Variable types
Variables in the IBM Robotic Process Automation script language are strongly typed. Variables can assume different values during the script's runtime, but each variable only stores one value at a time with the same type.
Variables can receive default values when created or have values assigned during the script runtime. The following table shows each variables type and its description:
| Designer mode label | Script mode name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Address | Address | Store a full address from an address data. This address can return information about country, city, state, neighborhood, locality, sub locality, street, street type, street number, postal code, and postal code suffix. |
| Binary File Reader | BinaryFileReader | Stores binary values in a specific encoding for reading purposes. The binary file reader can return information about the file path and name, the position, the end position of the file stream, and the length. |
| Binary File Writer | BinaryFileWriter | Stores binary values in a specific encoding for writing purposes. The binary file writer can return information about the file path and name, the position, the end position of the file stream, and the length. |
| Boolean | Boolean | Stores a boolean value. The value can be True or False. |
| Browser | Browser | Stores an instance of a browser to handle actions. |
| Byte | Byte | Stores an 8-bit unsigned integer. The byte value ranges from 0 to 255. |
| Call Stack | CallStack | Stores the call stack containing the line number, commands, script, and routine are getting called. |
| Cancellation Token | CancellationToken | Stores a notification that operations should be canceled. |
| Cancellation Token Source | CancellationTokenSource | Stores the signal that the operation of Cancellation Token should be canceled. |
| Card Item | CardItem | Stores a card that allows you to combine images and buttons in one object. This variable returns the card and its properties, like the title, subtitle, and buttons. You can get the length and count properties for some of these variable properties. |
| Card Item Button | CardItemButton | Stores a card button information like its name, action, and value. |
| Chat Account | ChatAccount | Stores the properties from the sender and recipient of a chat dialog. |
| Chat Data | ChatData | Stores the data from the chatbot like the conversation Id, custom parameters, the From, and the recipient. For the From and Recipient data, you can access the properties, id, name properties. |
| Cipher | Cipher | Stores a cipher algorithm to encrypt and decrypt a value like the AES, RSA, and Rijndael algorithms. |
| Control | Control | Stores a control of a user interface element in a window. |
| Cookie Container | CookieContainer | Stores a set of instances to manage cookies. |
| Culture | CultureInfo | Stores information about a specific culture. As information, it stores the culture name, the writing system, the calendar, and the dates and numbers formats. |
| Data Row | DataRow | Stores a row of data in the data table. |
| Data Table | DataTable | Stores a data table of in-memory data. |
| Database Connection | DbConnection | Stores the components of database connections. |
| Date | Date | Stores a date in the default format yyyy-MM-dd. This variable can return part of the date such as the day, month, year, ticks, and day of the year. |
| Date Time | DateTime | Stores a date and time in the default format yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss. This variable can return part of the date and time such as the day, month, year, ticks, day of the year, second, minute, hour, millisecond, and time of day. |
| Dialogflow Intention | DialogflowIntention | Store the interactions made from a dialog using Dialogflow. It also returns the variable properties like the key and value for each intention. |
| Display | Display | Stores the width, height and bits per pixel of a display from a device. |
| Email Connection | EmailConnection | Stores the components of email connections. |
| Email Message | EmailMessage | Stores the content of an email message. |
| Error | Error | Stores an error occurred in script runtime. This variable might return properties like the count, line number, message, type name, routine, stack trace, script, command of an error launched. |
| Excel | Excel | Stores an instance of an Excel workbook. |
| File System | FileSystem | Stores the data to handle a file system. |
| Fuzzy | Fuzzy | Stores fuzzy variables also known as linguistic variables. Fuzzy variables are defined by sets of fuzzy sets in a range of real numbers. Given a value to the fuzzy variable, that value may belong with a certain degree of relevance to one or more fuzzy sets that make up the fuzzy variable. |
| Fuzzy Set | FuzzySet | Stores a diffuse set that has a set of real values called the universe of discourse, and their respective values of the function of pertinence demonized degree of pertinence. |
| Http Content | HttpContent | Stores the HTTP content headers as defined in RFC 2616. |
| Image | Image | Stores an image in-memory data. |
| Image Grid | ImageGrid | Stores an image grid from a grid object. |
| IVR Data | IvrData | Stores data from an IVR. This data might be the ANI, DNIS, call time, and audio path. |
| Language | Language | Stores the culture and the speech engine for a specific language. |
