Dependencies
Dependencies are a very powerful feature for handling setup and cleanup requirements for test cases automatically. The goal is to isolate test cases so that each one can be run independently without interfering with others. This is a very important requirement for things like testing arbitrary sub-sets of test cases, for example to re-test only failed tests, or during test-development where it must be possible to quickly run and debug any given test case.
Dependency
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Dependency nodes are used to implement advanced, automatic handling of setup and cleanup requirements for Test sets and Test cases. A detailed description of the Dependency mechanism is given in section 8.6. This section focuses on formal requirements for the Dependency node and its attributes. As Dependencies are complex, they should be reused as much as possible. This can be done by grouping Test cases with identical dependencies in a Test set and have them inherit the Dependency of the Test set. However, this mechanism alone is not flexible enough, so a Dependency can also be implemented just like a Procedure and placed among the Procedures of a test suite to be referenced from a Dependency reference node. For this to work, the Name attribute is mandatory and it also has a list of Parameter default values that can be overridden in the referencing node. The Characteristic variables of a Dependency are part of its identity and play an important role in the dependency resolution mechanism. |
Contained in: Test suite, Test set, Test case, Procedures, Package.
Children: Zero or more Dependency references on which the Dependency is based, optional Setup and Cleanup nodes and an optional Error handler followed by zero or more Catch nodes.
Execution: Normally Dependencies are executed only indirectly in the setup phase of a Test set or Test case. If a Dependency node is executed interactively, the dependency stack is resolved as described in section 8.6.
Attributes:
- Name
-
A Dependency is identified by its name, so you should assign a name with a meaning that is easy to recognize and remember.
Variable: No
Restrictions: Must not be empty or contain the characters '.' or '#'.
- Name for run log and report
-
A separate name to be used for run log and report. This is useful to differentiate between multiple executions with potentially different values for the Characteristic variables.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None
- Characteristic variables
-
These variables are part of a Dependency's identity. During Dependency resolution as described in section 8.6 two Dependencies are considered equal only if they are one and the same node and the run-time values of all their Characteristic variables are identical. Additionally, the values of the Characteristic variables are stored during the setup phase of the Dependency. Later, when the Dependency is rolled back, these settings will be temporarily restored for the cleanup phase.
Characteristic variables have the same value at a Cleanup node as during the execution of the corresponding Setup node - regardless of the value of the variables in the current test case.
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Always execute, even in test suite and test set nodes
-
Normally a Dependency is only executed if it belongs to a Test case node. Dependencies in Test suite or Test set nodes are simply inherited by the Test case descendants of these nodes. However, in some cases it is useful to resolve a Dependency early, for example when the Dependency provides parameters for a test run that are required to evaluate a Condition of a subsequent Test case. This can be achieved by activating this option.
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Forced cleanup
-
Normally Dependencies are only rolled back and their cleanup code executed as required by the dependency resolution mechanism described in section 8.6. In some cases it makes sense to force partial cleanup of the dependency stack immediately after a Test case finishes. This is what the Forced cleanup attribute is for. If this option is activated, the dependency stack will be rolled back at least up to and including this Dependency .
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Parameter default values
-
Here you can define default or fallback values for the Dependency's parameters (see chapter 6). Defining these values also serves as documentation and is a valuable time-saver when using the dialog to select the Dependency for the Referenced dependency attribute of a Dependency reference. See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the table.
Variable: Variable names no, values yes
Restrictions: None
- QF-Test ID
-
At the moment the QF-Test ID attribute has no meaning for this type of node.
Variable: No
Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').
- Delay before/after
-
These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: Valid number >= 0
- Comment
-
Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test suite.
Note For detailed documentation, especially for Test set, Test case or Procedure nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing Alt+Return or by clicking the
button.
You can trigger special behaviors of some nodes using doctags, please see Doctags.
