MiMiC Test Bench provides automated testing and reporting of control system configurations using MiMiC Simulation Software.

Powerful Tool for Automated System Testing

MiMiC Test Bench allows users to create scripts that set, examine, and verify values in both their MiMiC simulation and off-line control system that has an OPC Server. These test scripts can be executed from the Windows Test Bench user interface, via a command-line, or by the MS Windows operating system as a scheduled task. Test log reports can be saved for each script providing a permanent record of the system test.  MiMiC Test Bench is easy to use and can be added to any MiMiC system current on MiMiC Software Support.

MiMiC Test Bench executing a system testing script.

Test Script Commands

Tests consist of a series of command that are executed in order. There are five different parameters that are used to define the commands, but not every command uses all parameters. The test commands can be implemented on MiMiC Simulation Models or any OPC-compliant control system control modules. The test commands and parameters supported are listed in the tables below.

Set Command

• Target: Specifies whether the Tag parameter addresses a MiMiC or OPC value
• Tag: The MiMiC or OPC path of the value to write to
• Value: The value to write to the tag

Ramp Command

• Target: Specifies whether the Tag parameter addresses a MiMiC or OPC value
• Tag: The MiMiC or OPC path of the value to write to
• Value: The final value to write to the tag
• Delay: The amount of time to take transitioning the tag from its initial value to the final value

Pause Command

• Delay: The amount of time before executing the next test step

Wait Command

• Target: Specifies whether the Tag parameter addresses a MiMiC or OPC value
• Tag: The MiMiC or OPC path of the value to read
• Operator: The comparison between the tag and the value
• Value: The right-hand value to compare the tag against
• Delay: The maximum amount of time to spending waiting for the condition to be met

Verify Command

• Target: Specifies whether the Tag parameter addresses a MiMiC or OPC value
• Tag: The MiMiC or OPC path of the value to read
• Operator: The comparison between the tag and the value
• Value: The right-hand value to compare the tag against
• Delay: The maximum amount of time to spending waiting for the condition to be met

Examine Command

• Target: Specifies whether the Tag parameter addresses a MiMiC or OPC value
• Tag: The MiMiC or OPC path of the value to read and logged

Prompt Command

• Tag: The text to display to the user

Editing Test Scripts

The MiMiC Test Bench application uses a multi-document interface, which means that multiple tests can be loaded, edited, and run at the same time. The child windows’ captions will be the file name of the test script, without its extension.

Tests steps are displayed in a grid. To modify a command or any of its parameters, click on its cell and enter/select the new value. New test steps are entered into the last row of the grid.

Editing a MiMiC Test Bench script

Standard clipboard commands (cut, copy and paste), a delete command, and commands to move steps up and down the script are available on the Edit menu and off of the toolbar.

Executing Test Scripts

Once the test scripts are written, they can be executed via the Execute command on the Test menu or the toolbar. The Execute command will launch a dialog allowing you to specify the parameters for the test run.

MiMiC Test Bench test execution controls dialog

The first group in the dialog controls how many times the test should be executed. The default option is for the test to be run once (Single Pass). A fixed number of passes can be specified, or the test can execute continuously. A test executing continuous passes must be stopped manually by the user.

The second group of options controls logging of the test. To log the test execution results, a filename for the test log must be specified. The default log output contains all data pertinent to the test. If only log errors and commands that explicitly write to the log (Verify, Examine) are desired, check the “Concise” box.

The final group of options controls the precision of comparisons. Because control system numbers are rarely exactly equal some tolerance should be allowed in comparisons. Tolerance is specified here as a fraction of the command’s left-hand value. For instance, if a test step specifies a comparison of “Tag = 25”, and the tolerance is set to 0.001, the tolerance for this test step would be ±(25×0.001) or ±0.025. The comparison would therefore succeed if the tag is in the range [24.975…25.025].

While a test is executing, the test window’s status will indicate that the test is running, and which pass it is on. A triangular, green play icon will be displayed in the left column of the grid, indicating which test step is currently executing. The progress bar in the test window’s status bar indicates overall test progress for the current pass.

