Controls
step controls help to design and structure test plans. They offer various functionality such as variable assignment, control structure or data source definition.
General controls
Set
Sets a value to a variable, which can then be accessed throughout Plans and sub Plans. Combined with the power of groovy, almost anything can be achieved in a Set node.
Properties
- Key : the name of the variable where step will write to
- Expression : a string or a groovy expression to be interpreted (with groovy evaluation enabled)
Examples
Properties
There is no specific property using this control with natural language, see below example for usage.
Examples
// Set - City to Basel
Set City="Basel"
// Echo - City
Echo City
// Set - City to Bern
Set City="Bern"
// Echo - City
Echo City
Not yet documented.
Echo
Used to print data in the report nodes of a plan, mostly for debugging or information purposes
Properties
- Text : the data you want to display (can be a groovy expression if Groovy mode is toggled)
Examples
Properties
There is no special property in natural language.
Examples
// Echo - Hello World !
Echo "Hello World"
Not yet documented.
Sleep
Causes the thread to sleep
Properties
- Duration : the amount of time to sleep in ms.
Examples
Properties
There is no specific property using this control with natural language, see below example for usage.
Examples
// Sleep 100ms
Sleep 100ms
// Sleep 1s
Sleep 1s
// Sleep 1m
Sleep 1m
// Sleep 1h
Sleep 1h
Not yet documented.
Script
Executes any arbitrary groovy code. The script context is local, which means that variable used in the script control cannot be accessed externally by other nodes.
Properties
- Script: the groovy code to be executed
Examples
Properties
There is no special property in natural language.
Examples
-
// Script - A custom script
Script
result = 5 + 7;
-
Not yet documented.
Check
Asserts the given expression, useful for validating the output of the parent node.
Properties
- Expression : the expression to be asserted
Examples
This control is not supported using natural language.
Not yet documented.
Assert
Validates the output of a keyword execution.
Properties
- Output attribute : the key containing the data needed for verification
- Operator : the type of verification.
- Expected value : the value you want to check against
Available operator values are :
- equals : asserts true if the specified output attribute value and the expected value are strictly equals
- begins with : asserts true if the specified output attribute value begins with the expected value
- contains : asserts true if the specified output attribute contains the expected value
- ends with : asserts true if the specified output attribute value ends with the expected value
- matches : asserts true if the specified output attribute value matches the expected value (regular expression can be used as expected value)
Examples
Properties
There is no specific property using this control with natural language, see below example for usage.
Examples
// FindCity
FindCity
// Assert - City equals "Basel"
Assert City = "Basel"
// Assert - City begins with "Basel"
Assert City beginsWith "Basel"
// Assert - City contains "Basel"
Assert City contains "Basel"
// Assert - City ends with "Basel"
Assert City endsWith "Basel"
// Assert - City matches "Basel" (regex)
Assert City ~ "Basel"
Not yet documented.
Export
Give the possibility to export the execution attachments to a specific location on the step Controller.
Properties
- Values : has to be “report.attachments” with groovy evaluation enabled
- File : the file or directory path where to export the attachments
- Prefix : prefix to be prepended to the exported file names
- Filter : regular expression to use in order to filter files to export on their name
Examples
This control is not supported using natural language.
Not yet documented.
Control Structure
Sequence
Guarantees the ordering of the child nodes, as displayed in the tree. Idea is to group nodes defined to be executed together.
Properties
- Continue sequence execution on error : specify if the sequence should continue until its end if an error occurred within
Pacing : minimum execution time for the whole sequence to be executed (in milliseconds) as a Long
Examples
Properties
- ContinueOnError : <true|false> specify if the sequence should continue until its end if an error occurred within
Pacing : minimum execution time for the whole sequence to be executed (in milliseconds) as a Long
Examples
// Sequence - Order Keywords execution Sequence ContinueOnError = true Pacing = 1000l // MyFirstKeyword MyFirstKeyword // MySecondKeyword MySecondKeyword End
Not yet documented.
If
Only executes the child nodes if the condition is met.
Properties
- Condition : the expression evaluated to know if the content of the node is executed
Examples
Properties
No condition for this control used with natural language. See below example for usage.
