function junction: strings ‘n’ things

VBScript, the internal language of HP QuickTest Pro, is rather handy for manipulating text strings. This is especially useful when you are trying to verify a test step where only part of your actual data will match your expected data, or vice versa.

Here is a simple function which removes the specified leading characters from a text string:

Let’s say your application returns some data that always begins with “ABC” and ends in some varying values, like “ABC0089″, “ABC00390″, etc., while your expected values are extracted from a table that does not contain the constant leading value of “ABC”. You could do a quick comparison using the above function:
” If removePrefix(ApplicationDataString,”ABC”)= ExpectedString Then…”, and so on.

Here’s a similar function that can remove the trailing characters from a string:

The idea is very similar to the first function, but the target characters now appear at the end of the input string rather than at the beginning.

Finally, here is a function that can pad a string with any characters you specify, either on the right or the left side of the original text:

This technique can be used to pad number fields with zeroes at either end of the original string. For example, if you have a numeric value “12345″ which must be eight characters long padded with leading zeroes, the function makes the conversion a simple call:
ApplicationData = padString(ApplicationData,8,”0″,”L”)

See, pretty easy, huh? Be creative, code wisely, and AUTOMATE!