diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 6a07d39c2..e8db60ec6 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -161,6 +161,12 @@
             <artifactId>qpid-client</artifactId>
             <version>0.20</version>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.mockito</groupId>
+            <artifactId>mockito-all</artifactId>
+            <version>1.9.5</version>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
     <build>
@@ -319,6 +325,15 @@
                 </executions>
 
             </plugin>
+            <plugin>
+                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+                <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
+                <version>2.14.1</version>
+                <configuration>
+                    <!-- several of the unit tests require a large heap -->
+                    <argLine>-Xmx784m</argLine>
+                </configuration>
+            </plugin>
         </plugins>
     </build>
 </project>
diff --git a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileAction.java b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileAction.java
index 9a2969405..d7732b8f9 100644
--- a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileAction.java
+++ b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileAction.java
@@ -3,74 +3,66 @@
 import java.awt.Color;
 import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
 import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
-import java.io.File;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.Map;
 import javax.swing.JTextArea;
-import javax.swing.JTextField;
 
 public class TestCsvFileAction implements ActionListener {
 
-    private final JTextField filename;
-    private final JTextField prefix;
-    private final JTextField separator;
-    private final JTextArea infoArea;
+    private final VariablesFromCSVGui variablesCsvUi;
 
-    public TestCsvFileAction(JTextField fileName, JTextField prefix, JTextField separator, JTextArea infoArea) {
-        this.filename = fileName;
-        this.prefix = prefix;
-        this.separator = separator;
-        this.infoArea = infoArea;
+    public TestCsvFileAction(VariablesFromCSVGui variablesCsvUi) {
+        this.variablesCsvUi = variablesCsvUi;
     }
 
     @Override
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
+        JTextArea infoArea = variablesCsvUi.getCheckInfoTextArea();
         infoArea.setText("");
         infoArea.setForeground(Color.black);
 
+        VariablesFromCSV testElem = (VariablesFromCSV)variablesCsvUi.createTestElement();
+
         boolean noValues = true;
         String msgVars = "";
         int count = 0;
 
-        File f = new File(filename.getText());
-        if (!f.exists()) {
-            reportError("File '" + filename.getText() + "' was not found...");
-            return;
-        } else {
-            try {
-                VariableFromCsvFileReader reader = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(filename.getText());
-                Map<String, String> vars = reader.getDataAsMap(prefix.getText(), separator.getText());
-                Iterator<String> iter = vars.keySet().iterator();
-                while (iter.hasNext()) {
-                    String var = iter.next();
-                    String value = vars.get(var);
-                    if (!"".equals(value)) {
-                        noValues = false;
-                    }
-                    msgVars = msgVars + "${" + var + "} = " + vars.get(var) + "\n";
-                    count++;
+        try {
+            Map<String, String> vars = testElem.getArgumentsAsMap();
+            Iterator<String> iter = vars.keySet().iterator();
+
+            while (iter.hasNext()) {
+                String var = iter.next();
+                String value = vars.get(var);
+                if (!"".equals(value)) {
+                    noValues = false;
                 }
-            } catch (Exception ex) {
-                reportError("Error processing file: " + ex.toString());
+                msgVars = msgVars + "${" + var + "} = " + vars.get(var) + "\n";
+                count++;
             }
-        }
-        if (count == 0) {
-            reportError("File parsed, but no variable found.");
-        } else if (noValues) {
-            reportOk("WARNING: File parsed, " + count + " variable" + (count > 1 ? "s" : "") + " found, but no variable have value!");
-            reportOk(msgVars);
-        } else {
-            reportOk("File successfuly parsed, " + count + " variable" + (count > 1 ? "s" : "") + " found:");
-            reportOk(msgVars);
+
+            if (count == 0) {
+                reportError("File parsed, but no variable found.");
+            } else if (noValues) {
+                reportOk("WARNING: File parsed, " + count + " variable" + (count > 1 ? "s" : "") + " found, but no variable have value!");
+                reportOk(msgVars);
+            } else {
+                reportOk("File successfuly parsed, " + count + " variable" + (count > 1 ? "s" : "") + " found:");
+                reportOk(msgVars);
+            }
+        } catch (Exception ex) {
+                reportError("Error processing file: " + ex.toString());
         }
     }
 
     private void reportError(String msg) {
+        JTextArea infoArea = variablesCsvUi.getCheckInfoTextArea();
         infoArea.setText(infoArea.getText() + "Problem detected: " + msg + "\n");
         infoArea.setForeground(Color.red);
     }
 
