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Test-FitNesse-Slim-1.00
/ README.md

Test::FitNesse::Slim

Test::FitNesse::Slim enables FitNesse acceptance testing of applications written in Perl. It implements the server side of FitNesse's SLiM (Simple List Invocation Method) protocol and lets FitNesse invoke idiomatic Perl fixtures. The current distribution version is 1.00. The declared minimum is Perl 5.36.0. The full development and FitNesse acceptance suites are verified with Perl 5.40.1; a dedicated CI job tests configuration, build, installation, development tests, and the installed pipe service on Perl 5.36. FitNesse integration is tested against v20251025. This is not a claim of full compatibility with Java reflection, Java-only plugins, or every FitNesse integration.

Known boundaries include Java reflection and overload-based fixture APIs, Java-side comparator/rendering plugin context in nested PageDriver tests, and FitNesse's Nashorn-backed table expressions. These are described in the compatibility documents indexed below.

Install

After the distribution is available from CPAN, install it with:

cpanm Test::FitNesse::Slim

To install from a source checkout or release archive, install declared dependencies, then build with Module::Build:

cpanm --installdeps .
perl Build.PL
./Build
./Build test
./Build install

For a local prefix:

perl Build.PL --install_base="$HOME/perl5"
./Build
./Build install
export PATH="$HOME/perl5/bin:$PATH"
export PERL5LIB="$HOME/perl5/lib/perl5${PERL5LIB:+:$PERL5LIB}"

The runtime dependency is HTML::TreeBuilder. Build/test prerequisites are listed in cpanfile and Build.PL. perldoc Test::FitNesse::Slim describes the server entry point; the docs/ directory contains the developer and compatibility reference.

Start the service

For FitNesse-managed SLiM v0.5 pipes, configure the page, suite, or FitNesse root with:

!define TEST_SYSTEM {slim}
!define COMMAND_PATTERN {%m}
!define TEST_RUNNER {/absolute/path/to/perl-slim}
!define SLIM_PORT {1}

The FitNesse process must inherit Perl's module path for external fixture packages. For example:

export PERL5LIB="/path/to/my/fixtures:/path/to/perl5/lib/perl5${PERL5LIB:+:$PERL5LIB}"

FitNesse then launches perl-slim 1; stdin and stdout carry framed SLiM messages. Protocol bytes use stdout exclusively. Fixture output is tunneled through FitNesse's v0.5 diagnostic records on stderr.

For a separately managed TCP v0.5 listener, start:

perl-slim 8099

TCP binds to 127.0.0.1 by default. Configure FitNesse's SLiM host as 127.0.0.1 and its port as 8099 (or the selected listener port). To bind to a specific IPv4 address assigned to the host, use --bind-address before or after the port:

perl-slim --bind-address 192.0.2.10 8099

Use --bind-address 0.0.0.0 8099 to listen on all IPv4 interfaces. TCP does not authenticate clients; access to the listener grants the ability to invoke Perl fixtures. Remote binding is intended only for trusted networks. Loopback binding limits network access but is not authentication or a sandbox; local processes can still connect and invoke fixtures. Pipe mode is the normal FitNesse-managed transport.

The command accepts -v for diagnostics and -s SECONDS for a per-statement timeout before the port argument. Port 1 selects pipes and cannot be combined with --bind-address; other valid ports select TCP. The same bind_address option is available through Test::FitNesse::Slim::Server->new.

External fixture example

The standalone fixture in examples/lib/Example/Counter.pm uses an integer constructor argument, maps the SLiM method addAmount to Perl's add_amount, and declares typed argument/result conversion. Its FitNesse page is examples/fitnesse/CounterTest.wiki.

Copy examples/lib/Example/Counter.pm from the extracted distribution into an external fixture directory, then include both that directory and the installed module directory in PERL5LIB. Replace the placeholder paths in examples/fitnesse/CounterTest.wiki with the installed executable and fixture directory, and copy the page content into a FitNesse page. Use the pipe configuration above; the page should report two passing assertions. The fixture conversion contract and complete invocation example are in docs/fixture-conversion.md.

Business-oriented acceptance example

examples/order-management/ contains a separate FitNesse suite for customer eligibility, pricing, inventory, and order submission. It uses decision, script, query, ordered-query, and scenario tables, and runs against a temporary installation of the packaged distribution:

bin/test-example-order-management
bin/test-example-order-management --transport tcp

The runner includes wiki-only authoring exercises and verifies that the installed Perl service handled the tests. It is separate from the upstream 50-page and 93-page regression inventories.

Documentation

Start at docs/index.md for the documentation map. The acceptance baselines distinguish isolated-page checks from native FitNesse suite execution and pipe transport from TCP; a baseline match means no unexpected change relative to reviewed results, not complete SLiM conformance.

License

Copyright 2010-2026 Greg Bacon. The recipient may choose to use, modify, and redistribute Test::FitNesse::Slim's original implementation under the GNU General Public License version 1 or any later version, or Artistic License 1.0. The complete texts are GPL and Artistic. Test-only FitNesse fixture adaptations have separate Common Public License terms; see LICENSE and THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.