Examples
If 1==1
Echo "Condition met"
End
Not yet documented.
Switch / Case
Same as in any programming language, this 2 controls work in combination.
Switch property
- Expression : the expression to switch on to
Case property
- Value : the value to be potentially matched
Examples
This controls are not supported using natural language.
Not yet documented.
Synchronized
Guarantee thread safety within a test block by synchronizing all threads on the entire Test Execution.
Properties
No properties
Examples
Properties
No properties
Examples
Synchronized
// MyFirstKeyword
MyFirstKeyword
// MySecondKeyword
MySecondKeyword
End
Not yet documented.
For
Creates a For loop at execution time and iterates through its children
Properties
- Start : the initial value of the for loop
- End : the final value of the for loop (exit condition)
- Increment : the increment value at the end of each iteration
- Counter variable (handle) : the name of the variable containing the value of the iteration counter
Number of threads : the number of threads to use in order to parallelize the loop (i.e the execution of the children)
Examples
Properties
- Start : the initial value of the for loop
End : the final value of the for loop (exit condition)
Examples
// For - display counter value For 1 to 10 // Echo - counter value Echo counter End
Not yet documented.
While
Iterates over the node content until the condition is not met
Properties
- Condition : a groovy condition to be evaluated upon each iteration’s begin
- Pacing: : minimum execution time in ms for the node content to be executed as an Long
- Timeout : stop the control execution after the defined value as a Long (serves as a security)
- MaxIterations : stop th control execution after the define amount of iterations (serves as a security)
Examples
Properties
- Condition : a groovy condition to be evaluated upon each iteration’s begin. Please mind the “|” surrounding the condition expression and refer to [this section]() for more details.
- Pacing: : minimum execution time in ms for the node content to be executed as an Long
- Timeout : stop the control execution after the defined value as a Long (serves as a security)
- MaxIterations : stop the control execution after the define amount of iterations (serves as a security)
Examples
-
// While
While
Condition=|!"Hello World !".equals("Goodbye World !")|
Pacing=1000l
Timeout=5000l
MaxIterations=5
-
// Echo - Hello World
Echo "Hello World"
End
Not yet documented.
Keyword calls
CallKeyword
Technical node used as part of keyword invocation. Can be used explicitly in order to template keyword calling, due to exposure of the “name” input.
Properties
Same as in a regular Keyword call, but a name should be set in order to tell step which Keyword needs to be called. Used in conjunction with groovy, this can provide a powerful mechanism for Keyword Call templating.
Examples
Properties
Same as in a regular Keyword call, but a name should be set in order to tell step which Keyword needs to be called. Used in conjunction with groovy, this can provide a powerful mechanism for Keyword Call templating.
Limitations
You can only have String variable using natural language (i.e boolean, numbers and date are not supported). You can however use the Groovy String interpolation to resolve variable value directly in a String.
Examples
// CallKeyword - MyFirstKeyword
MyFirstKeyword location="Bern" date="01.07.2019" contact="${John Doe}"
// MySecondKeyword
MySecondKeyword
Not yet documented.
Session
Guarantees that the same session will be used for every child node’s execution (very important for stateful keywords which rely on a certain state as an initial condition). The session control also provide to Keywords the ability to share objects.
Properties
- Keyword routing : optional, for affinity patterns using selection criteria
Examples
Properties
- Keyword routing : optional, for affinity patterns using selection criteria (see below example for usage)
Examples
// Session
Session key1=value1 key2=value2
// InitWebDriver - And put it into session
InitWebDriver
// NavigateToUrl - But first get the driver from session
NavigateToUrl
End
Not yet documented.
Plan calls
CallPlan
Used to invoke a plan from within another plan
Properties
- keys & values : the plan you want to invoke, as for Keywords and CallKeywords, CallPlan can be used for templating Plan executions.
Examples
Properties
The only property exposed at the moment is the plan name to be called, passing inputs is not supported in natural language yet.
Examples
-
// Call Plan - mySubPlan
Call plan "mySubPlan"
-
Not yet documented.
PlaceHolder
Used to execute plan chunks passed from another plan. In conjunction with a plan call, this will be used to defer and delegate the execution of children nodes to another plan. The placeholder needs to be placed inside the target sub-plan as a positional marker. The delegated nodes should be set as children of the sub-plan’s node within the parent plan.
