Alces – A Tool for Testing JDF Compliance

Job Definition Format (JDF) is an industry standard that specifies a data format for describing print jobs and exchanging production information between systems in the print production workflow. Implementing JDF support in a device, such as a digital printing press, is a complex task. Developers need tools for testing that their implementations conform with the specifications provided by CIP4, the industry consortium that maintains the JDF standard. This presentation will introduce Alces – a tool for testing the JDF conformance of devices. Alces connects and sends JMF messages to a device and executes test cases on all data returned by the device. Alces can be run in automated mode suitable for regression testing, or in interactive mode suitable for manual user-controlled testing.