Introduction

Connecting to DTP allows you to:

obtain the network license,
extend team-working capabilities, such as sharing test configurations, static analysis rules, and project settings,
import findings from DTP, and
report local analysis results to a centralized database¹.

¹ Reporting local analysis results to DTP requires configuring the DTP reporting settings in the .properties file; see Sending Results and Publishing Source Code to DTP.

See About the Parasoft Development Testing Workflow for additional information.

Configuring Connection to DTP Server

To connect to a DTP Server:

In your IDE, click Parasoft in the menu bar and choose Options.
Select DTP.
Check Enable and enter the DTP Server Base URL and authentication information.
If DTP is deployed to a location other than the root of the host server, the URL should include a context path (a relative path from the host name). This may be the case if your organization uses a reverse proxy. For example: https://mydtp.mycompany.com:8443/contextPath. Refer to the DTP documentation for additional information about reverse proxy server configuration and context path configuration.
You can click Test Connection to verify the settings.
If you use OpenID Connect for authentication on DTP, provide the Base URL of your DTP server, then configure the connection with the OpenID Connect server; see Configuring OpenID Connect. When you successfully connect to your OpenID Connect server, the DTP page will automatically display the information.
In the Project area, click Configure, then select a project stored in DTP; this allows you to retrieve settings associated with this project, as well as import findings assigned to this project (as described in Importing Static Analysis Findings).
Click Apply to save the settings.

DTP Server will automatically configure your license (see step 2).

Parasoft dotTEST 2024.1 > Connecting to DTP > image2023-4-7_11-0-17.png

Configuring OpenID Connect in the UI

DTP ships with support for OpenID Connect user authentication (see the DTP User Guide for details). If OpenID Connect is enabled for your DTP server, you must configure dotTEST to authenticate users via OpenID Connect.

In your IDE, click Parasoft in the menu bar and choose Options.
Choose OpenID Connect.
Check Enable.
Configure the following options:
- Issuer URI: The URL of your OpenID Connect server.
- Client ID: The ID registered on your OpenID Connect server.
- Client Secret: The application's password to the OpenID Connect server.
- Scopes: A space-separated list of scopes used during authentication to authorize access to a user's details.
- Callback host: The local callback host required to communicate with the OpenID Connect server. The following options are available:
  - localhost: The localhost address will be used for communication.
  - 127.0.0.1: The loopback IP address 127.0.0.1 will be used for communication.
- Callback port: The callback port number for communication with the OpenID Connect server. The following options are available:
  - Automatically select an open port: Automatically selects an open port (recommended).
  - Use port: Allows you to manually specify the port number.
- Callback timeout: Specifies, in seconds, the maximum time the browser will wait for user credentials (see step 6).
Click Test Authentication or Apply to open the OpenID Connect authentication page in your browser.
Provide your credentials in the browser window that opens. The authentication page may resemble the following:
Close the browser window when the authentication confirmation is displayed and continue in your IDE.
Click Apply to apply the changes.

The Status panel displays the current OpenID Connect authentication status.

About the Parasoft Development Testing Workflow

In addition to providing licensing and shared assets for testing and analyzing your software under development, Parasoft DTP collects and merges data points from Parasoft tools, third-party analysis tools, and external systems, such as bug tracking and requirements tracking systems. It aggregates and prioritizes data, as well as performs additional analysis to help you optimize development processes. Using your code analysis and test execution tool with DTP enables you to consistently apply quality practices across teams and throughout the SDLC.

The following illustration shows the general workflow.

Parasoft dotTEST 2024.1 > Connecting to DTP > dtp-wkflow-2018-01.png

Integrating Parasoft Tools with the Build

Parasoft tools ship with plugins for integration with your build tools (i.e., Maven, Ant, Gradle, MS Build, make, etc.). These integrations allow you to analyze code and send data to DTP automatically as part of the automated build processes and continuous integration (CI).

Capturing Observations

When the analysis tool is running, it captures massive amounts of detailed data associated with the code referred to as “observations.” Observations are code quality data, such as static analysis violations, unit test failures, metrics, etc., as well as logistical information about the code, such as authorship, scope, and source control location.

Converting Data into Findings

When observations are sent to DTP, they are converted into “findings” and stored in the database. Findings are observations that have been analyzed, normalized, and aggregated into actionable data.

Importing DTP Findings to the Desktop

You can import priorities and filtered findings from DTP directly into your IDE so that issues can be addressed.

Continuing the Cycle

When you check code back into source control, the continuous integration process picks up the change, and the workflow is repeated. This ensures that defects are detected and prevented from becoming software bugs later in the development process when the costs of remediation are much higher.