Guide to VAX DEC/Test Manager

This manual serves as a comprehensive guide for using DEC/Test Manager, an automated regression test system designed for software development and maintenance. It is intended for programmers, software engineers, and project managers familiar with the VMS operating system.

The document covers the following key areas:

• Introduction to Regression Testing: Explains the principles of regression testing and how DEC/Test Manager automates the process of running, reviewing, and storing software tests and results across noninteractive, interactive terminal, and DECwindows environments.
• User Interfaces: Provides detailed instructions for both the character-cell command-line interface and the DECwindows graphical interface, including sample sessions.
• Test Creation and Management: Describes how to create, modify, and delete test libraries, test descriptions, and various types of tests (noninteractive, interactive terminal, and DECwindows), along with managing associated files like session and input files.
• Test Organization and Execution: Guides users through organizing tests into collections, executing these collections in batch or interactively, stopping test runs, and displaying collection summaries.
• Result Review and Comparison: Explains how to examine and interpret test results, compare current results against benchmarks, update benchmark files, and print test reports.
• System Customization: Details advanced features for tailoring the test system, including using prologue and epilogue files, grouping tests, defining variables, applying filters and masks, customizing keypad keys, and utilizing command and initialization files.
• Library Maintenance and Security: Provides information on maintaining the DEC/Test Manager library, storing files externally (e.g., in CMS libraries), and implementing security features like User Identification Code (UIC) and Access Control List (ACL) protection.
• Callable Interface: Explains how to integrate DEC/Test Manager with other programs using its callable interface.
• Reference Material: Includes a comprehensive command dictionary with syntax and descriptions for all commands, as well as an appendix listing informational, warning, and error messages with explanations and suggested user actions.