A test can also be paused while it is executing via the Pause command on the Test menu or toolbar. While a test is paused, the pause button on the toolbar will be highlighted, and the status in the test window will read “Paused.”

MiMiC Test Bench script paused

Test execution can also be canceled via the Stop command on the Test menu or toolbar.

Test Script Format

The test scripts are saved into a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file. This allows for simple bulk-entry and creation of tests via Microsoft Excel or any text editor. The first line of the CSV file is an optional header row. If it is included, it must match the application’s output exactly. The fields within a row correspond to the columns in the test grid, except for the test step number, which is omitted: [COMMAND],[TARGET],[TAG],[OPERATOR],[VALUE],[TIME]

Except for the Tag field, each field must contain valid text even if the command in that test step does not use the parameter. The tag field may be left empty for commands that do not use it. The Command, Target, and Operator fields are enumerations whose valid values are listed in the tables below. These values are not case sensitive, so “opc” and “OPC” are both valid Target values.  The format for the CSV file commands, targets, and operators are shown in the table below.

The format of the Tag field depends upon the Target.

• If the Target is MiMiC, the tag is the complete MiMiC path, including areas. All levels of the path are separated by a forward slash (/) except for stream sub-values, which are separated from the stream name with a dot (e.g., …/S_OUT.FLOW).
• If the Target is OPC, the tag is the machine name, service name, and OPC item tag separated by forward slashes (/). The OPC item tag is in whatever format is specified by the target service and may also include forward slashes.

Example Test Script File

Command,Target,Tag,Operator,Value,Delay
Set,MiMiC,NODE1/TEST_BENCH/MODEL_A/AI1/IN,Equal,2.5,0
Wait,MiMiC,NODE1/TEST_BENCH/MODEL_A/AI2/OUT,Equal,2.5,5
Ramp,OPC,DV103/OPC.DeltaV.1/TEST_BENCH/AI1/SIMULATE_IN.CV,Equal,25,10
Pause,MiMiC,,Equal,0,3
Verify,MiMiC,NODE1/TEST_BENCH/MODEL_A/AI3/OUT,GreaterThanOrEqual,2.5,1
Examine,OPC,DV103/OPC.DeltaV.1/TEST_BENCH/AI2/OUT.CV,Equal,0,0
Prompt,MiMiC,The test is complete.,Equal,0,0

Running MiMiC Test Bench Scripts From Command Prompt or Windows Scheduler

MiMiC Test Bench test scripts can be run from the MS Windows command line or Windows Task Scheduler using the following command:

“Mimic Test Bench.exe” [test file] <-L:[log file]> <-P:passes> <-C> <-S> <-E>, where the arguments are defined as follows.

[test file] The name of the test file to open.
-L:[log file] The name of the log file to write to.
-P:[passes] The number of passes of the test to execute, 0 for continuous execution. The default is 1 pass.
-C Concise logging.
-S Silent mode--all prompts and error message are redirected to the log file.
-E Execute the test. Option L, P, C, and S are ignored if -E is not specified.

Example Test Commands

• Example 1 - “Mimic Test Bench.exe” Test.CSV “-L:Test Results.LOG” -P:2 -S -E
  Executes the test file “Test.CSV” twice, with no user interaction, logging everything to the file “Test Results.LOG”.
• Example 2 - “Mimic Test Bench.exe” “My Test.CSV” -E
  Executes the test file “My Test.CSV” once without logging.
• Example 3 - “Mimic Test Bench.exe” “My Test.CSV” -L:Results.LOG -P:0 -C -E
  Executes the test file “My Test.CSV” continuously, logging only minimal information to the file “Results.LOG”.
• Example 4 - “Mimic Test Bench.exe” “My Test.CSV”
  Opens the test file “My Test.CSV” without executing it.

Ordering Information

MiMiC Test Bench can be added to any MiMiC system current on MiMiC Software Support.