ITK Testbench v3.0.25 Open Source

Damian Murphy (damian.murphy@hscic.gov.uk)
Richard Robinson (rrobinson@hscic.gov.uk)
30th October 2013    

This package contains the first open source release of the "ITK Testbench"
(TKW). TKW is used for a number of purposes around ITK and programmes or 
initiatives which use ITK technologies:

- Along with its configuration packs it provides technical support for the
  accreditation processes: message validation and simulated endpoints for
  sending and receiving messages.
  
- With the configuration packs it provides a reference implementation for
  the ITK and other interface specifications via endpoint simulation.
  
- It is available to any development project to support testing without
  reference to DHID.

- It provides a "home" for experimental implementations in support of
  specification development. Examples included are routing, the interface
  between ITK and XDR messages demonstrated at EHI Live 2011, and an 
  upcoming mechanism for transporting ITK messages over Spine.
  
A copy of the TKW binary is bundled with the accreditation packs. Packs
released from April 2012 will be bundled with a binary based on this and
subsequent open source code.

The code is licenced under the Apache Licence, version 2.0:

Copyright 2011 Damian Murphy <murff@warlock.org>

   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   You may obtain a copy of the License at

     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
   limitations under the License.

What is in the pack:

Sources and Javadoc for TKW-v3.0.25-Open. For supporting libraries and test
cases, see the released ITK and other programme accreditation packs at
http://systems.hscic.gov.uk/sa/tools using the
download link under "Interoperability Toolkit (ITK) Testbench". The
accreditation packs also contain a copy of the user configuration guide.

The dependencies are:

- Java JDK 1.6 or later (it should build with 1.5, but nothing earlier due 
to extensive use of generics)

- Safehaus' "JUG" UUID generator, Apache licence version: jug-asl-2.0.0.jar

- Apache Commons codec: commons-codec-1.3.jar

- Apache XercesJ 2.8.0: xercesImpl.jar

- Saxon v9 "HE": saxon9he.jar

What is implemented:

- ITK SOAP message transmission including WS-Security header signing

- ITK SOAP message receipt and rules-based simulated or processed 
  synchronous and asynchronous responses for both XML messages and 
  delimited HL7v2, including optional checking of received WS-Security 
  headers.
  
- Clear-text and mutually-authenticated TLS communications
  
- Non-persistent implementation of the queue collection interface

- Partial implementation of the ITK routing specification

- Conversion between delimited- and XML presentations of HL7v2 messages,
  for handling messages. Source code for the standalone form of the 
  converter bundled with the TKW accreditation packs will be opened in
  due course (although it is simply a standalone version of the code
  included here).

- Message validation processing engine for ITK and Spine messages.

- Implementation of the ITK DTS transport specification. This is subject
  to the caveats that the interface concentrates on writing the relevant
  DTS "data" and "control" files only, and is not an implmementation of the
  DTS client software. Also, TKW currently implements use of DTS as a
  routing transport, as opposed to one for general point-to-point 
  messaging.

- Implementation of the draft ITK <--> XDR interoperability specification,
  this subject to the caveat that full usability of the specification is
  dependent on work ongoing between IHE and DHID on document metadata.

- Test automation. Engine to execute multiple test messages/conditions
  in sequence and generate a report, using tst format files which describe each
  test and the environment in which it should be executed.  

  
Experimental components:

Some components are included in this release which are "experimental", 
and their use is not recommended at present:

- "ITK-over-Spine" message forwarding. This was originally part of a 
  proof-of-concept and whilst it remains to support the forthcoming
  ITK Trunk message, the actual message used is not the one which will
  be in the specification when it is published. The underlying principle
  remains unchanged.