Foreword
TTCN first saw the light of day as a fledgling language in the mid-1980s. With a major modernization of TTCN over 10 years ago, resulting in TTCN-3, it has arguably progressed to be the de facto international standardised language for writing test specifications for reactive systems. Here at ETSI, TTCN is the cornerstone of many complex test specifications, covering a wide range of technologies, including 3GPP LTE™,1 Intelligent Transport Systems, eHealth, Voice Over IP and IPv6.
I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Colin Willcock and Professor Jens Grabowski to produce the very first edition of the core specification of TTCN-3. Since that time, the language has gone from strength to strength. It has a growing body of users, good tool support and, most importantly, a dedicated and very active maintenance team. Indeed, TTCN-3 is a living language, continuous improvements and the addition of new features, demanded by the user community, means that this book too has been updated. This second edition addresses those new features admirably.
As is common with any programming language, the language specification is often not the first place a user will go to learn her new craft. Often, this will be done by reading a good textbook (or at least looking at the examples). Unfortunately, the TTCN-3 community has not had this luxury—until now, that is. This very first TTCN-3 book fulfils a long-awaited need and I see its publication as a milestone in the evolution of the language. ...
