T0 – Conformance Test Architecture
Version: 0.9.0
Status: Release Candidate
Type: Informative Test Architecture Specification
Copyright © 2026 inside workspace GmbH
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose
This specification defines the architecture, organization and execution model of the KAPRI Conformance Test Suite.
The Conformance Test Suite verifies conformance of implementations with the normative specifications of the KAPRI Specification Suite.
The Test Suite validates the Reference Implementation as well as independent implementations.
1.2 Scope
This specification defines
- the organization of the Conformance Test Suite,
- the execution order of the test groups,
- the responsibilities of each test,
- the relationship between normative requirements and executable tests,
- the structure of the individual test groups.
It does not define
- implementation-specific optimizations,
- production deployment,
- security policies,
- performance requirements.
1.3 Relationship to Other Specifications
The Test Suite validates conformance with
- S0
- SC0
- SC1
- S1
- S2
- S3
- S4
Every executable test SHALL trace back to one or more normative requirements defined by these specifications.
2 Architecture
2.1 Purpose
The Conformance Test Suite provides an executable framework for verifying conformance with the KAPRI Specification Suite.
It validates structural, semantic and cryptographic conformance of independent implementations.
2.2 Test Hierarchy
T0 Test Architecture ├── T1 Public Key Infrastructure ├── T2 Package Generation ├── T3 Package Validation ├── T4 Secure Delivery └── T5 Interoperability
2.3 Execution Order
The test groups SHALL be executed in the following order.
PKI ↓ Package Generation ↓ Package Validation ↓ Secure Delivery ↓ Interoperability
The defined execution order reflects the logical dependencies between the test groups. Individual test groups MAY also be executed independently where their prerequisites are satisfied.
3 Test Design Principles
Every executable test SHALL
- verify one clearly defined requirement,
- produce deterministic results,
- be repeatable,
- be platform independent,
- use only publicly documented interfaces.
Every test SHALL provide
- Purpose
- Input
- Output
- Expected Result
- Validation Criteria
4 Reference Package
The Conformance Test Suite uses two complementary kinds of test material.
Minimal, single-purpose JSON examples illustrate the shape of each individual schema in isolation and are used throughout T2 and T3.
The KAPRI Reference Package is a realistic, multi-document Knowledge Asset Package, generated from real content and containing encrypted Package Files. It provides the shared test artifact used where a minimal example is insufficient, in particular for interoperability testing (T5).
JSON Schemas, PKI certificates and cryptographic keys are provided independently of the Reference Package and are not part of it.
5 Ruby Reference Implementation
The KAPRI Reference Implementation is implemented in Ruby.
The programming language used by the Reference Implementation is informative and does not constrain independent implementations.
The accompanying Conformance Tests are therefore provided as independent Ruby scripts.
Each script SHALL
- perform exactly one logical task,
- expose a documented command line interface,
- expose a reusable Ruby API,
- produce deterministic output.
6 Test Organization
Each test SHALL be documented as an individual Knowledge Asset.
Every test consists of
Specification ↓ Ruby Script ↓ Example ↓ Expected Result
The executable Ruby script is an implementation artifact of the corresponding Knowledge Asset.
7 Conformance
An implementation claiming conformance with the KAPRI Test Architecture SHALL
- execute the test groups in the defined order,
- satisfy all mandatory validation criteria,
- produce equivalent results for every applicable validation category defined by S0 – Knowledge Asset Package Architecture Specification, including:
- Technical Validation:
- Package Structure
- Package Integrity
- Digital Signature
- Certificate Chain
- Consumer Decisions:
- Issuer Trust
- Product Support
- Version Compatibility
- preserve the semantics defined by the normative specifications.