Data table: List

The list is the most simplistic data table. It represents a list of words, that you may use in your test data. An example;

Given I have a shopping list
  | Apples  |
  | Pears   |
  | Oranges |
  | Milk    |

In the step definition, we can extract the data with the ${table.#} syntax. If you aren't quite familiar with buffers, take a look at buffers and the Set keyword.

For example, if we need the Oranges data from the list, we can use ${table.2} as it's the item with the index of 2 (lists start at an index of 0)

Action name	Object	Data	Result
type	name=searchbox	${table.2}	Types Oranges
verifyValue	name=searchbox	Oranges	Results to PASS

But that's not all. The power of lists really come into play when you combine them with a Repeating group

When using the Repeating group, with the repeater set at Data table, you can iterate over your list. JOSF will take care of getting the correct data out of your list, as long as you provide the right syntax; ${table.#} (see, no index number, just the hashtag sign).

Action name	Object	Data	Result
type	name=searchbox	${table.#}
click	name=find

JOSF will now iterate over your test steps within the Repeating group, as long as there is data. In this example, it will iterate four times!