     private void reportOk(String string) {
+        JTextArea infoArea = variablesCsvUi.getCheckInfoTextArea();
         infoArea.setText(infoArea.getText() + string + "\n");
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReader.java b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReader.java
index 42e059ba1..ac30bf240 100644
--- a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReader.java
+++ b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReader.java
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package kg.apc.jmeter.config;
 
 import java.io.BufferedReader;
-import java.io.File;
 import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
 import java.io.FileReader;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -18,46 +17,81 @@
 public class VariableFromCsvFileReader {
 
     private static final Logger log = LoggingManager.getLoggerForClass();
-    private File file;
+    private BufferedReader input;
 
+    /**
+     * Initialize a new CSV reader for the named file.
+     *
+     * @param csvFileName name of the CSV input file
+     */
     public VariableFromCsvFileReader(String csvFileName) {
-        file = new File(csvFileName);
+        try {
+            input = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(csvFileName));
+        } catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
+            log.error("File not found: " + ex.getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Initialize a new CSV reader with a BufferedReader as input.
+     *
+     * @param input the CSV input
+     */
+    public VariableFromCsvFileReader(BufferedReader input) {
+        this.input = input;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Parses (name, value) pairs from the input and returns the result as a Map. The name is taken from the first column and
+     * value from the second column. If an input line contains only one column its value is defaulted to an empty string.
+     * Any extra columns are ignored.
+     *
+     * @param prefix a prefix to apply to the mapped variable names
+     * @param separator the field delimiter
+     * @return a map of (name, value) pairs
+     */
     public Map<String, String> getDataAsMap(String prefix, String separator) {
+        return getDataAsMap(prefix, separator, 0);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Parses (name, value) pairs from the input and returns the result as a Map, with the option to skip the first line.
+     * The name is taken from the first column and value from the second column. If an input line contains only one
+     * column its value is defaulted to an empty string. Any extra columns are ignored.
+     *
+     * If the input contains headers, call with skipLines equal to the number of lines of headers.
+     *
+     * @param prefix a prefix to apply to the mapped variable names
+     * @param separator the field delimiter
+     * @param skipLines the number of lines at the beginning of the input to skip
+     * @return a map of (name, value) pairs
+     */
+    public Map<String, String> getDataAsMap(String prefix, String separator, int skipLines) {
         if (separator.isEmpty()) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("CSV separator cannot be empty");
         }
 
-        HashMap ret = new HashMap<String, String>();
-        if (file.exists()) {
+        Map<String, String> variables = new HashMap<String, String>();
+        if (input != null) {
             try {
-                BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file));
-                String line = reader.readLine();
-                while (line != null) {
-                    String[] lineValues = JOrphanUtils.split(line, separator, false);
+                String line;
+                int lineNum = 0;
+                while ((line = input.readLine()) != null) {
+                    if (++lineNum > skipLines) {
+                        String[] lineValues = JOrphanUtils.split(line, separator, false);
 
-                    switch (lineValues.length) {
-                        case 1:
+                        if (lineValues.length == 1) {
                             log.warn("Less than 2 columns at line: " + line);
-                            ret.put(prefix + lineValues[0], "");
-                            break;
-                        case 2:
-                            ret.put(prefix + lineValues[0], lineValues[1]);
-                            break;
-                        default:
-                            log.warn("Bad format for line: " + line);
-                            break;
+                            variables.put(prefix + lineValues[0], "");
+                        } else if (lineValues.length >= 2) {
+                            variables.put(prefix + lineValues[0], lineValues[1]);
+                        }
                     }
-
-                    line = reader.readLine();
                 }
-            } catch (FileNotFoundException ex) {
-                log.error("File not found: " + ex.getMessage());
             } catch (IOException ex) {
                 log.error("Error while reading: " + ex.getMessage());
             }
         }
-        return ret;
+        return variables;
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSV.java b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSV.java
index b881d79a8..a5228a864 100644
--- a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSV.java
+++ b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSV.java
@@ -12,12 +12,13 @@ public class VariablesFromCSV extends Arguments{
     public static final String VARIABLE_PREFIX = "variablesPrefix";
     public static final String FILENAME = "filename";
     public static final String SEPARATOR = "delimiter";
+    public static final String SKIP_LINES = "skipLines";
     public static final String STORE_SYS_PROP = "storeSysProp";
 
