As more and more tools in the market support ReqIF, it becomes more and more important to inspect the generated files and to perform troubleshooting.  This is currently done in a systematic fashion by the ReqIF Implementor Forum,  a project group that ensures interoperability between different ReqIF-based implementations.  We are supporting this forum by generating test data and by providing tooling support for comparing ReqIF files.

This article acts as a guideline to the members of the Implementor Forum who want to actively use ProR for their testing activities.  We provide step-by-step-instructions from installation to performing the analysis of ReqIF files.

Screencast

The core feature that allows the easy comparison of ReqIF files is the compare tool, which we introduced earlier.  On that page you’ll also find a 5-minute screencast that demonstrates the installation of ProR, as well as the installation and use of the compare tool.

Disclaimer and Updates

Please note that the compare tool that we currently offer as part of the ProR Essentials is tailored for the use in the Implementor Forum and is not intended for production use.  This relates in particular to how XHTML-Content is compared.  As different tools may encode the same content in different ways, a character-by-character compare would be meaningless.  Therefore, only the actual text is compared.  We plan on providing preference settings for this in the future.

Also, as of this writing (March 21st, 2013), the compare tool is not yet optimized for the tasks in the Implementor Forum. We intend to release an optimized version by March 28th.

Installation of ProR

In the following, we provide step by step instructions on how to install ProR:

• Download ProR zip file for your platform from the Eclipse RMF Download Site.
• Create a folder (e.g. ProR) and unzip the content of the zip file to this folder.
• The folder should contain an executable called rmf-pror. Doubleclick this file to launch ProR.
• ProR will prompt you for a workspace location.  The workspace is a folder where the working files of ProR are stored. A default location is offered.  You can check the checkbox to use the selected workspace from now on without asking.
• At this point, you can already use ProR to inspect and edit .reqif files.

Installation of the Compare Tool

The compare tool is part of ProR Essentials, a free collection of productivity extensions for ProR.  The ProR Essentials contain the compare tool and the .reqifz-Importer.  To install these extensions, follow these steps:

• In ProR, select Help | Install new Software….
• Select the ProR Essentials Update Site from the Works With drop down.
• Select either all ProR Essentials Features, or only the following two which are needed for testing:
  • ProR ReqIF Diff Support Feature
  • ProR ReqIFz Transfer
• Note: If you install the Team Support Feature as well, ProR will subsequently prompt you to select a Subversion adapter to install.
• Follow the installation wizard.  We currently do not sign the extension, which will generate a warning during the installation process.
• After completing the installation, ProR will prompt you to restart.

Importing ReqIFz-Files into ProR

The test data resides in .reqifz files.  ProR requires .reqifz files to be imported.  Inside ProR, each .reqifz file is represented as a project containing the .reqif file(s) and the associated resources (OLE-objects, preview images, etc.).  To import a .reqifz-File, follow these steps:

• Launch the import wizard via File | Import….
• In the folder ReqIF, select ReqIFz Import Wizard.
• Select the source .reqifz file (.zip is also supported) and provide a name for the project.  If the project does not exist yet, it is created.
• Import the file by clicking Finish.  Alternatively, inspect the files to be imported by clicking Next.
• Consider reading a more detailed description of the .reqifz Import/Export feature.

Comparing Files

To compare files, you need the .reqif files in your workspace.  We recommend to import the two .reqifz files to be compared in two different projects, as described above.  Once this is done, you can compare them as follows.  Please remember that only the .reqif files are compared.  The embedded objects are not compared.

• Select the two .reqif files to be compared in the project view, and only those two.  This is supported on all platforms, typically by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking.
• Right-click on one of the two selected files.  From the context menu select Compare with | Each other.
• A dialog will pop up entitled Match Mode Selection, offering to compare the complete resource set(s) or the selected resource(s) only.  As we compare only one resource, it does not matter which one you click (we will remove the dialog in the future).
• You will see a three-pane compare view.  The top pane shows the differences in a tree structure, the lower panes show the two files to be compared.
• The easiest way to compare is by using the yellow arrows to step through the changes, one by one.
• We wrote a detailed description of comparing, including a screencast.

Getting the latest

As mentioned above, we plan to update the compare tool tailored to the needs of the ProSTEP Implementor Forum. A new release of the compare tool is planned by March 28th, 2013.  We will send out a notification.

Once the update is available, it can be installed conveniently via Help | Check for Updates.

Support & Newsletter

We will provide support for the members of the ProSTEP Implementor Forum.  Please contact us via email, if you need help.

If you like to hear about ProR, RMF and requirements on a regular basis, consider subscribing to our newsletter.  We send relevant and useful information once or twice a month.

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