Frequently Asked Questions and Answers - regular post

It's not quite a month since the last post ... still 
there are already some additions and modifications to 
the FAQ ... 

Dear httpunit developers and users,

Please let me know what other questions you'd like to 
see answered in this FAQ and I'll try to add them 
together with a decent answer.
Please read the parts on Questions #5 and #6 before 
submitting any proposed changes ... this will speed up 
things a lot. 
Currently only about 2-3 out of 10 tracker or mailing 
list requests follow this procedure. 
If we get this up to more than 50% it would be a good 
start so that the response time can improve again.


FAQ
===
1. Where can I get information on httpunit?
2. Where do i get the most recent version of httpunit
3. Where do I find examples for the use of httpunit?
4. How do I sign up for the developer mailing list?
5. How do I get support for httpunit?
6. How can I suggest modifications to httpunit?
7. How do I find a testcase to start from?
8. What is the development environment for httpunit?


1. Where can I get information on httpunit?
-------------------------------------------
httpunit is an OpenSource Project and it is hosted on 
SourceForge at 
https://sourceforge.net/projects/httpunit. 
There is a project homepage at http://www.httpunit.org/ 
which contains a limited set of documentation.
There is a general FAQ section at 
http://www.httpunit.org/doc/faq.html

2. Where do i get the most recent version of httpunit
-----------------------------------------------------
The most recent version of httpunit can be found in the 
Subversion repository. 
The repository is explained at:
	
https://sourceforge.net/scm/?type=svn&group_id=6550
the URL for it is:
	
https://httpunit.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/httpunit/tr
unk/httpunit/

A nice browser front end for it is:
	
http://httpunit.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/httpunit/trun
k/httpunit/


3. Where do I find examples for the use of httpunit?
----------------------------------------------------
a) There is a "cookbook"
   http://www.httpunit.org/doc/cookbook.html
b) There is a tutorial:
   http://www.httpunit.org/doc/tutorial/index.html
c) There are examples delivered with httpunit and 
accesible via the
   subversion respository:
   
http://httpunit.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/httpunit/trun
k/httpunit/examples/


4. How do I sign up for the developer mailing list?
---------------------------------------------------
via the link
	
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/httpunit-
develop


5. How do I get support for httpunit?
-------------------------------------
This mailing list and the trackers on
	https://sourceforge.net/projects/httpunit/support
are a good point to start. Don't expect too much - you 
might want to get active yourself.

6. How can I suggest modifications to httpunit?
-----------------------------------------------
httpunit is strictly based on test-first development.

If you'd like to get it modified you might want to prove 
you point by showing what is not working and 
how you would like it to work. 

Doing this within the JUnit testsuite of httpunit is the 
preferred way. And providing the test source code first 
gives you much better chances of a quick response.

If you'd like to supply a minor change that is easy to 
understand and does not change anything or not much
 (e.g. adding a comment or changing the layout of a 
statement or doing an algorithm slightly different) 
then it might be sufficient to show that the change does 
not break any of the existing test cases.
Don't count on this. A JUnit test case is your better 
option.

Please supply a testcase with the expected result for 
the feature you are asking for and we'll look into 
implementing it. 
For a start you might want to get the trunk version from 
the subversion repository (see 
https://sourceforge.net/scm/?type=svn&group_id=6550
and have a look at the source code of some of the more 
than 800 JUnit based testcases in there.

Eclipse workspace patch files are welcome - other 
formats are also o.k. but just a bit more work.

When you are ready you might want to attach the testcase 
(and if you already have started implementing it also 
the actual code) to your feature request.

If you propose a change make sure that all testcases run 
so after the change there should be more
 testcases than before and none of them is broken / does 
not work any more.

This should give you a clue on what a proper testcase 
for httpunit looks like. 
The main communication about further details of the 
development is via the httpunit developer mailinglist.


7. How do I find a testcase to start from?
------------------------------------------
a) To find such tests I usually set a break point at the
     function that I'd like to test and then run all 
tests from the HttpUnitSuite. When the debugger halts at 
the breakpoint you'll see which test(s) called the 
function.


b) Another option is to search the full source code of 
all tests for keywords that match what your are 
intending to do

c) A third option is to look in the tracker items
	https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=6550
    and look for a comparable issue. Then use the 
trackers id e.g. Bug report number to find a test case 
for it.

8. What is the development environment for httpunit?
----------------------------------------------------
You need a Java compiler and may be an Integrated 
Development Environment like Eclipse.

Currently httpunit is mostly tested on these three 
operationg systems:
- Windows XP
- Suse Linux 10.3
- The latest Mac OS X
The test environment is Eclipse Ganymede with a JDK 1.6 
compiler set to JDK 1.4 compatiblity mode (this is also 
what you'll find set up in the Subversion library)

People from this mailing list also test with command 
line Maven environments, NetBeans and what have you got 
(it would be good to get some examples named
here ... feel free to let me know your environment if it 
is an addition to the above)

Yours
 Wolfgang

BITPlan - smart solutions
Pater-Delp-Str. 1, D-47877 Willich Schiefbahn
Tel. +49 2154 811-480, Fax +49 2154 811-481
Web: http://www.bitplan.de
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Geschäftsführer: Wolfgang Fahl

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