XPect allows test developers to describe regression tests for message oriented systems in XML. XPect leans on JUnit and XPect test should be kicked off as JUnit TestSuites.

The central concept of XPect is to lean on schema and validating
editors in order to define tests to be performed against message
oriented services.

The execution of particulare tests found inside of a Suite of test
defined in this way can then be run from Java code making regression
testing of message oriented systems via JUnit faster to produce and
more respondent to schema changes. As of this writting only a narrow
sliver of HTTP services are supported.

However, it is already nicely meeting the authors needs and the only
way for growth to continue is to give others with different needs
access. Additionally, the author has previously implemented a similar
system for JMS systems and intends for JMS to be supported by XPect.

TestCases supply the ability to expect a response of
some type. (usually after sending a request) The response will be
sorted in a manor that is specific to the type of TestCase being used.
This requires the user to have someknowledge of how the type of
TestCase when using XPath expressions as all PXath expressions within a TestCase are always evaluated in the context of the TestCase element.

Since the resultant document after a request can be see after
running the tests this does not really make for a very high barrier.
Since all data sent and received in ultimately placed in an XML document, XPath is key to utilizing XPect. XPath is found in three locations in XPect:

• Asserts – a reference to assert methods in JUnit and internally an junit.framework.
• TakeAways- named values that are scoped to the test case they appear in.
• Substitutions – evalutated in TestCases before the actual execution
  of a test but after the preprocessing of the tests in question as well
  as the completion of all of its dependencies.