Test Script Services Reference

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Measurement Commands


Use the measurement commands to set timers and environment variables and to get the value of internal variables. Timers allow you to gauge how much time is required to complete specific activities under varying load conditions. Environment variables allow for the setting and passing of information to virtual testers during script playback. Internal variables store information used by the TestManager to initialize and reset virtual tester parameters during script playback.


Summary

The following table lists the measurement commands.

Command Description
CommandEnd Logs an end-command event.
CommandStart Logs a start-command event.
EnvironmentOp Sets an environment variable.
GetTime Gets the elapsed time of a run.
InternalVarGet Gets the value of an internal variable.
Think Sets a think-time delay.
TimerStart< Marks the start of a block of actions to be timed.
TimerStop Marks the end of a block of timed actions.


CommandEnd

Marks the end of a timed command.


Syntax

tsscmd CommandEnd [-desc description] [-start starttime] [-end 
endtime] result logdata [property=value ...]

Element Description
description Contains the string to be displayed in the event of failure.
starttime An integer indicating a time stamp to override the time stamp set by CommandStart. To use the time stamp set by CommandStart, omit or specify as 0.
endtime An integer indicating a time stamp to override the current time. To use the current time, omit or specify as 0.
result Specifies the notification preference regarding the result of the call. Can be one of the following:
  • NONE (default: no notification)

  • PASS

  • FAIL

  • WARN

  • STOPPED

  • INFO

  • COMPLETED

  • UNEVALUATED

logdata Text to be logged describing the ended command.
property=value Optionally specify one or more property name/value pairs.


Return Value

This command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

The command name and label entered with CommandStart are logged, and the run state is restored to the value that existed before the CommandStartcall.

An event and any data associated with it are logged only if the specified result preference matches associated settings in the LogData_control or LogEvent_control environment variables. (See Arguments of EnvironmentOp.) Alternatively, the logging preference can be set with the Log_level and Record_level environment variables. The STOPPED, COMPLETED, and UNEVALUATED preferences are intended for internal use.


Example

This example marks the end of the timed activity specified by the previous CommandStart call.

tsscmd CommandEnd -d "Command timer failed" PASS "Login command 
completed"

See Also

CommandStart, LogCommand


CommandStart

Starts a timed command.


Syntax

tsscmd CommandStart label name state

Element Description
label The name of the timer to be started and logged, or NULL for an unlabeled timer.
name The name of the command to time.
state The run state to log with the timed command. See the run state table starting. You can enter 0 (MST_UNDEF) if you're uninterested in the run state.


Return Value

This command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

A command is a user-defined name appearing in the log of a test run. By placing CommandStart and CommandEnd calls around a block of lines in a script, you can log the time required to complete the actions in the block.

During script playback, TestManager displays progress for different virtual testers. What is displayed for a group of actions associated by CommandStart depends on the run state argument. Run states are listed in the run state table.

CommandStartincrements cmdcnt, sets the name, label, and run state for TestManager, and sets the beginning time stamp for the log entry. CommandEnd restores the TestManager run state to the run state that was in effect immediately before CommandStart.


Example

This example starts timing the period associated with the string Login.

tsscmd CommandStart -l initTimer Login WAITRESP

See Also

CommandEnd, LogCommand


EnvironmentOp

Sets a virtual tester environment variable.


Syntax

tsscmd EnvironmentOp envVar envOp [envVal]

Element Description
envVar The environment variable to operate on. See Arguments of EnvironmentOp for a list and description of environment variable constants.
envOp The operation to perform. See Arguments of EnvironmentOp for a list and description of the operation constants..
envVal The value operated on as specified by envOp to produce the new value for envVar.


Return Value

This command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

Environment variables define and control the environment of virtual testers. Using environment variables allows you to test different assumptions or runtime scenarios without re-writing your test scripts. For example, you can use environment variables to specify:

See Arguments of EnvironmentOp for a list and description of the values that can be used for argument envVar.

Environment control options allow a script to control a virtual tester's environment by operating on the environment variables. Every environment variable has, instead of a single value, a group of values: a default value, a saved value, and a current value.

