Technology Compatibility Kit

A Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) is a suite of tests that at least nominally checks a particular alleged implementation of a Java Specification Request (JSR) for compliance. It is one of the three required pieces for a ratified JSR in the Java Community Process, which are:

TCKs tend to be obtained from the Specification Lead of a given JSR. They usually (but not always) consist of a graphical host application which communicates over TCP/IP with the device or Java virtual machine that is under test. Tests are typically obtained by the device over HTTP, and results are posted back to the host application in a similar way. This decoupling enables TCKs to be used to test virtual machines on devices such as CLDC mobile phones which do not have the power to run the full TCK host application.

The tests contained in the JSR are supposedly derived from the statements in the JSR specification. Any given API will have a set of tests to ensure that it behaves in the intended way, including in error conditions.

In order to state conformance with a given JSR, a Java implementation has to pass the associated TCK. Any (rare) exceptions have to be negotiated with the specification lead. Because of this, TCKs are of great importance when implementing a JSR. The first great milestone is to get the TCK running in the first place, which necessarily involves the Java implementation and underlying networking stack having a certain level of maturity. Next, the TCK must be properly configured - because they must be flexible enough to cope with any implementation, there are many options. (For example, listing all the supported media formats and associated optional controls for JSR135). Particular tests also require some setup activity - this tends to be particularly complex for the tests which ensure correct behaviour in error conditions, because the Java implementation must be put in the right state to cause each error. Finally, each failing test must be fixed, which is usually handled by the usual defect tracking mechanisms.

Some Java implementors consider their product to be mainly complete once the TCKs pass. Whilst it's true that the TCKs are quite comprehensive, there are many areas that they do not cover. These include performance, as well as the optional features. There's no alternative but to do lots of real-world testing to address these shortcomings, although additional test suites such as JDTS may help.

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