-    //It seems org.apache.jmeter.engine.Precompiler requires only this method
+    //It seems org.apache.jmeter.engine.Precompiler requires only thishttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/jmeter-plugins/gWn7MTgvTfE method
     @Override
     public Map<String, String> getArgumentsAsMap() {
-       Map<String, String> variables = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(getFileName()).getDataAsMap(getVariablePrefix(), getSeparator());
+       Map<String, String> variables = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(getFileName()).getDataAsMap(getVariablePrefix(), getSeparator(), getSkipLines());
        //store in System Properties also
        if(isStoreAsSystemProperty()) {
           Iterator<String> iter = variables.keySet().iterator();
@@ -56,6 +57,14 @@ public void setSeparator(String separator) {
         setProperty(SEPARATOR, separator);
     }
 
+    public int getSkipLines() {
+        return getPropertyAsInt(SKIP_LINES, 0);
+    }
+
+    public void setSkipLines(int skipLines) {
+        setProperty(SKIP_LINES, skipLines);
+    }
+
     public boolean isStoreAsSystemProperty() {
         return getPropertyAsBoolean(STORE_SYS_PROP);
     }
diff --git a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSVGui.java b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSVGui.java
index 4680db62c..0e76f99c9 100644
--- a/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSVGui.java
+++ b/src/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariablesFromCSVGui.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ public class VariablesFromCSVGui extends AbstractConfigGui {
     private JTextField fileName;
     private JTextField variablePrefix;
     private JTextField separator;
+    private JTextField skipLines;
     private JCheckBox storeSysProp;
     
     private JButton browseButton;
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ public void configure(TestElement element) {
         fileName.setText(element.getPropertyAsString(VariablesFromCSV.FILENAME));
         variablePrefix.setText(element.getPropertyAsString(VariablesFromCSV.VARIABLE_PREFIX));
         separator.setText(element.getPropertyAsString(VariablesFromCSV.SEPARATOR));
+        skipLines.setText(element.getPropertyAsString(VariablesFromCSV.SKIP_LINES));
         storeSysProp.setSelected(element.getPropertyAsBoolean(VariablesFromCSV.STORE_SYS_PROP));
     }
 
@@ -74,6 +76,7 @@ public void modifyTestElement(TestElement te) {
             varsCsv.setFileName(fileName.getText());
             varsCsv.setVariablePrefix(variablePrefix.getText());
             varsCsv.setSeparator(separator.getText());
+            varsCsv.setSkipLines(Integer.parseInt(skipLines.getText()));
             varsCsv.setStoreAsSystemProperty(storeSysProp.isSelected());
         }
     }
@@ -117,19 +120,22 @@ private void init() {
         addToPanel(mainPanel, labelConstraints, 0, 2, new JLabel("Separator (use '\\t' for tab): ", JLabel.RIGHT));
         addToPanel(mainPanel, editConstraints, 1, 2, separator = new JTextField(20));
 
-        addToPanel(mainPanel, labelConstraints, 0, 3, new JLabel("Store variables also in System Properties: ", JLabel.RIGHT));
-        addToPanel(mainPanel, editConstraints, 1, 3, storeSysProp = new JCheckBox());
+        addToPanel(mainPanel, labelConstraints, 0, 3, new JLabel("Skip initial lines: ", JLabel.RIGHT));
+        addToPanel(mainPanel, editConstraints, 1, 3, skipLines = new JTextField(20));
+
+        addToPanel(mainPanel, labelConstraints, 0, 4, new JLabel("Store variables also in System Properties: ", JLabel.RIGHT));
+        addToPanel(mainPanel, editConstraints, 1, 4, storeSysProp = new JCheckBox());
 
         editConstraints.insets = new java.awt.Insets(4, 0, 0, 0);
         labelConstraints.insets = new java.awt.Insets(4, 0, 0, 2);
 
-        addToPanel(mainPanel, labelConstraints, 0, 4, checkButton = new JButton("Test CSV File"));
+        addToPanel(mainPanel, labelConstraints, 0, 5, checkButton = new JButton("Test CSV File"));
 
         labelConstraints.insets = new java.awt.Insets(4, 0, 0, 0);
 
         checkInfo = new JTextArea();
-        addToPanel(mainPanel, editConstraints, 1, 4, GuiBuilderHelper.getTextAreaScrollPaneContainer(checkInfo, 10));
-        checkButton.addActionListener(new TestCsvFileAction(fileName, variablePrefix, separator, checkInfo));
+        addToPanel(mainPanel, editConstraints, 1, 5, GuiBuilderHelper.getTextAreaScrollPaneContainer(checkInfo, 10));
+        checkButton.addActionListener(new TestCsvFileAction(this));
         checkInfo.setEditable(false);
         checkInfo.setOpaque(false);
 
