Apply Variables

After you ASSIGN a run-time value to a variable, use APPLY to apply the value. You can also use APPLY with the URLENC parameter to URL encode the runtime value of an applied variable.

Syntax

To apply a value to a variable use the following syntax:

HTTP/HTTPS

An HTTP/HTTPS action can be any combination of one or more variables and strings. The methods, GET, POST, HEAD, PUT, and DELETE (HTTPDEL), support multiple APPLY statements in one URL.

NOTE: See the following sections for limitations and considerations:

- Specify HTTP/HTTPS port number in APPLY
- Add slash ("/") after host field

Examples

The following sections contain examples of various uses of the APPLY statement in HTTP Action lists.

NOTE: All examples for HTTP apply to HTTPS as well.

GET Examples:

NOTE: All examples for the GET method apply to HEAD as well.

Use APPLY to replace IP address or other variables
Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL
Use multiple APPLY statements with a forms database

POST Examples:

PUT Examples:

Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL

DELETE (HTTPDEL) Examples:

Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL

GET: Use APPLY to replace IP address or other variables

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.58.1">

1 GET http://<APPLY my_host>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/

NOTE: Since the example above applies the host field from a variable, a slash ("/") is automatically added after the host field in the URL sent to the server.

1 GET http://<APPLY my_host>index.html

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/index.html

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "download">

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/<APPLY my_path>/index.html

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/download/index.html

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_name "user1">

1 GET http://192.168.58.1:80/download/index.html?user=<APPLY my_name>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1:80/download/index.html?user=user1

GET: Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 GET http://192.168.1.1/abc/def/index.html?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.1.1/abc/def/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.1.1">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "download">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_file "index.html">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 GET http://<APPLY my_host>:80/<APPLY my_path>/<APPLY my_file>?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.1.1:80/download/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host_port2 "192.168.1.1:80">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "path1/path2/path3">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_query "?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid">

1 GET http://<APPLY my_host_port2>/path/<APPLY my_path>/dir1/dir2<APPLY my_query>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.1.1:80/path/path1/path2/path3/dir1/dir2?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

ASSIGN VARIABLE <SIGNATURE_VAR "abc_signature">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <PATH "something/abc_signature/something">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <EMAILID_VAR "abc@spirent.com">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <ATTID_VAR "abc_attid">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <ATTID_VAR2 "&attid=abc_attid">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <QUERY_VAR "?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid">

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/<APPLY SIGNATURE_VAR>/something/something?emailid=<APPLY EMAILID_VAR>&attid=<APPLY ATTID_VAR>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/abc_signature/something/something?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/<APPLY SIGNATURE_VAR>/something/something?emailid=<APPLY EMAILID_VAR><APPLY ATTID_VAR2>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/abc_signature/something/something?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/<APPLY SIGNATURE_VAR>/something/something<APPLY QUERY_VAR>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/abc_signature/something/something?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

NOTE: The three results above are identical.

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/<APPLY PATH>/index.html?emailid=<APPLY EMAILID_VAR><APPLY ATTID_VAR2>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/something/abc_signature/something/index.html?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

NOTE: The example above uses slash ("/") separators in the PATH variable. Other characters, such as ":", "?", and "=", are also allowed in variables.

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.58.1">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host_port "192.168.58.1:80">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_name "user1">

1 GET http://<APPLY my_host>/download/index.html?user=<APPLY my_name>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/download/index.html?user=user1

1 GET http://<APPLY my_host_port>/download/index.html?user=<APPLY my_name>

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1:80/download/index.html?user=user1

GET: Use multiple APPLY statements with a forms database

The following example uses variables from a forms database named FormsDB_1, which contains a list of IP addresses, such as 192.168.58.1, 192.168.58.2, etc.

ASSIGN VARIABLE <var_IP FormsDB_1.$1>

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "download">

1 GET http://<APPLY var_IP>/<APPLY my_path>/index.html

Result:

1 GET http://192.168.58.1/download/index.html

1 GET http://192.168.58.2/download/index.html

POST: Post captured session ID

The following example assumes that you have captured a sessionId equal to "ABCD" (e.g., by using search criteria), and saved it in the captured_session variable. It POSTs the sessionId, along with other key/value pairs, as follows:

1 POST http://10.30.7.220/ sessionId=<APPLY BODY captured_session> key1=value1 key2=value2

The resulting BODY is as follows:

POST / sessionId=ABCD&key1=value1&key2=value2

NOTE: If you use the HEADER modifier instead of BODY in the APPLY statement, then the value of captured_session is applied to the HTTP request URI.

POST: Add suffix to captured session ID and post

The following example assumes that you have captured a sessionId equal to "ABCD" (e.g., by using search criteria), and saved it in the captured_session variable. The sessionId is suffixed with "XYZ" and sent by using a POST, along with other key/value pairs, as follows:

1 POST http://10.30.7.220/ sessionId=<APPLY BODY captured_session, "XYZ"> key1=value1 key2=value2

The resulting BODY is as follows:

POST / sessionId=ABCDXYZ&key1=value1&key2=value2

POST: Add prefix to captured session ID and post

The following example assumes that you have captured a sessionId equal to "ABCD" (e.g., by using search criteria), and saved it in the captured_session variable. The sessionId is prefixed with "XYZ" and sent by using a POST, along with other key/value pairs, as follows:

1 POST http://10.30.7.220/ sessionId=XYZ<APPLY BODY captured_session> key1=value1 key2=value2

The resulting BODY is as follows:

