A global variable is an alias association for a type and its value. Instead of using the function nodeValue("xpath") you may then use the global variable instead.
As an example. If you want to calculate a price like this:
nodeValue("/purchaseOrder/item/quantity") * nodeValue("/purchaseOrder/item/price")
You may use the following syntax after you have defined two global variables:
quantity * price
To define a variable you need to specify the following:
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| xpath | XPath to address a node or a node list. Every referenced node will become a variable definition. If you address nodes with an xpath selector like '//' or '//*' be sure that the node names are unique. Otherwise specify a name/value tuple where the name comes from another node. | /purchaseOrder/item/quantity /item//* //quantity |
| name | Defines the name and its value holder (optional). If no name is defined, the node tag name will be taken. If just (withoud value holder name) a name is defined, the value is the direct child value of the target node (specified in xpath). If a name and a value holder is defined, the name and the value holder name must be an existing direct child of the target node (specified in xpath). | myName myName,myValue |
| namePrefix (optional) | You may prefix all the var names if you like. This is optional but very powerfull if you know about duplicate node names. | nl-1 nl-2 |
| isDynamic | If you like to take the var name (and/or its value) from another node, be sure you mark the var as 'isDynamic'. Default is false. | true/false |