JMeter set variable to random option

Question

I've been using JMeter and I'm aware of the __Random and __RandomString functions. I need to pick a random option and store it in a variable because it will be used as part of a parameter path for multiple calls. For example:

http://www.example.com/pets/{random option such as: cat, dog, parakeet}/

I've tried doing simple like this, where I set the variable ${query} to one, two, or three using a random controller with userdefined variables as children. This seems like it should work, however I always get ${query} set to three.

Any insight or ideas are will be well recieved. Thanks to all in advance.

Solution 1

You can use Beanshell Pre Processor to generate random value

    String[] query = new String[]{"cat", "dog", "parakeet"};
    Random random = new Random();
    int i = random.nextInt(query.length);
    vars.put("randomOption",query[i]);

After that in your HTTP Request

http://www.example.com/pets/${randomOption}

As an alternative to String[] query = new String[]{"cat", "dog", "parakeet"}; you can use Beanshell pre-defined Parameters stanza.

    Random random = new Random();
    int i = random.nextInt(query.length);
    vars.put("randomOption",bsh.args[i]);

Solution 2

I know this is an old post and there is a new function available:

__RandomFromMultipleVars(animalCat|animalDog|animalParakeet, query)

somewhere you need to define the variables:

animalCat=cat
animalDog=dog
animalParakeet=parakeet

Solution 3

It looks like this is not a feature of Jmeter natively. I'm using a plugin that accomplishes this goal. http://jmeter-plugins.org/wiki/Functions/ implements a new function that lets you choose a random string from a list of strings. From their website:

${__chooseRandom(red,green,blue,orange,violet,magenta,randomColor)}