If you enter text in the comment field of a Component node, the node will be considered as 'used' when you want to mark or delete unused components.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None
Dependency reference
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A Dependency reference is simply a stand-in for a Dependency defined in some
other place, typically a Package. The name of the referenced Dependency is
determined by its Name and the Names of its Package
parents. These are concatenated with a dot ('.') as separator, starting with the
outermost Package and ending in the Dependency's name. Thus to reference a
Dependency named See section 26.1 about how to reference a Dependency in a different test suite. |
Contained in: Test suite, Test set, Test case and Dependency
Children: None
Execution: Normally Dependency references are executed only indirectly in the setup phase of a Test set or Test case. If a Dependency reference node is executed interactively, the referenced Dependency is determined and the dependency stack resolved accordingly as described in section 8.6.
Attributes:
- Referenced dependency
-
The full name of the Dependency, created from the Names of its Package parents and its own Name, joined by a dot. The "Select dependency" button
![[Select dependency]](icons/select_dependency.png "Select dependency")
above the attribute brings up a dialog in which you can select the Dependency
interactively. By selecting the "Copy parameters" checkbox you can adopt the
Dependency's Parameter default values as parameters for the Dependency reference
node to save typing.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: Must not be empty.
- Dependency namespace
-
Normally there is only a single stack of dependencies, but in some cases, e.g. when mixing tests for independent SUT clients, it can be useful to have independent sets of dependencies for different parts of the test, so that resolving the dependencies for one part doesn't necessarily tear down everything required for a different part.
By setting the Dependency namespace attribute of a Dependency reference node you can tell QF-Test to resolve the target dependency in that namespace. The default dependency stack will be completely ignored in that case. If there is a dependency stack remaining from a previous dependency resolution in the same namespace it will be used for comparison instead, otherwise a new stack will be created. For an example please refer to Name spaces for Dependencies.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None
- Always execute, even in test suite and test set nodes
-
Normally a Dependency is only executed if it belongs to a Test case node. Dependencies in Test suite or Test set nodes are simply inherited by the Test case descendants of these nodes. However, in some cases it is useful to resolve a Dependency early, for example when the Dependency provides parameters for a test run that are required to evaluate a Condition of a subsequent Test case. This can be achieved by activating this option.
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Variable definitions
-
These variables override the Parameter default values of the Dependency referenced by this Dependency reference. See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the table.
4.2+ In case you want to re-set the order of the parameters like they are sorted in the called dependency, you can select »Re-set parameter order«.
Variable: Variable names no, values yes
Restrictions: None
- QF-Test ID
-
At the moment the QF-Test ID attribute has no meaning for this type of node.
Variable: No
Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').
- Delay before/after
-
These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: Valid number >= 0
- Comment
-
Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test suite.
Note For detailed documentation, especially for Test set, Test case or Procedure nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing Alt+Return or by clicking the
button.
You can trigger special behaviors of some nodes using doctags, please see Doctags.
If you enter text in the comment field of a Component node, the node will be considered as 'used' when you want to mark or delete unused components.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None
Setup
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This node is just like a Sequence except for its special place in a Dependency, Test set or Test case node. |
Contained in: Dependency, Test set or Test case
Children: Any
Execution: The Variable definitions of the Setup are bound and its child nodes executed one by one. After the execution of the last child is complete, the variables are unbound again.
Attributes:
- Name
-
The name of a sequence is a kind of short description. It is displayed in the tree view, so it should be concise and say something about the function of the sequence.
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Variable definitions
-
This is where you define the values of the variables that remain bound during the execution of the sequence's child nodes (see chapter 6). See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the table.
Variable: Variable names no, values yes
Restrictions: None
- Maximum error level
-
When a warning, error or exception occurs during a test run, the state of the corresponding node of the run log is set accordingly. This state is normally propagated to the parent node in a way that ensures that the error state of a run log node represents the worst of its child nodes' states. Using this attribute, the maximum error state that the run log node for a sequence will propagate, can be limited.
Note This value has no effect on the way exceptions are handled. It only affects the error states of the run log nodes and by that the exit code of QF-Test when run in batch mode (see. section 1.7). It also has no effect on the creation of compact run logs (see command line argument
-compact). The node for a sequence in which a warning, error or exception occurs is never removed from a compact log, even if the error is not propagated due to the setting of this attribute.Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- QF-Test ID
-
At the moment the QF-Test ID attribute has no meaning for this type of node.
