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  • 1.  .Mar file advantages

    Posted Jan 13, 2017 06:43 PM

    For Lisa-Invoke, is there an advantage between executing a .tst directly or building/deploying and then executing a .mar file?

     

    I seem to recall that .mar being self-contained made the test execution faster, but I've searched and can't find confirmation - can anyone confirm/expand on this topic?

     

    thanks,

    -Jason



  • 2.  Re: .Mar file advantages

    Broadcom Employee
    Posted Jan 16, 2017 11:48 PM

         Advantage of creating mar file for test case is, mar file will include test case/test suite along with all supported files. Like if a test case includes any sub-process steps, datasheet files, etc, then creating a mar file and running it through lisa-invoke will be best option rather than running it as a test case directly.

       If a test case doesn't include any supported files, you can run it directly.

    Please go through below link about mar file details: Working with Model Archives (MARs) - DevTest Solutions - 9.5 - CA Technologies Documentation 



  • 3.  Re: .Mar file advantages

    Posted Jan 17, 2017 12:17 PM

    Thanks for the reply. I do understand what a .mar file is and what is does.

     

    I am able to run my tests (that call sub-process) directly with lisa-invoke and also as a .mar i've built and deployed alongside. My question is: is there any advantage to generating and deploying the .mar file when I'm clearly able to execute the .tst + config + staging, etc, as building/deploying this file file take time/resources.

     

    Is there a speed benefit, or some other advantage to building the .mar vs. straight .tst / .ste execution? I hope that helps clarify.



  • 4.  Re: .Mar file advantages
    Best Answer

    Posted Jan 17, 2017 05:45 PM

    Hi Jason

     

    It all depends on what you need to do.  Some customers go the mar route since they need a way for a test to be portable across devtest environments.  If you are just doing a basic test on a single system under test,  you may not want to go the mar route.  If you have multiple environments with different versions of the app you want to test,  and those test you are running are tailored to the version of the build you are running,  you may want to go the mar route.  Its all up to the requirements you need to meet

     

    Hope this helps.

     

    Joe



  • 5.  Re: .Mar file advantages

    Posted Jan 17, 2017 05:57 PM

    Thanks Joe. It sounds like the primary advantage is portability, which isn't our biggest pain point, performance is because we're putting the Lisa Server under heavy load.

     

    I was hoping there was some perf benefit to a mar over loose tst/config/staging files. Thanks all for the help.

    -Jason