@@ -138,6 +144,10 @@ private void init() {
         add(container, BorderLayout.CENTER);
     }
 
+    public JTextArea getCheckInfoTextArea() {
+        return checkInfo;
+    }
+
     private void addToPanel(JPanel panel, GridBagConstraints constraints, int col, int row, JComponent component) {
         constraints.gridx = col;
         constraints.gridy = row;
@@ -149,6 +159,7 @@ private void initFields() {
         fileName.setText("");
         checkInfo.setText("");
         separator.setText(";");
+        skipLines.setText("0");
         storeSysProp.setSelected(false);
     }
 }
diff --git a/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileActionTest.java b/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileActionTest.java
index c4c719a7d..ce56e0e31 100644
--- a/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileActionTest.java
+++ b/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/TestCsvFileActionTest.java
@@ -3,11 +3,10 @@
 import javax.swing.JTextArea;
 import javax.swing.JTextField;
 import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
-import org.junit.After;
-import org.junit.AfterClass;
-import org.junit.Before;
-import org.junit.BeforeClass;
-import org.junit.Test;
+
+import static org.mockito.Mockito.*;
+import org.junit.*;
+
 import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 
 /**
@@ -43,34 +42,49 @@ public void tearDown() {
      */
     @Test
     public void testActionPerformed() {
-        System.out.println("actionPerformed");
-        JTextField file = new JTextField(fileName);
-        JTextField prefix = new JTextField("");
-        JTextField separator = new JTextField(",");
+        VariablesFromCSV csvVarsTestElem = new VariablesFromCSV();
+        csvVarsTestElem.setFileName(fileName);
+        csvVarsTestElem.setVariablePrefix("");
+        csvVarsTestElem.setSeparator(",");
+        csvVarsTestElem.setSkipLines(0);
+
         JTextArea infoArea = new JTextArea();
+
+        VariablesFromCSVGui ui = mock(VariablesFromCSVGui.class);
+        when(ui.createTestElement()).thenReturn(csvVarsTestElem);
+        when(ui.getCheckInfoTextArea()).thenReturn(infoArea);
+
+        TestCsvFileAction instance = new TestCsvFileAction(ui);
         ActionEvent e = null;
-        TestCsvFileAction instance = new TestCsvFileAction(file, prefix, separator, infoArea);
         instance.actionPerformed(e);
+
         assertTrue(infoArea.getText().startsWith("File successfuly parsed, 2"));
-        file.setText(fileName + ".notFound");
-        instance.actionPerformed(e);
-        assertTrue(infoArea.getText().startsWith("Problem detected:"));
     }
 
     /**
-     * @see https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/jmeter-plugins/gWn7MTgvTfE
+     * Verify that exceptions are reported when test action is performed.
+     *
+     * see https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/jmeter-plugins/gWn7MTgvTfE
      */
     @Test
-    public void testActionPerformed_eternal_loop() {
-        System.out.println("actionPerformed");
-        String fileName1 = TestCsvFileActionTest.class.getResource("CSVSample_user.csv").getPath();
-        JTextField file = new JTextField(fileName1);
-        JTextField prefix = new JTextField("");
-        JTextField separator = new JTextField("");
+    public void testActionPerformed_exception() {
+        String fileName = TestCsvFileActionTest.class.getResource("CSVSample_user.csv").getPath();
+        VariablesFromCSV csvVarsTestElem = new VariablesFromCSV();
+        csvVarsTestElem.setFileName(fileName);
+        csvVarsTestElem.setVariablePrefix("");
+        csvVarsTestElem.setSeparator("");
+        csvVarsTestElem.setSkipLines(0);
+
         JTextArea infoArea = new JTextArea();
+
+        VariablesFromCSVGui ui = mock(VariablesFromCSVGui.class);
+        when(ui.createTestElement()).thenReturn(csvVarsTestElem);
+        when(ui.getCheckInfoTextArea()).thenReturn(infoArea);
+
+        TestCsvFileAction instance = new TestCsvFileAction(ui);
         ActionEvent e = null;
-        TestCsvFileAction instance = new TestCsvFileAction(file, prefix, separator, infoArea);
         instance.actionPerformed(e);
+
         assertTrue(infoArea.getText().startsWith("Problem detected:"));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest.java b/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest.java
index a5754bc05..bd38b80bf 100644
--- a/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest.java
+++ b/test/kg/apc/jmeter/config/VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest.java
@@ -1,15 +1,18 @@
 package kg.apc.jmeter.config;
 
