I love programming languages. They have fascinated me ever since I first learned to program my TI-83 Plus calculator in ninth grade, many years ago. When I studied computer science in college, I learned how parsers, interpreters, and compilers work. During my internships at IBM, I worked on a language named Enterprise Generation Language as both a tester and a developer. At NetApp, I even developed my own language named DS for test automation. Languages are so much fun to learn, build, and extend.

Today, even though I do not actively work on compilers, I still do some pretty interesting things with languages and testing. I strongly advocate for Behavior-Driven Development and its domain-specific language (DSL) Gherkin. In fact, as I wrote in my article Behavior-Driven Blasphemy, I support using Gherkin-based BDD test frameworks for test automation even if a team is not also doing BDD’s collaborative activities. Why? Gherkin is the world’s first major off-the-shelf DSL for test automation, and it doesn’t require the average tester to know the complexities of compiler theory. DSLs like Gherkin can make tests easier to read, faster to write, and more reliable to run. They provide a healthy separation of concerns between test cases and test code. After working on successful large-scale test automation projects with C# and SpecFlow, I don’t think I could go back to traditional test frameworks.

I’m not the only one who thinks this way. Here’s a tweet from Dinis Cruz, CTO and CISO at Glasswall, after he read one of my articles:

Another great post by @AutomationPanda on the value of BDD

I would actually expand this statement "The best solution for test automation is a domain-specific language."
with

"Continuous refactoring of the App and Test code will evolve into a DSL"https://t.co/tpazQdueWC

— Dinis Cruz (@DinisCruz) December 27, 2020

Dinis then tweeted at me to invite me to speak about using DSLs for testing at the Open Security Summit in 2021:

Hi @AutomationPanda I would like to expand on the idea of "using DSLs for Security testing", are you around in January to participate in an @opensecsummit session around it?https://t.co/r2DlGYGxp3

CC: @OSS_Katie @DGelici

— Dinis Cruz (@DinisCruz) December 27, 2020

Now, I’m not a “security guy” at all, but I do know a thing or two about DSLs and testing. So, I gladly accepted the invitation to speak! I delivered my talk, “Using DSLs for Security Testing” virtually on Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 10am US Eastern. I also uploaded my slides to GitHub at AndyLPK247/using-dsls-for-security-testing. Check out the YouTube recording here:

This talk was not meant to be a technical demo or tutorial. Instead, it was meant to be a “think big” proposal. The main question I raised was, “How can we use DSLs for security testing?” I used my own story to illustrate the value languages deliver, particularly for testing. My call to action breaks that question down into three parts:

1. Can DSLs make security testing easier to do and thereby more widely practiced?
2. Is Gherkin good enough for security testing, or do we need to make a DSL specific to security?
3. Would it be possible to write a set of “standard” or “universal” security tests using a DSL that anyone could either run directly or use as a template?

My goal for this talk was to spark a conversation about DSLs and security testing. Immediately after my talk, Luis Saiz shared two projects he’s working on regarding DSLs and security: SUSTO and Mist. Dinis also invited me back for a session at the Open Source Summit Mini Summit in February to have a follow-up roundtable discussion for my talk. I can’t wait to explore this idea further. It’s an exciting new space for me.

If this topic sparks your interest, be sure to watch my talk recording, and then join us live in February 2021 for the next Open Source Summit event. Virtual sessions are free to join. Many thanks again to Dinis and the whole team behind Open Source Summit for inviting me to speak and organizing the events.