POST / sessionId=XYZABCD&key1=value1&key2=value2

POST: Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host_port2 "192.168.1.1:80">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "path1/path2/path3">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_email "abc@spirent.com">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_var "abc_attid">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_query "?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid">

1 POST http://192.168.1.1/path/<APPLY my_path>/dir1/dir2?emailid=<APPLY my_email>&attid=<APPLY my_var>

Result:

1 POST http://192.168.1.1/path/path1/path2/path3/dir1/dir2?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

1 POST http://192.168.1.1/path/<APPLY my_path>/dir1/dir2<APPLY my_query>

Result:

1 POST http://192.168.1.1/path/path1/path2/path3/dir1/dir2?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

1 POST http://<APPLY my_host_port2>/path/<APPLY my_path>/dir1/dir2<APPLY my_query>

Result:

1 POST http://192.168.1.1:80/path/path1/path2/path3/dir1/dir2?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.1.1">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "download">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_file "index.html">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 POST HTTP://<APPLY my_host>:80/<APPLY my_path>/<APPLY my_file>?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 POST HTTP://192.168.1.1:80/download/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

POST: Use multiple APPLY statements with a forms database

The following example uses variables from a forms database named FormDB, which contains the following sample row:

192.168.1.1,path1/path2/path3,abc@spirent.com,abc_attid,abc,xyz

For this example, the following parameters are defined from the forms database columns:

my_host - column 1=192.168.1.1
my_dir - column 2=path1/path2/path3
my_email - column 3=abc@spirent.com
my_atti - column 4=abc_attid
my_user - column 5=abc
my_pwd - column 6=xyz

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host FormDB.$1>

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_dir FormDB.$2>

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_email FormDB.$3>

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_atti FormDB.$4>

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user FormDB.$5>

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd FormDB.$6>

1 POST HTTP://<APPLY my_host>/<APPLY my_dir>/index.html?emailid=<APPLY URLENC my_email>&attid=<APPLY URLENC my_atti> user=<APPLY my_user> pass=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 POST HTTP://192.168.1.1/path1/path2/path3/index.html?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid user=abc&pass=xyz

PUT: Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 PUT http://192.168.1.1/abc/def/index.html?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 PUT http://192.168.1.1/abc/def/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.1.1">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "download">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_file "index.html">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 PUT HTTP://<APPLY my_host>:80/<APPLY my_path>/<APPLY my_file>?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 PUT HTTP://192.168.1.1:80/download/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host_port2 "192.168.1.1:80">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "path1/path2/path3">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_query "?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid">

1 PUT http://<APPLY my_host_port2>/path/<APPLY my_path>/dir1/dir2<APPLY my_query>

Result:

1 PUT http://192.168.1.1:80/path/path1/path2/path3/dir1/dir2?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

DELETE (HTTPDEL): Use multiple APPLY statements in one URL

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 HTTPDEL http://192.168.1.1/abc/def/index.html?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 HTTPDEL http://192.168.1.1/abc/def/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.1.1">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "download">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_file "index.html">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_user "apple">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_pwd "bill">

1 HTTPDEL http://<APPLY my_host>:80/<APPLY my_path>/<APPLY my_file>?user=<APPLY my_user>&password=<APPLY my_pwd>

Result:

1 HTTPDEL http://192.168.1.1:80/download/index.html?user=apple&password=bill

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host_port2 "192.168.1.1:80">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_path "path1/path2/path3">

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_query "?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid">

1 HTTPDEL http://<APPLY my_host_port2>/path/<APPLY my_path>/dir1/dir2<APPLY my_query>

Result:

1 HTTPDEL http://192.168.1.1:80/path/path1/path2/path3/dir1/dir2?emailid=abc@spirent.com&attid=abc_attid

Specify HTTP/HTTPS port number in APPLY

If you do not specify a port number in a request, the default is 80 for HTTP, and 443 for HTTPS. If the host is a variable, and you want to use a different port number, then you must put the host and port numbers into the same APPLY statement, separated by a colon (":").

Example

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host_port "192.168.58.1:8080">

1 GET HTTP://<APPLY my_host_port>/download/index.html

Add slash ("/") after host field

By definition, the absolute path in an HTTP/HTTPS request cannot be empty. If absent from the original URI, the path must be specified as "/" (the server root).

Examples of automatic slash

If you do not specify a slash ("/") after the host field, or if the host field is applied from a variable, then a slash ("/") will be automatically added after the host field in the URL sent to the server. (This is a client requirement per RFC 2616. If the client does not include this slash, the server will respond with an error.)

Configured:

http://192.168.58.1

Sent:

http://192.168.58.1/

Configured:

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.58.1">

1 http://<apply my_host>

Sent:

http://192.168.58.1/

Examples of duplicate slash

In some cases, two slashes may result. For example, you may specify a slash after the host field, and another may be automatically added.

Configured:

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_host "192.168.58.1">

1 http://<apply my_host>/index.html

Sent:

http://192.168.58.1//index.html

Configured:

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_file "/login.html">

1 https://192.168.58.1<apply my_file>

Sent:

https://192.168.58.1//login.html

NOTE: Usually, the HTTP server can handle duplicate slashes, and consider them as one slash. However, you can avoid duplicate slashes with your syntax. In the examples above, do the following:

Omit the slash after the host field:

1 http://<apply my_host>index.html

Assign the variable as "login" instead of "/login":

ASSIGN VARIABLE <my_file "login.html">

Related Information:

Assign Variables

HTTP Action Lists

HTTP Additional Headers with Variables

HTTP URL Encode

HTTP/HTTPS Action List Format Examples

HTTP/HTTPS Search

HTTP Match and Match Not