Setting Variables
In addition to the methods you have already seen, variables can also be set as follows:
- Via the Set variable node,
- as the return value of a procedure,
- as the result value of QF-Test nodes like the Fetch text node, the Fetch geometry node, the Fetch index node and the Check node,
- in the 'Variable definitions' table of the 'Test-suite' node, the 'Test case' node, the 'Test step' node, the 'Sequence' node and others like the 'If' node or 'Loop' node,
- via command line parameters.
For information about the best place where to define a variable please refer to the next section.
You can insert a Set variable node via the menu item »Insert«-»Miscellaneous«-»Set variable«. In its details you can specifiy whether the value should be bound as a local or a global variable.
The following figure shows the details of a Set variable node. (You can find it
as the first node of the Setup node.) It defines
a variable named client. It is a global variable as the Local variable attribute
has not been checked.
When you want to set a variable as the result of a procedure call you need to specify the variable name in the 'Variable for return value' attribute of the procedure call. Within the procedure itself you have to add a Return node with the value to be returned as the last node to be executed.
The next figure shows a theoretical example of a procedure which returns a value.
The procedure fetches the discount value displayed in the
SUT and returns it to the calling test case. There, the receiving variable
is named Discount and declared as a local variable.
The Fetch text node of above example is one of the QF-Test nodes directly setting a variable value. You need to specify the variable name in the attribute called accordingly. Again, you have the choice whether to make it local or global.
Quite a number of nodes have a 'Variable definitions' table where you may define variables local to a procedure or a test case. If the respective node is part of a procedure the variable will be local to the procedure. Otherwise it will be local to the respective test case. Variables bound to the test suite node can be accessed from all nodes within the test suite.
In debugging mode, all nodes you can bind a variable to will show up on the variable bindings table when entered.
You can enter variables in the command line via the parameter -variable.
For details please refer to the manual, chapter 'Command line arguments and exit codes'.