Can I use RunState.ProcessModelClient.Data.Seq[0].Locals.MyVariable in batch model to set variables in a client sequence?

Question

I have used RunState.ProcessModelClient.Data.Seq["MainSequence"].Locals.MyVariable to set Locals variables in client sequences running in a sequential model but it doesn't seem to work with the batch model. Using a breakpoint I found that RunState.ProcessModelClient.Data.Seq is a container listing all of the sequences in the client sequence with the Main Sequence being index 0.
I tried using RunState.ProcessModelClient.Data.Seq[0].Locals.MyVariable to set the variables in my client sequence and it worked fine.
My question: is this method reliable or am I doing something that might cause problems down the road?
Thanks,
Steve

Answer 1

A few issues from doing it this way-
1- You should try an make your process model such that it can handle almost any sequence file thrown at it.  MainSequence may not a) contain that local variable and b) be at array element 0.  Unless you do some serious error checking then using your process model elsewhere will be a problem because it will throw errors.
2- It all depends on where you are changing that variable at.  Remember with the Batch Model that you are dealing with multiple copies of your client sequence.  If you change a Locals in the process model which threads does it actually affect?
3- Locals is to be used for the sole purpose of the sequence it resides in.  Just like in text based programming where you have a function call:
MyFunc(int x, int y){
string foo;
foo is local and really shouldn't be changed outside of MyFunc.  x and y are parameters and should be how data is shared among different sequences in TestStand.  There are variables for bigger scopes as well (i.e. StationGlobals, FileGlobals). 
I recommend using either a StationGlobal or passing the data as a parameter. 
In the end you are the engineer and the flexibility that TestStand gives you makes it so you can do things however you want. 
My 2 Cents,
jigg
CTA, CLA
teststandhelp.com
~Will work for kudos and/or BBQ~