For distributed testing or to debug fixture code locally it can be helpful to connect to a manually started SlimService

The below configuration option is useful in two scenarios

1) Pretesting on a developer workstation

GIVEN you run a central FitNesse Wiki
WHEN your developer did some code changes on his workstation
AND he wants to see if the test still pass
THEN you can start a SlimService on his workstation manual
AND can execute all tests from your central Wiki

2) Distributed Testing

Given you run a central FitNesse Wiki on Linux
WHEN you need to test some .net code on Windows
THEN you can start a .Net SlimService on your Windows Server manual and run it in daemon mode
AND can execute the test case from your central Wiki

Configure the test system as below:

!define MANUALLY_START_TEST_RUNNER (true)
!define slim.pool.size (1)
!define SLIM_PORT {YOUR TEST PORT}
!define SLIM_HOST {WORKSTATION or SERVER NAME}


To demonstrate this we connect to the local Fitnesse Wiki webserver. This should connect but fail with a message that no Slim Header has been provided.
Tip: Increase the slim.timeout if you need more time to startup the SlimService manual
Important: !define slim.pool.size (1) to avoid to try any other port than the port you specified.
Note: if run from Junit no wiki server is started and this test would fail. The tag 'noJunit' has been added to remove it from Junit testing. :)

script
create page TestPage with content !define TEST_SYSTEM {SLIM} !define slim.timeout {1} !define MANUALLY_START_TEST_RUNNER (true) !define slim.pool.size (1) !define SLIM_PORT {8080} !define SLIM_HOST {127.0.0.1}
check request page TestPage?test 200
ensure content matches class="error".{0,60}SlimError: Timeout while reading slim header from client. Check that you are connecting to the right port and that the slim client is running.
show collapsed content
check request page TestPage?executionLog 200
ensure content matches Command.{0,20}Connection to running SlimService: 127.0.0.1:8080
show collapsed content