Hi all. Is there any advantage in using path variables over using environment or global variables in my request URLs? For example, is there any advantage in using
where :foo has value {{wombat}}, over using
https://example.com/{{wombat}}/bar
Thanks in advance.
Hi Markus
I am curious why you would be using a path variable :foo with a value which is again a variable {{wormbat}}.
It just adds more complexity. Also, there have known issues with using path variables because of lack of a standard delimiter.
Some users expect https://example.com/:path.html to resolve in https://example.com/user.html when :path be user and some would expect this to work only when :path.html to be user
To avoid this complexity and confusion, I would recommend using environment, globals or collection variables.
For e.g. this syntax https://example.com/{{path}}.html would have no confusion at all. It’s very clear what is expected to be replaced.
Let me know if you have a different use case where path variables are more helpful.
Thank you for your reply. I just got started using Postman and exploring its capabilities. I found path variables in the documentation and started using them. But I agree with you that non-path variables can easily replace path variables. Another problem with path variables is that they are not high-lighted in the URL input field. So they are easily overlooked. So far I found no use case were path variables are more useful.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.