Properties
There is no specific property configurable for this control.
Examples
Main plan echoing the counter value while the for loop incrementing the counter is defined in a sub-plan as a placeholder :
Execution results :
This control is not supported using natural language.
Not yet documented.
Functional Testing
TestCase
Specific container for a group of nodes, will activate the top-level panel in the execution view for high-level test case execution monitoring.
Properties
Simply wrap your Test Plans with a test case
Examples
Properties
Simply wrap your Test Plans with a test case
Examples
TestCase
// MyFirstKeyword
MyFirstKeyword location="Bern" date="01.07.2019" contact="${John Doe}"
End
Not yet documented.
TestSet
Used to group up TestCase’s as a single unit and executing them in parallel
Properties
Simply wrap your TestCase’s with a TestSet controller, parallelism is derived from the global variable tec.execution.threads
Examples
Properties
Simply wrap your TestCase’s with a TestSet controller, parallelism is derived from the global variable tec.execution.threads
Examples
TestSet
TestCase
// CallKeyword - MyFirstKeyword
MyFirstKeyword location="Bern" date="01.07.2019" contact="${John Doe}"
End
TestCase
// CallKeyword - MySecondKeyword
MySecondKeyword
End
End
Not yet documented.
Load testing
ThreadGroup
Starts multiple threads which will execute the node content in parallel
Properties
- Number of threads : the number of threads to be started in parallel
- Number of iterations per thread : how many times the node content should be executed per thread
- Pacing : minimum execution time in ms for the node content to be executed (in milliseconds) as an Integer
- Rampup : define the duration in ms to start all the threads as an Integer. The threads startup is distributed according to that value in milliseconds and the number of threads. If no value is specified, the value Rampup will be equal to the defined Pacing
- Start offset : the duration in ms to wait before the Rampup starts as an Integer
- Maximum duration : the maximal execution time in ms for the whole thread group as an Integer
Examples
Properties
- Threads : the number of threads to be started in parallel
- Iterations : how many times the node content should be executed per thread
- Pacing : minimum execution time in ms for the node content to be executed as an Integer
- Rampup : define the duration in ms to start all the threads as an Integer. The threads startup is distributed according to that value in milliseconds and the number of threads. If no value is specified, the value Rampup will be equal to the defined Pacing
- Offset : the duration in ms to wait before the Rampup starts as an Integer
- MaxDuration : the maximal execution time in ms for the whole thread group as an Integer
Examples
-
// ThreadGroup
ThreadGroup
Threads=5
Iterations=5
Pacing=5000
Rampup=1000
Offset=100
MaxDuration=25000
-
// Echo - Hello World
Echo "Hello World"
End
Not yet documented.
TestScenario
Used to parallelize multiple ThreadGroups. Simply place ThreadGroups as children of the TestScenario.
Properties
There is no special property for this control.
Examples
Properties
There is no special property for this control.
Examples
TestScenario
-
// First ThreadGroup
ThreadGroup
-
// Echo - Hello World
Echo "Hello World"
End
-
// Second ThreadGroup
ThreadGroup
-
// Echo - Goodbye World
Echo "Goodbye World"
End
End
Not yet documented.
