Home
Reference Guide
This guide describes conceptual information about data design environment components when you want to use the data fabrication feature in HCL OneTest™ Server.
Schema design
A schema is a graphical data dictionary that contains metadata definitions of the structure of a document to generate test data. Schema provides visual cues for understanding the structure and complete definition of an object.
Type properties
The properties of a type define the characteristics of the data objects of that type.
Group properties
Sequence group formats

Reference Guide
This guide describes conceptual information about data design environment components when you want to use the data fabrication feature in HCL OneTest™ Server.
- Files
  You add a file to a project to use it as input in the project. You can upload a file from your local file system to a project from the Files tab to generate test data. Alternatively, you can upload it when you define an action.
- Connections
  A connection defines the properties that are required to connect to an external resource. An action uses a connection to provide source data to a project or write data from a source to a target. Multiple actions can use the same connection. You can define both connections and actions at the project level.
- Schema design
  A schema is a graphical data dictionary that contains metadata definitions of the structure of a document to generate test data. Schema provides visual cues for understanding the structure and complete definition of an object.
  - Introduction to schema design
    Use the Schemas tab to define, modify, and view schemas. A schema describes the syntax, structure, and semantics of your data.
  - Type properties
    The properties of a type define the characteristics of the data objects of that type.
    - Defining type properties
    - Basic type properties
    - Item properties
    - Group properties
      - Group subclass
      - Sequence group formats
      - Explicit format
      - Implicit format
      - Specifying a delimiter
      - Defining exclude characters
        During the run time, the data validation process uses the Exclude Character List group property to define a set of characters that are not allowed to exist in the data stream as data content.
      - Escaping an excluded character in the data content
        Select Release Exclude Characters when you configure the exclude character list to enable the release character to escape excluded characters. When enabled, a release character that precedes an excluded character in data content escapes the excluded character, and the data content passes validation.
    - XML properties in the schema
  - Item restrictions
    Item restrictions are an optional feature you can use to specify valid or invalid data objects for an item type. Item restrictions are grouped into three categories: Value, Character, and Range.
  - Components
  - Partitioning
  - Type inheritance
  - Schema analyzer
  - Distinguishable objects
  - Functions and expressions

Sequence group formats

A Sequence group has either an Explicit or Implicit format.

Explicit: The explicit format relies on syntax to separate components. Each component can be identified by its position or by a delimiter in the data. Delimiters appear for missing components.
Implicit: The implicit format relies on the properties of the component types. The format is not fixed. If delimiters separate components, they do not appear for missing components.

For example, if each component of a fixed group has a fixed size, the component is distinguished from the next component by its position in the data. Or, a group may have delimiters that appear for missing components. In these cases, the format is apparent; the group has an explicit format.

If a group does not have an explicit format, it has an implicit format. An implicit format relies on the properties of the component types. In this example, the components make some pattern in the data and it is possible to distinguish between them, but the format is not fixed and if delimiters separate components, they do not appear for missing components.

When deciding what format a group has, it may help to ask first whether it is clear where one component ends and another begins. Generally, a group has an explicit format if the position of each component in the data stream is always the same or if a delimiter always marks the place for each component.