Difference between Library, Dictionary and Config file.?

Can anybody explain the difference between Library, dictionary and config file.

Are they like one in eachother or entirely different entities with different use case.

if it has different use case could you please tell me how they are used?

Hi @Bhagyaraj_Digumarthi

Please find below,

Library - Library is a frame work introduced by uipath which is used to convert our commonly used workflows(.xaml files) to activities for resuability.

Dictionary - Dictionary is a datatype like array, list , string etc where it is used to store key, value pairs, so we can access the item in the dictionary using a key just like we used to access a n item in array using its index.

Config File - An excel file where we store the keys and values which we are going to load into the dictionary.

Thanks

It’s a bit the difference between an apple, a car and laptop, but still good that you ask.

In the context of RPA / UiPath:
A library is a collection of reusable pieces of code/script, made available as an activity.
Example: you build a sequence to log into your application, and want to use that in each script you build in the future. By building a library you don’t have to copy/paste your login workflow, but just invoke the library activity.
The advantage is that you only have 1 copy of your loging sequence, so if you ever need to change/update it you only have to change it once. Also if you have a good set it really speeds up development time.
Libraries are basically the packages you include in your workflow, same as the excel or mail packages. Somebody else was kind enough to build the basic puzzle bocks.

A dictionary is a type of collection to bundle variables as one datastructure. In this key-value pairs are stored, read and updated while it is still one dictionary object.
For more on dictionaries I recommend doing the UiPath Academy trainings, they go into this as well.

A config file is basically what it is. A file. A file contains data. In practice it often contains data or parameters that have some influence on how your program behaves, a.k.a. setting, or configurations. Hence the name. Using a config file where all your settings are bundled, it is easier to change and manage compared to having all kinds of hardcoded values in your script. (you don’t want to open up your television either just to change a channel, right?)

In the REFramework, the config file in the form of config.xlsx has a special function to store script specific values. And to refer back to the ‘dictionary’ part: the framework reads the excelfile, and stores all the keys and values (columns A and B) into a dictionary for easy access in your script.

I hope this makes a bit sense. And again: I recommend the advanced Developer trainings on the Academy, they cover most of this.

This topic was automatically closed 3 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.