Plans

Future Development Plans

• Docker image - This will be useful for toolkit users who want to install Toolkit in their local environment without knowing about how to setup Java on their machine. Not all vendors or developers use Java and some want to use existing Docker setup on their local machine. We have a NIST Docker account to which we can publish images.

• Need to identify toolkit core components to update. One example is as Axis2 (Apache Axis2 is a open-source JAX-WS implementation). It will be better to replace this with newer components part of Java standard since the Java Maven dependencies may be out of date.

• Add more automated integration tests and/or UI tests.

First Quarter 2024

• Update build configuration and code to support newer Java compilers such as JDK 17+

• Bug fixes

Second Quarter 2023

Release v7.10.0

First Quarter 2023

Release v7.9.0

XCDR ITI-80 (New transaction support may be implemented by Steve Moore)

2022

MHD support in XDS Toolkit is now superseded by NIST FHIR Toolkit.

Bug fix releases.

Summer of 2018

Here are things we are starting work on this summer.

Add formal support for test development - up to now to develop tests for Toolkit you had to be able to extend Toolkit itself. This required a lot of knowledge of the internal operation. We have a number of user organizations that wish to extend the testing reach of Toolkit without becoming full developers. Towards this goal we are introducing a new term - Test Developer - someone that can develop tests based on the technology provided by Toolkit without being versed in the internals of Toolkit or being able to extend Toolkit technical facilities. Many of the projects below are being done in support of this new class of user - Test Developer.

Plugable assertions - assertions are boolean functions that are used to evaluate a response returned in a test. An example assertion is "Success status returned". Currently test assertions are either built into Toolkit sources or coded in TestPlans as XPATH. Pluggable assertions are assertions that are coded in Groovy Script and added to a TestKit. Tests can be added to toolkit by user organizations without being a Toolkit developer (messing with the sources) but writing assertions requires you to be a Toolkit developer or work in XPATH. This project will introduce a plugin architecture and the ability to write assertion plugins.

Finish support for client testing - client testing refers to testing an SUT that sends messages to Toolkit. Last year we had only a few MHD and Doc Src tests in this catagory. This project will complete the test support facilities.

Replace Public Registry client testing - now that the Public Registry server has been retired we need to introduce full client testing into Toolkit. This will be based on the above support project.

Phase 2 Conformance Tool infrastructure - while the Conformance Tool has been very successful there are a lot of things it cannot yet do. This project will introduce the supporting infrastructure for these features.

• Use manual Patient feed to a Document Registry instead of relying on a V2 Patient Identity Feed message.

• Update Conformance Tool test orchestration without being a Toolkit developer

• Rely on plugable assertions (as a Test developer)

Updates to the FHIR Patient service - the current service is totally automatic (no manual controls) and seldomly does the right thing. This service needs a dashboard for control and observation.

General cleanup of MHD test support - year one effort needs significant upgrades. More tests, better evaluations, more focus on client testing. Split raw MHD testing from XDS on FHIR testing. Be able to rely on external Patient server.

Conformance tool test reports - currently the only "report" is the UI. Need to generate a PDF report of test results.

Documentation update - there is a lot of documentation in the wiki no one can find. Needs to be organized, be properly indexed, and extended in many ways.

Integrate new Metadata Update and RMD tests

Introduce pluggable assertions to both Test Client and Simulators - this will allow Test Developers to customize both ends.

Upgrade to use NEW Gazelle SAML Assertion generator - got to keep up

Other duties as assigned