See EnvironmentOP table for the values that can be used for argument envOp.


Example

This example gets the current value of Think_dist. For a more extensive illustration of environment variable manipulation, see Example: Manipulating Environment Variables.

tsscmd environmentOp Think_dist eval $cur_dist

GetTime

Gets the elapsed time since the beginning of a suite run.


Syntax

time=\Qtsscmd GetTime\Q

Return Value

On success, this command returns the number of milliseconds elapsed in a suite run. The command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

For execution within TestManager, this call retrieves the time elapsed since the start time shared by all virtual testers in all test scripts in a suite.

For a test script executed outside TestManager, the time returned is the milliseconds elapsed since the start of the rttsee process running the script.


Example

This example stores the elapsed time in etime.

etime = `tsscmd GetTime`

InternalVarGet

Gets the value of an internal variable.


Syntax

ivVal=\Qtsscmd InternalVarGet internVar\Q

Element Description
internVar The internal variable to operate on. See Arguments of InternalVarGet for a list and description of the internal variable constants..


Return Value

On success, this command returns the value of the specified internal variable. In addition, it returns one of the following values:


Comments

Internal variables contain detailed information that is logged during script playback and used for performance analysis reporting. This function allows you to customize logging and reporting detail.


Example

This example stores the current value of the error internal variable in IVVal.

IVVal = `tsscmd InternalVarGet error`

Think

Puts a time delay in a script that emulates a pause for thinking.


Syntax

tsscmd Think [thinkAverage]

Element Description
thinkAverage If specified as 0 , the number of milliseconds stored in the Think_avg environment variable is used as the basis of the calculation. Otherwise, the calculation is based on the value specified.


Return Value

This command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

A think-time delay is a pause inserted in a performance test script in order to emulate the behavior of actual application users.

For a description of environment variables, see EnvironmentOp on page41.


Example

This example calculates a pause based on the value stored in the environment variable Think_avg and inserts the pause into the script.

tsscmd Think 

See Also

ThinkTime


TimerStart

Marks the start of a block of actions to be timed.


Syntax

tsscmd TimerStart [-label label] [-time timeStamp]

Element Description
label The name of the timer to be inserted into the log. If specified as NULL or not specified, an unlabeled timer is created. Only one unlabeled timer is supported at a time.
timeStamp An integer specifying a time stamp to override the current time. If specified as 0 or not specified, the current time is logged.


Return Value

This command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

This call associates a starting time stamp with label for later reference by TimerStop. The TestManager reporting system uses captured timing information for performance analysis reports.

Starting an unlabeled timer sets a start time for an event that you want to subdivide into timed intervals. See the example for TimerStop. You can get a similar result using named timers, but there will be a slight difference in the timing calculation due to the overhead of starting a timer.


Example

This example times actions designated event1, logging the current time.

tsscmd TimerStart -l event1
/* action to be timed */
tsscmd TimerStop -l event1

See Also

TimerStop


TimerStop

Marks the end of a block of timed actions.


Syntax

tsscmd TimerStop [-remove] [-time timeStamp] label

Element Description
label The name to be logged.
timeStamp An integer indicating the time stamp to log. If not specified or specified as 0, the current time is used.
-r Specify to stop and remove the timer or omit to stop the timer without removing it. A timer that is not removed can be stopped multiple times in order to measure intervals of this timed event.


Return Value

This command exits with one of the following results:


Comments

Normally, this call associates an ending time stamp with a label specified with TimerStart. If the specifiedlabel was not set by a previous TimerStart but an unlabeled timer exists, this call logs an event using the specified label and the start time specified for the unlabeled timer with TimerStart. If -r is not specified, multiple invocations of TimerStop are allowed against a single TimerStart. This usage (see the example) allows you to subdivide a timed event into separate timed intervals.


Example

This example stops an unlabeled timer without removing it. In the log, event1 and event2 will record the time elapsed since the TimerStart call.

tsscmd TimerStart
/* action to be timed */
tsscmd TimerStop -l event1
/* another action to be timed */
tsscmd TimerStop -l event2

See Also

TimerStart

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