314  runs an agent process (not shown in this Figure) designed to register the respective test system  314  with the Jini look up service  304 . In this manner, the agent process for each test system  314  advertises the availability of the associated test system  314 . As will be discussed in further detail below, a machine service component of the agent is used to establish communication between the associated test system  314  and the system controller  308 . Specifically, by implementing the Jini attributes, the machine service registers the test system  314  characteristics with the Jini look up service  304 . The test system  314  attributes are subsequently used by the system controller  308  to locate a test system  314  suitable to execute a specific test execution request. 
     While the DTF system  300  of the present invention can physically be divided into two groups, logically, the DTF system  300  of the embodiments of present invention comprises three over all components: (1) Job submission and other user interfaces; (2) Test scheduler and system controller; and (3) Test execution on remote or local systems. 
     For the most part, the job submission and other user interfaces component is a job queuing system having a variety of applications and user interfaces. As designed, the job submission component is configured to perform several tasks such as handling job submission, managing queues, administrating jobs, and administrating the ad-hoc network of the distributed test systems. 
     By way of example, in one implementation, the user interface may be as follows: 
     Launch system controller: In one embodiment, launching the system controller  108  is performed by running an appropriate shell script. As designed, the shell script is configured to launch the Jini and RMI support servers. 
     Kill system controller: Quit an appropriate shell script to destroy all the processes. 
     Submit jobs: Before the system controller  308  is launched, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted test-execution-request file is created in the inqueue directory (e.g., that is preferably part of the test suite management module). In this manner, once the system Controller  308  is launched, the system controller  308  scans the inqueue directory, thus entering almost each and every test execution request into the in-queue (the in-queue being an actual queue, as contrasted with the inqueue directory). 
     Check queue: In one embodiment, a stopgap Graphical User Interface (GUI) is provided. 
     Cancel/administer a job: In one implementation, a stopgap GUI is implemented. 
     Other administrative tasks: In one exemplary embodiment, additional user interfaces are included. For instance, in certain cases, the system controller  308  is configured to implement various input files. 
     The second logical component, the test scheduler and system controller, includes the system controller  308  configured to perform the function of managing the job queues and dispatching the test execution requests to test system  314  for processing. Thus, the system controller  308  is configured to manage both; the wait queue (i.e., the queue containing the test execution requests waiting to be executed) and the execution queue (i.e., the queue containing test execution requests currently being executed). In one embodiment, the in-queue is analogous to the wait queue. 
     As designed, the test scheduler and system controller component is configured to include four modules: 
     Suite MGR: This module maintains a list of the available test suites stored in a known location in the file system. As designed, the test suite descriptions are stored in an XML formatted file in a suite directory. 
     Log MGR: This module is configured to handle the logging of activities inside the system controller  308  by implementing several log files having XML format. For instance, this is particularly useful for debug tracing and system statistics charting. 
     Queue MGR: This module is designed to maintain the two queues, wait queue (i.e., the in-queue) and the execution queue. Specifically, while a job is in any of the queues, an XML formatted file is kept in the queue directory reflecting the current status of the job. Each test execution request is configured to have a list of attributes describing the system characteristics required to execute the test execution request. 
     Scheduler: This module is configured to manage the dispatch of the test execution requests from the wait queue to the execution queue. In one embodiment, a job is dispatched when (a) the time to execute the job has been reached, and (b) a test system  314  having the required characteristics is available to execute the job. 
     Reference is made to a block diagram depicted in  FIG. 4  wherein the capability of the present invention to intelligently locate a test system  314  available to execute a test suite is illustrated, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, an inqueue directory  316  contains multiple test execution requests  316   a ,  316   b , and  316   c . In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, once the system controller  308  is initiated, the system controller  308  is designed to read each test execution request  316   a – 316   c  contained within the inqueue directory  316 . As shown, each test suite request  316   a – 316   c  must be executed by a test system  314  capable of running the test execution request requirements. For instance, each of the test execution requests  316   a ,  316   b , and  316   c  must be run on a Solaris IA™ test system, a Wintel™ test system, or a Linux™ test system, respectively. The DTF system  300  of the present invention has the capability to advantageously locate an available test system from multiple ad-hoc network of test systems  314   a ,  314   b ,  314   c , and  314   d  to execute each of the test execution requests  316   a – 316   c.    
