Introducing the EPL Apps tools SDK

Calling all Apama EPL Apps users – from Apama 10.5.3!

Within Cumulocity IoT the “Apama EPL Apps” product component allows a user to deploy Streaming Analytics solution elements in the form of single EPL files.

Are you sick and tired of discovering bugs in your EPL apps after they have been deployed to production? Do you wish there was an easy way to test their behavior in a repeatable way that can be automated? I have some good news for you, as our new EPL Apps tools SDK available on GitHub may be the ideal solution! The SDK offers a guide to writing tests for your EPL apps; an extension to the PySys test framework to streamline the testing process; and a command-line tool for interacting with your EPL apps in Cumulocity IoT. Continue reading for more details!

A guide to writing tests for your EPL apps

The SDK includes a guide that illustrates how you can write tests in EPL for your EPL apps. By creating additional “test” applications that send and receive events from the apps you are testing, you can validate the behavior of your EPL apps and catch bugs early in production. The guide includes top tips for writing these tests in EPL, while defining some general principles to follow. Using these principles will allow you to fully utilize the capabilities of the PySys test framework extension (see below) in automating the running of the tests. The SDK also includes a sample that contains an EPL app and a test written in EPL to help you get started with writing your own tests.

An EPL apps testing framework

Also included in the SDK is an extension to the PySys test framework. Using PySys will make the testing process simpler and faster by allowing you to script the actions necessary to run a suite of tests. The framework gives you the option of running your tests inside the Cumulocity IoT cloud, or (if you have an installation of Apama and wish to save cloud resources) with a locally running correlator connected to the Cumulocity IoT platform.

If you are feeling adventurous and wish to explore the full capabilities of the PySys test framework, we have also included some “Advanced” samples that demonstrate how you can use the framework to write more complicated tests with Python.

A command line tool for interacting with EPL apps

In the /scripts directory of the SDK is a handy command line tool for deploying, activating, updating and deleting EPL apps without having to use the Cumulocity IoT web browser UI.

So… what are you waiting for?

If you want to find bugs earlier in the development of your EPL apps and have a repeatable way to test them, head on over to GitHub - SoftwareAG/apama-eplapps-tools: Tooling for uploading apps and testing apps within Apama EPL Apps and get yourself a copy of the SDK! This is a must-have for any Apama EPL Apps users. Stay tuned for more in-depth articles on how to use the SDK.

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