Datapools provide variable data to your tests during execution.
Datapools contain three structural elements:
Equivalence class. A datapool subset containing a range of data that, when submitted to a test, produces the equivalent pass/fail result. By default, a datapool contains one equivalence class named EquivalenceClass1.
Variable. A named data column. Data resides in column cells and is typically typed based on what is expected by the system-under-test. One column named Variable1::String is created by default. Typically you will rename this column and add additional column names descriptive of the data that they contain.
Record. A row of data. Rows are indexed by equivalence class starting with 0.
As shown in the following figure, the datapool editor is a grid similar
to a spreadsheet, with a separate tab along the bottom for each equivalence
class in the datapool. Right-clicking on the grid opens the popup menu that
you use to add or modify datapool columns and rows. You add data by typing
in a cell and add a record by pressing the Enter key.
To rename, add, or remove an equivalence class, click the Overview tab,
shown below. You can also maintain columns from this tab. To rename a variable
or equivalence class, double-click it.
When you create a datapool, you have the option of initializing the new datapool with data contained in an existing comma-separated-value (CSV) file that you created with a spreadsheet editor or with some external or custom tool. For datapools containing large amounts of data, this approach is recommended. The datapool editor is suitable for entering small amounts of data and modifying individual records but provides no means of generating large amounts of typed data.