WinCC OA Test Explorer

Test Explorer integration for WinCC OA unit tests in Visual Studio Code

Features • Known Issues

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Disclaimer: This is one of the first releases of the WinCC OA Test Explorer extension. Some edge cases may not be fully covered yet. Please check the Known Issues section for workarounds if you encounter problems.
Tip: If the extension doesn't work as expected, try Ctrl+Shift+P → Reload Window to refresh.

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🎬 See It In Action

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✨ Features

🔍 Test Discovery

• Automatic discovery of WinCC OA test files in workspace
• Support for both WinCC OA 3.19 and 3.20 test formats
• Auto-refresh on file changes with incremental updates
• Workspace folder hierarchy

Supported Test Patterns

WinCC OA 3.19 Format:

// $License: NOLICENSE
/** Tests for the library: scripts/libs/$origLibRelPath.

  @file $relPath
  @test Unit tests for the library: scripts/libs/$origLibRelPath
  @copyright $copyright
  @author RichardJanisch
 */

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Libraries used (#uses)
#uses "$origLibRelPathWithoutExtension" // tested object
#uses "classes/oaTest/OaTest" // oaTest basic class

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Variables and Constants

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/**
*/
class TstHelloWorld : OaTest
{
  //------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  // List of the test cases
  protected dyn_string getAllTestCaseIds()
  {
    return makeDynString("$origLibName_");
  }

  //------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  protected int startTestCase(const string &tcId)
  {
    //----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    switch (tcId)
    {
      //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
      case "$origLibName_":
      {
        // Test your script here.
        assertEqual("currentValue", "expectedValue");
        return 0;
      }
    }

    return -1;
  }
};

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
main()
{
  TstHelloWorld test = TstHelloWorld();
  test.startAll();
  exit(0);
}

WinCC OA 3.20 Format:

// $License: NOLICENSE
/** Tests for the library: scripts/libs/$origLibRelPath.

  @file $relPath
  @test Unit tests for the library: scripts/libs/$origLibRelPath
  @copyright $copyright
  @author RichardJanisch
 */

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Libraries used (#uses)
#uses "$origLibRelPathWithoutExtension" // tested object
#uses "classes/oaTest/OaTest" // oaTest basic class

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// Variables and Constants

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/**
*/
class TstPass : OaTest
{
  //------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  // List of the test cases
  protected dyn_string getAllTestCaseIds()
  {
    return makeDynString("$origLibName_");
  }

  //------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  protected int startTestCase(const string &tcId)
  {
    //----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    switch (tcId)
    {
      //--------------------------------------------------------------------------
      case "$origLibName_":
      {
        // Test your script here.
        assertEqual("expectedValue", "expectedValue");
        return 0;
      }
    }

    return -1;
  }
};

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
main()
{
  TstPass test = TstPass();
  test.startAll();
  exit(0);
}

🚀 Test Execution

• Run individual test files or entire folders
• Test Cancellation: Stop running tests via stop button
• Click-to-navigate for all test states (passed, failed, aborted)
• Accurate error locations with StackTrace parsing
• Individual test messages per assertion

📊 Test Results

• Visual test status indicators in Test Explorer sidebar
• Detailed error messages with file and line references
• Test duration tracking
• Structured logging with configurable log levels

🎨 IDE Integration

• Native VS Code Test Explorer UI
• Recursive folder execution
• Multi-workspace support
• Auto-detection via WinCC OA Control extension

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⚙️ Configuration

Essential Settings

Setting	Default	Description
winccoaTests.testFilesPattern	scripts/tests/**/*.ctl	Glob pattern to discover test files
winccoaTests.logLevel	INFO	Log verbosity: ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE

Logging (for debugging)

Setting	Default	Description
winccoaTests.logLevel	INFO	Log verbosity: ERROR, WARN, INFO, DEBUG, TRACE

💡 Tip: Set log level to DEBUG when reporting bugs for detailed diagnostics.

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🐛 Known Issues

Performance

Windows Performance:
The extension may run slower on Windows with longer loading times. Linux performs significantly better.

Large Projects:
Very large projects (1000+ test files) may experience performance issues during discovery.

General

Extension Not Responding:
If the extension doesn't work as expected (tests not refreshing, detection issues), reload VS Code:

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
2. Type and select Reload Window
3. For test refresh: Run WinCC OA Tests: Refresh Tests from Command Palette

Current Limitations

1. Single Test Execution Not Supported:

   • Running individual test cases within a file is not possible
   • Only entire test files can be executed
   • This is a WinCC OA limitation - no complete test report for individual test cases

2. Test Debugging:

   • Debugger integration not yet implemented
   • Use DebugN() for manual debugging in tests

3. Test Discovery:

   • Complex test files may not be parsed correctly
   • Requires strict adherence to WinCC OA test format patterns

Reporting Bugs

Found an issue? Please report it with:

• WinCC OA version
• Extension version (1.0.0)
• Test file example that reproduces the issue
• Enable DEBUG logging and attach log output

Report Issue on GitHub

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📝 Commands

Access via Ctrl+Shift+P:

Command	Description
WinCC OA Tests: Run All Tests	Run all discovered tests
WinCC OA Tests: Refresh Tests	Manually refresh test discovery
WinCC OA Tests: Stop Running Tests	Cancel currently running tests

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🛠️ Requirements

• VS Code: 1.106.2 or higher
• WinCC OA: 3.19+
• WinCC OA Script Actions: Extension (required for test execution)
• WinCC OA Control: Extension (optional, for auto-detection)
• Project Structure: Test files in scripts/tests/ directory

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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📜 Disclaimer

WinCC OA and Siemens are trademarks of Siemens AG. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Siemens AG. This is a community-driven open source project.

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Made with ❤️ for the WinCC OA community

GitHub • Issues • WinCC OA Docs