Testing a DFDL schema by creating a logical instance

You can create a logical instance of messages that are modeled by your DFDL schemas by using the DFDL Test Perspective.

Before you begin

Create or open a DFDL schema file.

About this task

You can use the DFDL Test Perspective to generate a logical instance from your selected DFDL schema. The data used to create the logical instance comes from the "Sample Test Data" values in the schema.

Procedure

Open the DFDL schema that you want to test.
Right-click the document root that you want to test, and click Create a logical instance for the DFDL schema.
A dialog is displayed that asks you whether you want to open the DFDL Test Perspective.
Click Yes.
The DFDL Test Perspective opens, and your generated sample message is displayed in the DFDL Test - Logical Instance view.
View your sample message as a logical tree by clicking the Tree View tab, or view your sample message as XML by clicking the XML view tab.

What to do next

Next:

You can test-serialize the logical instance data that you have created; see Testing a DFDL schema by serializing test output data.
You can continue to edit your DFDL schema by using the DFDL schema editor.
You can test-parse sample data against your DFDL schemas; see Testing a DFDL schema by parsing test input data.
If the DFDL schema is complete, you can add it to a BAR file for deployment; see Creating a BAR file.