Using CA Application Test › Using the Workstation and Console with CA Application Test › Building Test Cases › Properties › Property Sources

Property Sources

Properties can originate from several sources that include:

• DevTest
• Environmental variables
• Command-line variables on startup
• Configurations
• Companions
• Test steps
• Filters
• Data sets
• String patterns

Because the properties can be overridden, it is important to understand the property hierarchy (the order in which properties are read in a test case).

The following hierarchy is used:

1. Properties that are loaded during the setup of a test.
2. Operating system environment variables (like java.version or os.user, for example).
3. DevTest property files.
4. Command-line attributes.
5. The default configuration.
6. Any alternative configuration properties (from active configuration or runtime configuration file).
7. Properties that are set during a test run.
8. Properties in companions.
9. Properties that are set during test execution (for example, in data sets, filters and steps). Properties set during test execution override values that were set earlier.