Data driven controls
DataSet
Used to iterate over rows of data in a table (the table itself can be stored in a database, a file, etc) and can be of different format (json, csv, excel, etc)
Common Properties
- Source type : define the source type object. Values could be : Excel, CSV, SQL, Flat file, Directory, Integer sequence, Json String, Google Sheet V4
- For write : define if the data source will be used to insert values
- Iterator handle : define a variable pointing to the current row
- Reset at end : define if once arrived at the end of the data source, the iterator handle should be reinitialized to the first row
Excel properties
- Excel file : the path to your source file
- Worksheet : the worksheet name in your source file (if blank, the first one in your sheet will be selected)
- Headers : check this box if your columns have header
Example
CSV properties
- CSV file : the path to your source file
- Delimiter : the delimiter used in your CSV file
Example
SQL properties
- Connection string : the string used to connect to your database. For example, using jdbc to connect to a MySQL database on localhost : “jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/dbname”
- Driver class : the driver full class name. For example, using jdbc for MySQL : “com.mysql.jdbc.Driver”
- Query : the SQL query to perform against your database to retrieve the data
- User : the username to connect to your database
- Password : the password to connect to your database
- Primary write key : the primary key to use in case you want to write back to your database
Flat file properties
- Flat file : the path to your source file
Directory properties
- Directory : the path to your directory
Integer sequence properties
- Start : value starting the sequence
- End : value ending the sequence
- Inc : increment value for the sequence
Json String properties
- Json string : the JSON document representing your data. The document has to represent of table of values with headers first, and then rows. For example :
{ "pagename" :
["Consulting", "Products"],
"url" :
["https://www.exense.ch/solutions",
"https://www.exense.ch/products"]}
Google Sheet V4 properties
- Service Account Key File : the path to your service account key file. Refer to Google documentation about service account key file creation.
- File Id : the Google Cloud unique identifier of your file. It can usually be extracted from the URL locating your file in the Cloud.
- Tab Name : the name of the tab to use in your source file (if blank, the first one in your file will be selected)
Common Properties
- SourceType : define the source type object. Values could be : excel, csv, file (for Flat file) or folder (for Directory). Other source type are not supported yet.
- File : the path to your source file
- ForWrite : define if the data source will be used to insert values
- IteratorHandle : define a variable pointing to the current row
- ResetAtEnd : define if once arrived at the end of the data source, the iterator handle should be reinitialized to the first row
Excel Properties
There is no specific property configurable for Excel sheet in natural language.
Examples
-
// DataSet - from Excel sheet
DataSet
SourceType = "excel"
File = "myFile.xlsx"
IteratorHandle = "myRow"
ForWrite = true
ResetAtEnd = true
-
CSV properties
There is no specific property configurable for CSV file in natural language.
Examples
-
// DataSet - from CSV file
DataSet
SourceType = "csv"
File = "myFile.csv"
IteratorHandle = "myRow"
ForWrite = true
ResetAtEnd = true
-
File properties
There is no special property for “File” type in natural language.
Examples
-
// DataSet - from Flat file
DataSet
SourceType = "file"
File = "myFile.txt"
IteratorHandle = "myRow"
ForWrite = true
ResetAtEnd = true
-
Folder properties
There is no special property for “Folder” type in natural language.
Examples
-
// DataSet - from Directory
DataSet
SourceType = "folder"
File = "/myFolder"
IteratorHandle = "myRow"
ForWrite = true
ResetAtEnd = true
-
Not yet documented.
ForEach
Creates a ForEach loop based on a collection and iterates through the child nodes.
Common Properties
- Source type : define the source type object. Values could be : Excel, CSV, SQL, Flat file, Directory, Integer sequence, Json String, Google Sheet V4
- Number of threads : the number of threads to use in order to parallelize the loop (i.e the execution of the children)
- Row handle : define a variable pointing to the current row
Excel properties
- Excel file : the path to your source file
- Worksheet : the worksheet name in your source file (if blank, the first one in your sheet will be selected)
Headers : check this box if your columns have header
Example
CSV properties
- CSV file : the path to your source file
Delimiter : the delimiter used in your CSV file
Example
SQL properties
- Connection string : the string used to connect to your database. For example, using jdbc to connect to a MySQL database on localhost : “jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/dbname”
- Driver class : the driver full class name. For example, using jdbc for MySQL : “com.mysql.jdbc.Driver”
- Query : the SQL query to perform against your database to retrieve the data
- User : the username to connect to your database
- Password : the password to connect to your database
- Primary write key : the primary key to use in case you want to write back to your database
Flat file properties
- Flat file : the path to your source file
Directory properties
- Directory : the path to your directory
Integer sequence properties
- Start : value starting the sequence
- End : value ending the sequence
- Inc : increment value for the sequence
Json String properties
- Json string : the JSON document representing your data. The document has to represent of table of values with headers first, and then rows. For example :
{ "pagename" :
["Consulting", "Products"],
"url" :
["https://www.exense.ch/solutions",
"https://www.exense.ch/products"]}
Google Sheet V4 properties
- Service Account Key File : the path to your service account key file. Refer to Google documentation about service account key file creation.
