Parameter Association

How it works - Summary

As mentioned above, this form facilitates the association of values to seven types of parameter.

The Process Raw operation collects name-value pairs from the raw script and presents them to the scripter. The illustration below shows a typical request from a raw script and which name-value pairs are collected.

The illustration below shows the first 11 name-value pairs from a typical raw script in the left hand pane. Some of those in the illustration above can be seen.

Using experience, the scripter identifies which name-value pairs should be associated with which parameters from the seven lists in the right hand pane.

When an item from the left pane and the right pane is selected, the association is completed by pressing either the Associate by value or the Associate by boundary button.

The association is added to the bottom pane and removed from the above two panes.

Continue associating until complete, then press the Apply button.

The bottom pane in the illustration below shows the first 11 associated name-value pairs.

The illustration below shows the request illustrated above after the Process Raw operation has updated it with the scripter's associations.

Iteration parameters are assigned the associated values at the top of Action.c as shown in the illustration below. The scripter is expected to manually apply functions as appropriate, or move the assignment to a more appropriate position in the script.

If a Text Data File parameter is associated with a value, the Process Raw operation looks for it in the Included Files folder. If it's there, it is copied into the script's folder. Otherwise is creates a new, skeleton, file in the script's folder.

In addition to replacing the associated value with the parameter in the script, associating a LoadTest Database parameter triggers the Process Raw operation to do the following:

Copy four files from the Included Files folder and instrument the script with them (MySQL.c, Regex.c, mySQL.dll, and pcre3.dll);
Create a new DatabaseOperations.c file containing the InitialiseDatabase() function and skeleton functions based on the rules in the test case document;
Insert the call to the InitialiseDatabase() function in vuser_init.c;
Insert #define statements at the top of vuser_init.c

If any Test Account parameter is associated with a value, the Process Raw operation creates a new test account text file called pUserID.dat and populates it with the contents of the table from the test case.

The pUserID parameter is mandatory and is configured with the operation of Unique / Once, which must be manually changed if it is not appropriate.

Name-value pairs

Identification of name-value pairs in a raw script

As a part of processing a raw script, the DoxRunner application collects name-value pairs from the script files.

There are two formats targeted for collection as illustrated below.

The first format can be found within many script function attributes such as Action=, URL=, and Referer=. The name-value pairs for this format are separated from each other by any combination of ampersands (&), question marks (?), and semi-colons (;), or terminated by a quote.

Format: <name>=<value>;<name>=<value>?<name>=<value>&<name>=<value>&<name>=<value>"

The second format can be found in the ITEMDATA section of LR functions such as web_submit_data or web_submit_form.

Format: "Name=<name>", "Value=<value>", ENDITEM,

Presentation to the scripter

The DoxRunner application sorts the name-value pairs defined above and presents them to the scripter in the left hand pane as shown below.

Some name-value pairs are collected but not displayed as described in the next section.

Attribute name-value pairs that are not displayed

In order to reduce the "noise" of attribute-pairs presented (especially where there are a large number of them), two tactics are used.

Manually excluded

Sometimes a script has lots of name-value pairs that are clearly not suitable for associating with a parameter. Removing the irrelevant ones from the list makes it easier to identify those that should be. Select an irrelevant one, then press the Remove from display button.

If you make a mistake, simply press the Restore display button to re-display them.

Short values excluded

By default, attributes with values of fewer than three characters are not displayed. This is because short values require more care when associating them.

Occasionally there will be some that are one or two characters long. To display them, simply uncheck the "Limit values to..." option as shown above.

On the other hand sometimes it may be easier to restrict those displayed even further. If so, simply change the number from 3 to whatever suits your assessment.

Automatically excluded

The following name-value pairs are automatically excluded from those displayed:

If the value is the target of a Correlation Rule or a Global Parameter rule
If the value is empty
If the option to remove Referrer attributes is selected, the name-value pairs in them are ignored
If the option to remove cookies is selected, the name-value pairs in them are ignored
If the option to remove EXTRARES attributes is selected, the name-value pairs in them are ignored

For example, in the illustration above, the three values with name j_salt, SEC_SESSTOKEN, and path will most likely be the target of a Correlation Rule. If so, they are not presented to the scripter for associating with a parameter.

Also in the illustration above the value with name sap-nwbc-action_url is empty, so it is excluded also.

The corollary to this is that if you see a name-value pair listed that should be correlated, then this is a trigger for you to review the correlation rules for it.

Expand selected name-value pair

The unassociated name-value pairs pane is a fixed size with limited horizontal scrolling. Some names and some values may be longer than those shown. To see them press the Expand values button. The illustration below shows the dialog box that allows you to focus on one name-value pair at a time. Use the arrows to step through the name-value pairs one at a time. Press the Select button to select the one displayed.

For applications such as SAP and Dynamics CRM, some names and values may be encoded and difficult to interpret. If the Performance Test Support application is able to detect these and decode them, it will display the decoded versions below the original versions, as shown in the second illustration below (which illustrates a SAPEVENTQUEUE attribute).

The illustration below shows an expanded decoded name-value pair when a SAPEVENTQUEUE attribute is detected.

Parameter panes

The six tabs on the top right hand pane represent the documented rules that are to be parameterised. Typically they will be associated with the Name-Value Pairs on the left by the scripter, but there are more options available as shown in the following sections.

Custom parameters

The following Custom Parameter operations are available from the green Parameter Association form:

Associate a Custom Parameter with the documented value, or a value typed in;
Associate a Custom Parameter with a value from the raw version of the script (displayed on the left hand pane titled "Unassociated name-value pairs");
Add a Custom Parameter to the test case;
Delete a Custom Parameter from the test case.

When a Custom Parameter from the top right-hand pane is selected, the three controls at the bottom of the pane are populated:

Parameter Name;
Update value on (eg. Auto, Iteration, Once);
Value (if documented).

If a Description was documented, it can be viewed by moving the horizontal scroll bar or by pressing the Help button.

If the Copy button is displayed, then another name-value pair was detected with the same value and is highlighted in the left hand pane. Assess whether the highlighted name-value pair should be parameterised with the selected parameter name too and, if so, press the Copy button.

Text data file parameters

This pane displays the contents of the Text Data File parameters section of the test case. Select any of one these and any one name-value pair, then press either the Associate by value or the Associate by boundary button to associate them. Only choose the Associate by value button if you believe that the value will be unique throughout the script.

This pane displays the documented Text Data File parameters as illustrated below. When selected, the three controls at the bottom of the pane are populated:

Parameter Name;
File name;
Update value on (Sequential, Iteration, or Once);
tba.

If a Description was documented, it can be viewed by moving the horizontal scroll bar or by pressing the Help button.

The following operations are available from the green Parameter Association screen:

Associate a Text Data File Parameter with a value from the raw version of the script;
Add a Text Data File Parameter to the test case;
Delete a Text Data File Parameter from the test case.

If the Copy button is displayed, then another name-value pair was detected with the same value and is highlighted in the left hand pane. Assess whether the highlighted name-value pair should be parameterised with the selected parameter name too and, if so, press the Copy button.