+import java.io.BufferedReader;
+import java.io.StringReader;
 import java.util.Map;
+
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
+
 import static org.junit.Assert.*;
 
 /**
- *
  * @author Stephane Hoblingre
  */
 public class VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest {
@@ -17,16 +20,16 @@ public class VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest {
     private final String fileName;
 
     public VariableFromCsvFileReaderTest() {
-       fileName = TestCsvFileActionTest.class.getResource("csvFileTest.csv").getPath();
+        fileName = TestCsvFileActionTest.class.getResource("csvFileTest.csv").getPath();
     }
 
-   @BeforeClass
-   public static void setUpClass() throws Exception {
-   }
+    @BeforeClass
+    public static void setUpClass() throws Exception {
+    }
 
-   @AfterClass
-   public static void tearDownClass() throws Exception {
-   }
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void tearDownClass() throws Exception {
+    }
 
     @Before
     public void setUp() {
@@ -36,17 +39,136 @@ public void setUp() {
     public void tearDown() {
     }
 
-   /**
-    * Test of getDataAsMap method, of class VariableFromCsvFileReader.
-    */
-   @Test
-   public void testGetDataAsMap() {
-      System.out.println("getDataAsMap");
-      String prefix = "";
-      String separator = ",";
-      VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(fileName);
-      Map result = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
-      assertTrue(result.size() == 2);
-   }
+    /**
+     * Test of getDataAsMap method, of class VariableFromCsvFileReader.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testGetDataAsMap() {
+        System.out.println("getDataAsMap");
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = ",";
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(fileName);
+        Map result = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
+        assertTrue(result.size() == 2);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test getDataAsMap() using a BufferedReader as input instead of a file.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testBufferedReaderInput() {
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = ",";
+        String csvData = "var0,val0\nvar1,val1";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
+
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
+
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var0", "val0", variables.get("var0"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var1", "val1", variables.get("var1"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test getDataAsMap() for input with more than two columns.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testExtraColumnsInput() {
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = ",";
+        String csvData = "var0,val0,a comment\nvar1,val1";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
+
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
+
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var0", "val0", variables.get("var0"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var1", "val1", variables.get("var1"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test getDataAsMap() with input that contains blank lines.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testBlankLineInput() {
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = ",";
+        String csvData = "var0,val0\n\nvar1,val1\n";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
 
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
+
+        assertEquals("incorrect number of variables parsed from input", 2, variables.size());
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var0", "val0", variables.get("var0"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var1", "val1", variables.get("var1"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Tests getDataAsMap() with input that contains only a single column.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testSingleColumn() {
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = ",";
+        String csvData = "var0\n\nvar1,val1\n";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
+
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
+
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var0", "", variables.get("var0"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var1", "val1", variables.get("var1"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test getDataAsMap() with a non-blank variable prefix.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testVariablePrefix() {
+        String prefix = "test";
+        String separator = ",";
+        String csvData = "var0,val0,a comment\nvar1,val1";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
+
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator);
+
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for testvar0", "val0", variables.get("testvar0"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for testvar1", "val1", variables.get("testvar1"));
+        assertNull("var0 should not be mapped", variables.get("var0"));
+        assertNull("var1 should not be mapped", variables.get("var1"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test getDataAsMap() skipping the first input line which is a header.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testSkipHeaderLine() {
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = ",";
+        String csvData = "name,value,description\nvar0,val0,a comment\nvar1,val1";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
+
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator, 1);
+
+        assertNull("header line was interpreted as variable data", variables.get("name"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var0", "val0", variables.get("var0"));
+        assertEquals("incorrect value for var1", "val1", variables.get("var1"));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Test getDataAsMap() with empty separator. see https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/jmeter-plugins/gWn7MTgvTfE
+     */
+    @Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
+    public void testEmptySeparator() {
+        String prefix = "";
+        String separator = "";
+        String csvData = "name,value,description\nvar0,val0,a comment\nvar1,val1";
+        BufferedReader input = new BufferedReader(new StringReader(csvData));
+        VariableFromCsvFileReader instance = new VariableFromCsvFileReader(input);
+
+        Map variables = instance.getDataAsMap(prefix, separator, 1);
+    }
 }
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