- File Id : the Google Cloud unique identifier of your file. It can usually be extracted from the URL locating your file in the Cloud.
- Tab Name : the name of the tab to use in your source file (if blank, the first one in your file will be selected)
Common Properties
- SourceType : define the source type object. Values could be : excel, csv, file (for Flat file) or folder (for Directory). Other source type are not supported yet.
- File : the path to your source file
- Threads : the number of threads to use in order to parallelize the loop (i.e the execution of the children)
- RowHandle : define a variable pointing to the current row
Excel Properties
- Worksheet : the worksheet name in your source file (if blank, the first one in your sheet will be selected)
Examples
-
// ForEach - row in excel sheet
ForEach
SourceType = "excel"
File = "C:/myFile.xlsx"
Worksheet = "myWorksheet"
Threads = 1
RowHandle = "myRow"
-
Echo myRow.myColumn
End
CSV properties
- Delimiter : the delimiter used in your CSV file
Examples
-
// ForEach - row in file
ForEach
SourceType = "csv"
File = "/home/myFile.csv"
Delimiter = ";"
Threads = 2
RowHandle = "myRow"
-
Echo myRow.myColumn
End
File properties
There is no special property for “File” type in natural language.
Examples
-
// ForEach - row in file
ForEach
SourceType = "file"
File = "C:/myFile.txt"
Threads = 2
RowHandle = "myRow"
-
Echo myRow.myColumn
End
Folder properties
There is no special property for “Folder” type in natural language.
Examples
-
// ForEach - file in folder
ForEach
SourceType = "folder"
File = "/myFolder"
Threads = 2
RowHandle = "myRow"
-
Echo myRow.myColumn
End
Not yet documented.
Asynchronous Testing
RetryIfFails
Retry mechanism with grace period
Properties
- Max retries : number of retries if child nodes execution fails
- Grace period (ms) : duration to wait in ms after a failed attempt
- Timeout : maximum execution time in ms for the whole execution retries
Examples
Properties
- MaxRetries : number of retries if child nodes execution fails
- GracePeriod : duration to wait in ms after a failed attempt
- Timeout : maximum execution time in ms for the whole execution retries
Examples
RetryIfFails MaxRetries=3 GracePeriod=5000 Timeout=30000
// CallKeyword - MyFirstKeyword
MyFirstKeyword location="Bern" date="01.07.2019" contact="${John Doe}"
End
Not yet documented.
WaitForEvent
Wait for a specific event to be receive by the controller. Event can be identified by an eventId or a couple group/name. By default, this control will listen to the local step controller but a remote one can be specified in its remote properties.
Properties
- EventId: the ID of the event to wait for
- Group: the event group to wait for
- Name : the event name to wait for
- Polling speed : the interval to poll the event broker looking for the event in ms as a Long
- Timeout : stop waiting to the event after the defined value as a Long (serves as a security)
- MaxIterations : stop waiting for the event after the define amount of iterations (serves as a security)
- Remote URL : the step remote controller URL where to listen to an incoming event
- Remote User : the step remote controller username to use for connection
- Remote Password : the step remote controller password to use for connection
Examples
Properties
- EventId: the ID of the event to wait for
- Group: the event group to wait for
- Name : the event name to wait for
- PollingSpeed : the interval to poll the event broker looking for the event in ms as a Long
- Timeout : stop waiting to the event after the defined value as a Long (serves as a security)
- MaxIterations : stop waiting for the event after the define amount of iterations (serves as a security)
Examples
-
WaitForEvent
Group="eventGroup"
Name="eventName"
PollingSpeed=1000l
Timeout=5000l
MaxIterations=5
-
// Set - myEvent
Set myEvent=report.getEvent()
// Echo - myEvent
Echo myEvent
Not yet documented.
Composite Keywords
Return
Used within a Composite Keyword, set the Composite output to the returned value(s).
Properties
No property. Just enter key values as you’d like them to be available in the output of a regular keyword.
Examples
Note
This control is not available as natural language as Composite Keywords cannot be created using natural language yet.
Not yet documented.