| List<T> | List | Stores a strongly typed list. You can use simple and object types as inner type to the list variable. This variable returns the list and the count property. This property returns the number of elements in the list. |
| Message Queue | MessageQueue | Stores a queue of messages. |
| Money | Money | Stores a numeric value in specific currency. |
| Number | Numeric | Stores a numeric value. The default value for numeric variables is zero. The numeric value type and range can vary according to the stored value. The types and ranges are: - Int integral number (32-bit): it ranges
from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.- Long integral number (64-bit): it ranges from -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807.- Double floating-point: it ranges from -1.7976931348623157E+308;
to 1.7976931348623157E+308.- Decimal floating-point: it ranges from -79,228,162,514,264,337,593,543,950,335 to 79,228,162,514,264,337,593,543,950,335. |
| Office Application | OfficeApplication | Stores an instance of an Office application. |
| Stores the data from a PDF file. | ||
| Phone Number | PhoneNumber | Stores a string as phone number composed by country code, area code, extension and the phone number. |
| Point | Point | Stores point coordinates between X and Y in pixels. This point varies according to the screen's resolution. |
| Proxy | ProxyVariant | Stores a proxy for accessing data from the internet. |
| Queue Connection | QueueConnection | Stores the queue connection. |
| Queue Message | QueueMessage | Stores the message in a queue. |
| Queue<T> | Queue | Stores a first in-first out (FIFO) collection. You can use simple and object types as inner types to the queue variable. This variable returns the queue and the count property. This property returns the number of elements in the queue. |
| Rectangle | Rectangle | Stores a set of four integers (x, y, width, height) that represent the location and size of a rectangle. |
| Rule | Rule | Stores the data from a rule set. |
| Secure String | SecureString | Stores the password from a vault item. See SecureString variable type for more information. |
| Sms | SmsProvider | Stores the sender, recipient, and text to send an SMS by a provider. |
| Speech Engine | SpeechEngine | Stores the data to synthesize a speech by a specific speech cognitive service. |
| SSH Forwarded | SSHForwardedPort | Stores a port forwarding for an SSH connection. |
| SSH Session | SSHSession | Stores the data for a client connection to an SSH server. |
| Stack<T> | Stack | Stores a last-in-first-out (LIFO) collection. You can use simple and object types as inner types to the stack variable. This variable returns the stack and the count property. This property returns the number of elements in the stack. |
| Stopwatch | Stopwatch | Stores the properties to measure the elapsed time. |
| Storage Adapter | StorageAdapter | Stores the connection to a database according to a strategy of storage: server, local, or both. |
| String Dictionary<TValue> | StringDictionary | Stores a string dictionary. |
| String Key Value Pair<TValue> | StringKeyValuePair | Stores a string key-value pair dictionary. |
| Telnet Session | TelnetSession | Stores a connection to a Telnet section. |
| Terminal | Terminal | Stores the data to handle a terminal section. |
| Text | String | Stores a text as a sequence of UTF-16 code units. This variable returns the text and the length property. This property returns the length of the text. |
| Text File Reader | TextFileReader | Stores the data in a specific encoding for reading a text file. |
| Text File Writer | TextFileWriter | Stores the data in a specific encoding for writing a text file. |
| Time Span | TimeSpan | Stores a time interval in the default format HH:mm:ss. This variable can return data of the time span such as the day, second, minute, hour, millisecond, total days, total seconds, total minutes, total hours, and total milliseconds. |
| Uri | Uri | Stores a representation of a uniform resource identifier (URI). This variable returns the URI and provides access to the parts of the URI by the variable properties, such as the PathAndQuery, LocalPath, Authority, IsFile, IsLoopback, Host, Port, Query, ParsedQuery, Fragment, Scheme, AbsoluteUri, AbsolutePath, and UserInfo. You can get the length, count, keys, and values properties for some of these variable properties. |
| Window | Window | Stores information from a Windows Desktop window. |
| Workflow | Workflow | Stores the data to handle a Workflow. |
| Workflow Batch | WorkflowBatch | Stores a batch of workflow instances. |
| Workflow Instance | WorkflowInstance | Stores the data of a workflow instance. This data defines the tasks for a workflow process. |
Default values of variables
When you create variables without value, they assume a default value according to your type. In most cases, simple and object variable types initializes with the value null, except:
- Numeric variable starts with the value
0. Numeric values might refer to integral and floating-point numbers. - Boolean variable start with the value
false. - Cancellation Token and Cancellation Token Source variables start with the value
<no preview>. - Culture variable starts with the value
en-US. - Date and Date Time variables starts with the value
0001-01-01. - Collection and dictionaries variables start with the empty array
[]. - Time span variable start with the value
00:00:00.