During each iteration
you should test the language. The size of the iteration can be the size of the test case,
but ideally, if the tools support it, you should be able to immediately test even small
changes of the metamodel. Early and frequent testing as a part of language creation is
especially relevant when you are de?¬?ning your ?¬?rst modeling languages as it
minimizes the risks of going in the wrong direction. Test cases also enable user
participation and learning more about the domain and its modeling.
Testing of the modeling language is best done using examples from the real
world??”usually, the more cases the better. Ideally the cases should use as many
modeling concepts as possible. At ?¬?rst the cases can be small features of a larger
application and over time they are extended to cover the whole target of the language.
You may use for two major approaches for ?¬?nding test cases: rebuilding already
TESTING THE LANGUAGES 261
developed applications or creating test cases from scratch just for language testing
purposes. When testing is done by people other than the language developers, it is
better to use known application features. You could even ask the developers who
originally developed the application to test the de?¬?ned language for the same
application. Developers can then focus not on learning the application but on actual
modeling.
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