     As shown in the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 4 , each of the test systems  314   a – 314   d  has a different software and hardware configuration. For instance, while the test system  314   a  is run on Wintel™ and the test system  314   b  is run on Linux™, the test systems  314   c  and  314   d  are programmed to run on Solaris IA™ and Solaris™, respectively. As will be discussed in more detail below, the machine service for each test system  314   a – 314   c  registers the respective test system  314   a – 314   c  with the Jini look up service using the Jini attributes. Particularly, the embodiments of the present invention are configured to register the hardware and software configuration for each test system  314   a – 314   d  with the Jini look up service  304 . In this manner, the system controller  308  can search the Jini look up service  304  implementing the test execution request requirements as search criteria. Thus, as shown in the example of  FIG. 4 , the system controller  308  of the present invention selects the test systems  314   c ,  314   a , and  314   b  to execute the test suite requests  316   a – 316   c , respectively. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing a DTF launched distributed harness system  500 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The DTF launched distributed harness system  500  includes a system controller  308  in communication with several DTF clients  502   a – 502   c , each executing on computer test systems  314   a – 314   c . The system controller  308  can be used to automate launch of the distributed harness system  500  in a manner similar to the automated launch of test applications described above. 
     Specifically, the system controller  308  determines which computer systems are available to launch the harness server  206  based on the requirements of a particular test. Once appropriate computer system is found, the system controller  308  transmits a command to the DTF client  502   c  to launch the harness server  206 . In response, the DTF client  502   c  launches the harness server  206 , which initializes itself using a configuration file that provides information about the distributed operating environment. The configuration file also includes information regarding which harness clients are to be used for the test. Based on the configuration file, the harness server  206  requests the system controller  308  to launch the appropriate harness clients. 
     For example, in  FIG. 5 , the harness server  206  requests the system controller  308  to launch the harness clients  204   a – 204   b . In response, the system controller  308  transmits a command to the DTF clients  502   a  and  502   b  to launch the harness clients  204   a  and  204   b . Upon receiving the launch command from the system controller  308 , each DTF client  502   a – 502   b  launches the appropriate harness client  204   a – 204   b.    
     The harness server  206  then listens for the harness clients  204   a – 204   b  that comprise the distributed harness system  500 . Each harness client  204   a – 204   b  also initializes itself using a client configuration file. Each client configuration file includes information needed by the particular harness client for initialization, such as the location of the harness server  206  and specific configuration parameters needed for a particular test. The harness clients  204   a – 204   b  then register with the harness server  206 . 
     Once the harness clients  204   a – 204   b  are initialized and registered with the harness server  206 , the harness server  206  can begin to launch and monitor applications on the test computer systems  314   a – 314   c . Specifically, the harness server  206  processes a script file that defines what operations the harness server  206  should perform, and any parameters for the operations. These operations can include launching applications on both the test computer systems  314   a – 314   c , and control operations for launched applications. 
     In addition to launching applications in a controlled manner, embodiments of the present invention monitor the application execution and output to provide further execution control. In particular, each harness module monitors the execution and output of the applications that the harness module launches. For example, the harness client  204   a  monitors the execution and output of application A  208   a , the harness client  204   b  monitors the execution and output of application B  208   b , and the harness server  206  monitors the execution and output of application C  208   c.    
     This information is transmitted to the harness server  206 , which analyzes the monitored information. In this manner, the test harness can perform predefined operations based on the execution and output information from the various applications under its control. In addition to analyzing the monitored information, the harness server  206  stores the monitored information for each application in a central captured data storage  210 . For each application  208   a – 208   c , the central captured data storage  210  includes an application output file, an application error data file, and an application log file. 
     Although the present invention mainly describes exemplary embodiments of a distributed test framework system designed to execute a test suite, it must be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art that the distributed processing framework of the present invention can be implemented to run any computer process. Additionally, although certain embodiments of the present invention are described based on the Jini technology, other network technologies having the capability to create an ad-hoc group of computer resources may be implemented (e.g., RMI, TCP/IP Sockets, etc.). Furthermore, although the present invention implements Java programming language, other programming languages may be used to implement the embodiments of the present invention (e.g., C, C ++ , any object oriented programming language, etc.). 
     With the above embodiments in mind, it should be understood that the invention may employ various computer-implemented operations involving data stored in computer systems. These operations are those requiring physical manipulation of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. Further, the manipulations performed are often referred to in terms, such as producing, identifying, determining, or comparing. 
     Any of the operations described herein that form part of the invention are useful machine operations. The invention also relates to a device or an apparatus for performing these operations. The apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may be a general purpose computer selectively activated or configured by a computer program stored in the computer. In particular, various general purpose machines may be used with computer programs written in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may be more convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the required operations. 
     The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data that can be thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include hard drives, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes, and other optical and non-optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over a network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. 
     It will be further appreciated that the instructions represented by the operations in  FIG. 2B  are not required to be performed in the order illustrated, and that all the processing represented by the operations may not be necessary to practice the invention. Further, the operations described in  FIG. 2B  can also be implemented in software stored in any one of or combinations of the memory types in a standard or special purpose computer. 
     Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.