SDTS/TVP Conformance Test Suite
Overview
NOTICES:
7 December 1999
The file SOILLE01.DDF, in the SOIL transfer (sw-data/data/soil) has been
modified since the release of Version 2.0. An incorrect format string
has been corrected. The current test suite file is the correct one.
The SDTS/TVP Conformance Test Suite, Version 2.0, is a set of
documents, source code, and data that may be used to check the conformance
of a software or data product to the Spatial Data Transfer Standard, Topological
Vector Profile. It was created under the sponsorship of the United
States Geological Survey (USGS) and modified to its present form by EDS
Corporation (see copyright notice for conditions
of reproduction and restrictions on alteration of the Test Suite).
This page is divided into the following sections:
Purposes of the Test Suite
The Test Suite has two primary modes of usage:
-
Informal use to confirm the opinion of a producer or consumer that a product
conforms to the standard
(including preparation for formal validation)
-
Formal validation leading to a Certificate of Conformity.
This document is meant to provide a brief overview of the first mode --
informal use of the Test Suite by organizations that are not yet ready
to pursue formal validation.
For information on formal validation, contact one of the following:
Using the Test Suite
The Test Suite may be used to check the conformance of three kinds of products:
-
Transfers are sets of data files in SDTS/TVP format, used to transfer spatial
data from one system to another.
See below for information on transfer
conformance testing.
-
Decoders are software products that can interpret an SDTS/TVP transfer,
translating it to another (perhaps proprietary) data format.
See below for information on decoder
conformance testing.
-
Encoders are software products that can extract spatial data from another
(perhaps proprietary) format, producing an SDTS/TVP transfer.
See below for information on encoder
conformance testing.
Transfer Conformance Testing
Conformance of a transfer is explicitly defined by the SDTS standard, with
some modified requirements as given in the Topological Vector Profile (TVP).
The Test Suite checks the conformance of transfers by means of a validation
program, TestTVP. This program accepts a transfer as input and produces
a report summarizing the content of the transfer and identifying any violations
of the standard. TestTVP is distributed as a set of C language source
files, included in the Software
and Data archive. The Download section of this document gives instructions
for obtaining the TestTVP program. Instructions for compiling and
invoking TestTVP are given in the "TestTVP" document that is included in
the Information archive.
Decoder Conformance Testing
Conformance of a decoder is defined in the Topological Vector Profile.
Briefly, a decoder conforms to the TVP if it is able to:
-
accept conforming transfers and represent the data in another format without
loss of data; and
-
recover on encountering an error in a non-conforming transfer, while reporting
the location of the error.
To use the Test Suite to check the conformance of a decoder, one submits
four sample transfers to the decoder and manually verifies that the output
preserves the integrity of the spatial data while reporting any violations
of the standard. The sample transfers used in validation testing
are provided in the Software
and Data archive.
Encoder Conformance Testing
Conformance of an encoder is defined in the Topological Vector Profile.
Briefly, an encoder conforms to the TVP if it is able to:
-
retrieve spatial data from an appropriate input system and generate SDTS/TVP
transfers without loss of data; and
-
generate only conforming transfers.
To use the Test Suite to check the conformance of an encoder, one submits
spatial data to it (in the approriate format) and then uses the TestTVP
program to check the conformance of the resulting transfers. (TestTVP
is distributed as a set of C language source files, included in the Software
and Data archive. The Download section of this document gives instructions
for obtaining the TestTVP program. Instructions for compiling and
invoking TestTVP are given in the "TestTVP" document that is included in
the Information archive.)
Manual checks must also be made to verify that specific spatial objects
and attributes were interpreted without loss or corruption of data.
Download Instructions
The Test Suite is distributed as three compressed archives, each of which
is supplied in ".zip" format (PKZip, WinZip, etc.) and in ".tar.gz" format
(using the UNIX tar utility and the GNU zip ("gzip") utility).
To begin downloading an archive, click on the name indicating the preferred
format.
-
A general overview (similar to this Web page)
-
Compilation and invocation instructions for the validation software
-
Detailed instructions for testing decoders
-
Detailed instructions for testing encoders
-
Detailed instructions for testing transfers
Each of the above documents is presented in both Microsoft Word format
and ASCII text format.
-
The Software and Data
archive (sw-data.zip
or sw-data.tar.gz)
contains three kinds of files, as follows:
-
Source code for the validation software
-
Control data files for the validation software
-
Four sample transfers used in the validation of decoders.
One of the four sample transfers is a Master Data Dictionary that is required
by one of the other transfers.
The Technical
Documentation archive (techdoc.zip
or techdoc.tar.gz)
contains technical documentation pertaining to maintenance of the validation
software. Most users do not need this documentation.