OTX in various basic concepts have been implemented. These concepts reflect the development process of test runs at the automobile manufacturer and its suppliers. They contain the growing years practical experience with testing procedures and are in addition to the expansion of the domain-specific libraries as part of the standard.

Ziel der Basiskonzepte: Reduzierung und der Beherrschung Komplexität

In the following section, these concepts are listed and described below:

• Specification / Realisation Konzept
• Kon­text Kon­zept
• Validity Konzept
• Signature Konzept

Specification / Realisation Konzept

OTX support for distributed development of test sequences, a 3-stage development process. Starting with an abstract, general level the processes are always broken down further and more detailed. In each phase, the procedures validated using appropriate software tools to be exchanged and executed.

1. Stove: Spezifikation (Spezifikationsphase)

   The specification phase is the description of the sequences (specification) in an early phase of the development process. Here are the general flow logic is well known, but the details of an executable sequence are still unclear, but may be described in prose. The sequence is composed of individual activities, which have no realization. That is, the activities associated with any specific function. You only a name and a description is assigned. The procedure is executed. Since the implementation of the activities is lacking, they can be simulated using appropriate dialogue.

2. Level: intermediate (progress)

   In the implementation phase, an author implements the specifications of the activities the individual realizations. That is, it maps the activities without realizing a function (realization) and configures it. Naturally, the flow in this phase of a mixture of activities with and without implementation. Again, the procedure is executed. The drainage system carries out the activities realized. It can, for example, already has a communications take place with a control unit. Lack of realizations are "simulated" through appropriate dialogue.

3. Stage: Implementation

   In the last stage there is a realization for each specification. The sequence is fully executable. There must be no activity can be simulated.

Specification / Realisation-Konzept

Kon­text Kon­zept

The context concept is basically a mapping mechanism for environmental parameters at the level of OTX runtime system.

The runtime environment for OTX sequences is heterogeneous, in practice very much. Various processes within the OTX-needed information that can not be read from the control devices must be provided by the diagnostic application. These include:

• Vehicle Data

  Vehicle model, vendors, identification number, engine or special equipment data, etc.

• Daten der Diagnoseapplikation (Tester)

  Name and version, VCI, application settings, etc.

• Benutzerdaten

  Benutzername, Benutzerrechte, Idle Time etc.

• Umge­bungs­da­ten

  Location (eg development, production or service) version of the operating system, etc.

OTX offers for so-called context variables. The context variables are defined by the author of OTX sequence. He can then use in the processes such as global constants. The variables can only be read and not write. The OTX Runtime Environment (OTX Runtime) recognizes these special variables, and calls on the values ​​of the variables from the diagnostic application. The drainage system also supports a mapping interface, which can tune in to the overlying application.

OTX - Context variables to access environmental data

Advantages:

• Working with context variables is equal to the work with global constants
• To integrate into existing systems OTX, the existing structure be used
• When replacing the OTX sequences with other runtime environments that provide similar information in a similar way, only the mapping layer to be adjusted.
• Context variables can be simulated on a particular application externally.

Validity Konzept

Based on the previously described context concept supports a so-called OTX is valid concept. This makes it possible to configure test sequences for different environmental conditions. Within the test sequence can Validities according to the respective surrounding parts of the sequence show off and on.

Validities need at the level of OTX document are defined. They consist of either a Boolean variable or context of a compound logical expression (Validity Term) of type Boolean. It can be linked then several context variables or global constants are used. Activities, sequences and procedure calls are tied to the property to a ValidFor Validity. At run time they are executed only if the Validity is True. They are thus only valid in a given environmental context.

Advantages:

• Clear distinction between decisions that are based on static and known at design time environment data and decisions based on dynamic values.
• Validities control the flow of environmental data on the implicit and not explicitly on branches (IfElse Branch). This reduced the number of branches is significantly reduced and the process read more compact and lighter. The real test logic is more visible.
• It is possible for a set of commonly used Validities in a separate document and save to make it in one central location accessible to all authors. In order to avoid redundancy and maintainability is increased.
• OTX is an authoring environment may be able to represent different environmental scenarios by not blinding used branches (filtering).
• Is the basis for the signature concept, see the next section.

Validity-Konzept

Signature Konzept

The signature approach is based on the concept is valid and is very similar. Validities describe the validity of individual activities. Signatures on the validity of a procedure are described. A signature describes an interface or prototype for a procedure. A signature is therefore as a procedure without implementation. Signatures consists of name, input and output parameters and a description. Procedures can be accessed via indirect signatures. The caller only needs the parameters and the specification but no implementation details to know the procedure. Signatures allow the creation of generic sequences, which can be adapted to specific environmental conditions at run time.

Signature-Konzept

Advantages:

• Sequences do not have to change when a new context is added.
• Increases the maintainability in the long-term availability of test sequences.
• Allows the distributed development of test sequences. The signature serves as a formal definition of the interfaces between the various parties.

Based approaches to variant management in comparison