Variable: No
Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').
- Delay before/after
-
These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: Valid number >= 0
- Comment
-
Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test suite.
Note For detailed documentation, especially for Test set, Test case or Procedure nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing Alt+Return or by clicking the
button.
You can trigger special behaviors of some nodes using doctags, please see Doctags.
If you enter text in the comment field of a Component node, the node will be considered as 'used' when you want to mark or delete unused components.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None
Cleanup
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This node is just like a Sequence except for its special place in a Dependency, Test set or Test case node. |
Contained in: Dependency, Test set or Test case
Children: Any
Execution: The Variable definitions of the Cleanup are bound and its child nodes executed one by one. After the execution of the last child is complete, the variables are unbound again.
Attributes:
- Name
-
The name of a sequence is a kind of short description. It is displayed in the tree view, so it should be concise and say something about the function of the sequence.
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Variable definitions
-
This is where you define the values of the variables that remain bound during the execution of the sequence's child nodes (see chapter 6). See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the table.
Variable: Variable names no, values yes
Restrictions: None
- Maximum error level
-
When a warning, error or exception occurs during a test run, the state of the corresponding node of the run log is set accordingly. This state is normally propagated to the parent node in a way that ensures that the error state of a run log node represents the worst of its child nodes' states. Using this attribute, the maximum error state that the run log node for a sequence will propagate, can be limited.
Note This value has no effect on the way exceptions are handled. It only affects the error states of the run log nodes and by that the exit code of QF-Test when run in batch mode (see. section 1.7). It also has no effect on the creation of compact run logs (see command line argument
-compact). The node for a sequence in which a warning, error or exception occurs is never removed from a compact log, even if the error is not propagated due to the setting of this attribute.Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- QF-Test ID
-
At the moment the QF-Test ID attribute has no meaning for this type of node.
Variable: No
Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').
- Delay before/after
-
These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: Valid number >= 0
- Comment
-
Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test suite.
Note For detailed documentation, especially for Test set, Test case or Procedure nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing Alt+Return or by clicking the
button.
You can trigger special behaviors of some nodes using doctags, please see Doctags.
If you enter text in the comment field of a Component node, the node will be considered as 'used' when you want to mark or delete unused components.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None
Error handler
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This node is just like a Sequence except for its special place in a Dependency (see section 8.6). |
Contained in: Dependency
Children: Any
Execution: The Variable definitions of the Error handler are bound and its child nodes executed one by one. After the execution of the last child is complete, the variables are unbound again.
Attributes:
- Name
-
The name of a sequence is a kind of short description. It is displayed in the tree view, so it should be concise and say something about the function of the sequence.
Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- Variable definitions
-
This is where you define the values of the variables that remain bound during the execution of the sequence's child nodes (see chapter 6). See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the table.
Variable: Variable names no, values yes
Restrictions: None
- Maximum error level
-
When a warning, error or exception occurs during a test run, the state of the corresponding node of the run log is set accordingly. This state is normally propagated to the parent node in a way that ensures that the error state of a run log node represents the worst of its child nodes' states. Using this attribute, the maximum error state that the run log node for a sequence will propagate, can be limited.
Note This value has no effect on the way exceptions are handled. It only affects the error states of the run log nodes and by that the exit code of QF-Test when run in batch mode (see. section 1.7). It also has no effect on the creation of compact run logs (see command line argument
-compact). The node for a sequence in which a warning, error or exception occurs is never removed from a compact log, even if the error is not propagated due to the setting of this attribute.Variable: No
Restrictions: None
- QF-Test ID
-
At the moment the QF-Test ID attribute has no meaning for this type of node.
Variable: No
Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').
- Delay before/after
-
These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: Valid number >= 0
- Comment
-
Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test suite.
Note For detailed documentation, especially for Test set, Test case or Procedure nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing Alt+Return or by clicking the
button.
You can trigger special behaviors of some nodes using doctags, please see Doctags.
If you enter text in the comment field of a Component node, the node will be considered as 'used' when you want to mark or delete unused components.
Variable: Yes
Restrictions: None