Forum Discussion

amithsid's avatar
amithsid
Contributor
11 years ago

TC is accessing public variables across scripts

Hello,



I have many units in the same folder under a script of a project. Inside a folder, many units have to access the public variables declared in that particular unit.

The problem is when I run a script; TC tries to search for another public variable declared in a different script under the same folder, what is the solution?



Thank you,

Amith n g
  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    11 years ago
    Hi amith, when using multiple Script Units that may have name clashes, I would recommend using the fully qualified name, i,e, <ScriptUnit>.<MemberName>, as described in the Using Methods and Variables Defined in Another Unit documentation:




    "Once an external unit is linked to the current one, all the routines, as well as global variables and constants of the external unit, can be called in the current unit. It is recommended, though not obligatory, to prefix the names of external routines, variables and constants with the unit's name. That is, in general, any of the following code instructions is correct:


     


    MyExtUnit.MyRoutine(Param1, Param2)


    MyRoutine(Param1, Param2)


     


    MyExtUnit.MyVariable


    MyVariable


     


    MyExtUnit.MyConstant


    MyConstant


     


    However, you must specify the name of the referenced unit in the following cases:



    • When the current unit already contains a routine, global variable or global constant with the same name. Without prefixing, the routine, variable or constant of the current unit will be called.


    • When the name of an external routine is the same as the name of an external unit. Calling such a routine without a prefix will cause an exception.


    • For VBScript and DelphiScript: when calling routines, variables or constants declared in a third unit."





    In fact, our coding standard is that any member that is called from another Script Unit, regardless of a clash existing or not, will ALWAYS be called using the fully qualified name

     


    Regards,


    Phil Baird

  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    Community Expert
    11 years ago

    Hi Amith, a pattern I have used in the past is similar to the following, hiding Vars in a Closure and providing a single accessor:


     


    // Closure to contain Private Vars


    var unit1Privates =(function(){


      // The Private Vars


      var private1 = 123,


          private2 = "abc";


      return {


        // Accessor function to get or set the value of a Private Var


        value: function( name, value ) {


          try {


            if( value ) {


              eval( name + "= value;" );


            } else {


              eval( "var ref = " + name + ";" );


              return ref; 


            }


          } catch( exObj ) {


            // Whatever should happen if accessor fails


            return null;


          }


        }


      }


    })();


     


    which can then be used as such:


     


    function testUnit1Privates() {


      Log.Message( unit1Privates.value( "private2" ) );


      unit1Privates.value( "private2", "def" );


      Log.Message( unit1Privates.value( "private2" ) );


    }


     


    Of course, the Vars aren't truly Private as external Script Units could call unit1Privates::value() but this is where developer discipline comes in.


     


    Regards,


    Phil Baird

  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    Community Expert
    11 years ago

    Hi Raghavendra, exactly when is the error thrown, i.e is it thrown when you try and start running a test in script2 or is it while you are running a test in script2?


     


    I ask this because Test Comple appears to parse and evaluate every Script Unit in a Project at the start of Test execution, even if they are not involved in the Test being run.


     


    Regards,


    Phil Baird

  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    Community Expert
    11 years ago

    Hi Amith, unfortunately there is no way to stop this, it is just the way Test Complete works.


     


    The only solution is to design and code your Scripts to fit in with this runtime model.


     


    Regards,


    Phil Baird

  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    Community Expert
    11 years ago
    Hi amith, when using multiple Script Units that may have name clashes, I would recommend using the fully qualified name, i,e, <ScriptUnit>.<MemberName>, as described in the Using Methods and Variables Defined in Another Unit documentation:




    "Once an external unit is linked to the current one, all the routines, as well as global variables and constants of the external unit, can be called in the current unit. It is recommended, though not obligatory, to prefix the names of external routines, variables and constants with the unit's name. That is, in general, any of the following code instructions is correct:


     


    MyExtUnit.MyRoutine(Param1, Param2)


    MyRoutine(Param1, Param2)


     


    MyExtUnit.MyVariable


    MyVariable


     


    MyExtUnit.MyConstant


    MyConstant


     


    However, you must specify the name of the referenced unit in the following cases:



    • When the current unit already contains a routine, global variable or global constant with the same name. Without prefixing, the routine, variable or constant of the current unit will be called.


    • When the name of an external routine is the same as the name of an external unit. Calling such a routine without a prefix will cause an exception.


    • For VBScript and DelphiScript: when calling routines, variables or constants declared in a third unit."





    In fact, our coding standard is that any member that is called from another Script Unit, regardless of a clash existing or not, will ALWAYS be called using the fully qualified name

     


    Regards,


    Phil Baird

  • Philip_Baird's avatar
    Philip_Baird
    Community Expert
    11 years ago

    Hi amith, please see my reply to your thread "How to use private keyword in TestComplete?" on using private members in JScript.


     


    Regards,


    Phil Baird

  • prasad_kumar_s's avatar
    prasad_kumar_s
    Contributor
    11 years ago

    Hi,


     


    What i feel is, if you want to restrict your variables access to the script where you are declared then use private instead of public.


     


    When you declare any variable with public keyword, that means these variables are accessible to all the scripts in the project running. When you declare any variable as private, those variables are only accessible in the script where they are declared. you cannot access them outside of that script file.


     


    Hope this helps


     


    Regards


    Prasad

  • amithsid's avatar
    amithsid
    Contributor
    11 years ago
    Hello,



    Thanks for replying, The problem is I have declared public variables i.e variables outside the function in one unit. when I try to run another unit with different public variable names, TC tries to search for the public variables in the earlier unit, which is noway related to the current routine. I am using js scripting. what is the solution?



    Thank you,

    AMITH N G
  • amithsid's avatar
    amithsid
    Contributor
    11 years ago
    Hello,



    Can you also tell me how to use the private keyword in JS scripting on TC?
  • amithsid's avatar
    amithsid
    Contributor
    11 years ago
    Thank you Phil for your reply and showing intesers in it.

    What if I deaclre the entire public variables inside a function and call that function whenever required?



    Thanks,

    Amith n g
  • googleid_109910's avatar
    googleid_109910
    Occasional Contributor
    11 years ago
    Hi Phil,

    The problem we are facing is as follows,

    We are maintaining different scripts for each screen (ex: script1 and script2), but in the same project. In each script we are declaring objects of that particular screen as global variables. So if i want to run script 2, it throws an error that objects in script 1 are not found. I want objects or variables in script 1 should be local to that script only. Is there any way to restrict the scope of those variables to that script itself?