Run A/B Tests with Windows C++ SDK via Quick Tracking - Quick Tracking - Alibaba Cloud - Quick Tracking

Integrate the Quick Tracking Windows C++ SDK to run A/B testing experiments in your application.

1. Integrate and initialize the SDK

Prerequisites

The Quick Tracking A/B testing SDK does not collect personal information directly. It relies on behavioral data from the Quick Tracking Analytics SDK. Before you begin, make sure you have integrated and initialized the Quick Tracking Analytics Windows C++ SDK. For more information, see Import & Configure SDK.

2. Implement an experiment

2.1 Integrate and initialize the SDK

Initialize the Quick Tracking Analytics SDK synchronously before the A/B testing SDK. The A/B testing SDK requires a server URL for traffic splitting. Contact your operations team to obtain this URL.

Offline import

For import instructions, see Import & Configure SDK Quick Integration.

2.2 Initialize the A/B testing SDK

API function

// Initialize the A/B testing SDK
QTFORPC_API QT_VOID initABTest(QT_CSTR serverUrl, QT_MAP options);

Parameters

Parameter

Type

Description

Required

serverUrl

const char *

The server URL.

Yes

options

const char *

An attribute parameter provided as a JSON literal string.

experiment_file_path: String. Required. The path to the local cache file for A/B testing results.
update_interval_seconds: Integer. Optional. The polling interval in seconds for experiment updates. Default: 600 (10 minutes).

Yes

Example

std::string abOptions = R"({
    "experiment_file_path": "D:\\xxxx\\abcache\\ab_cache.txt",
    "update_interval_seconds": 10
})";

qtInterface->initABTest("http://xxxxx", abOptions.c_str());

Enable logging

To enable logging, see the Basic Integration guide for the Quick Tracking Analytics SDK.

2.3 Get experiment variables

After initializing the A/B testing SDK, retrieve experiment variables using one of these API functions:

fetchABTestFromCache: Reads from the local cache. Returns the default value if the variable is not cached.
fetchABTestFromServer: Ignores the local cache and fetches data directly from the server.
fetchABTestFromCacheThenServer: Reads from the local cache first. If the variable is not in the cache, it then fetches data from the server.

Use cases

API name	Scenario
fetchABTestFromCache	Best for high query performance, but the returned data may not reflect the latest experiment configuration.
fetchABTestFromServer	Best for time-sensitive experiments that change frequently. This approach may introduce network latency.
fetchABTestFromCacheThenServer	Recommended for most use cases, as it balances performance with data freshness. It checks the local cache first and queries the server if the variable is not found.

2.4 API reference

Fetch variable from cache

API function: fetchABTestFromCache

// Fetch an experiment variable from the local cache
QTFORPC_API QT_VOID fetchABTestFromCache(QT_CSTR paramName, QT_CSTR valueType, QT_MAP defaultValue, QT_AB_CB handler);

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Required
paramName	const char *	The parameter name.	Yes
valueType	const char *	The value type. `NUMBER` `JSON` `STRING` `BOOLEAN`	Yes
defaultValue	const char *	The default value. If `valueType` is `JSON`, pass the `defaultValue` as a JSON literal string. For example: `R"({"a":1})"`.	Yes
handler	void	The callback function to handle the returned result.	Yes

Example

qtInterface->fetchABTestFromCache("y_number", "NUMBER", "1", [](const string &result){
    std::cout << result << std::endl;
});

Important

Note: Ensure your business logic handles the default values for the A/B traffic splitting API functions.

Fetch variable from server

API function: fetchABTestFromServer

// Fetch an experiment variable from the server
QTFORPC_API QT_VOID fetchABTestFromServer(QT_CSTR paramName, QT_CSTR valueType, QT_MAP defaultValue, QT_AB_CB handler, QT_INT timeout_seconds);

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Required
paramName	const char *	The parameter name. Must be a non-empty string.	Yes
valueType	const char *	The value type. `NUMBER` `JSON` `STRING` BOOLEAN	Yes
defaultValue	const char *	The default value. If `valueType` is `JSON`, pass the `defaultValue` as a JSON literal string. For example: `R"({"a":1})"`.	Yes
handler	void	The callback function to handle the returned result.	Yes
timeout_seconds	int	The request timeout in seconds. Default: 3.	No

Example

qtInterface->fetchABTestFromServer("y_json", "JSON", R"({"a":1})",  [](const string &result){
    std::cout << result << std::endl;
}, 3);

Important

Note: Ensure your business logic handles the default values for the A/B traffic splitting API functions.

Fetch from cache, then server

API function: fetchABTestFromCacheThenServer

// Fetch an experiment variable from the local cache first, then from the server if not found
QTFORPC_API QT_VOID fetchABTestFromCacheThenServer(QT_CSTR paramName, QT_CSTR valueType, QT_MAP defaultValue, QT_AB_CB handler, QT_INT timeout_seconds);

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Required
paramName	const char *	The parameter name.	Yes
valueType	const char *	The value type. `NUMBER` `JSON` `STRING` `BOOLEAN`	Yes
defaultValue	const char *	The default value. If `valueType` is `JSON`, pass the `defaultValue` as a JSON literal string. For example: `R"({"a":1})"`.	Yes
handler	void	The callback function to handle the returned result.	Yes
timeout_seconds	int	The request timeout in seconds. Default: 3.	No

Example

qtInterface->fetchABTestFromCacheThenServer("y_boolean", "BOOLEAN", "false", [](const string &result){
    std::cout << result << std::endl;
}, 3);

Important

Note: Ensure your business logic handles the default values for the A/B traffic splitting API functions.

3. Debug experiment

After you enable the experiment: