Difference between revisions of "Henshin/Parameters"

Revision as of 09:15, 23 April 2018

Parameters allow to shape the behavior of units, including rules, with variable information. A unit can have an arbitary number of parameters. Parameters have a name, a description, a kind, and, optionally, a type.

Parameter kinds

The kind specifies the time when the parameter is bound to a concrete value, and whether the parameter is intended to be accessed after the unit has been applied. There are four parameter kinds (in, out, inout, var) and an additional legacy parameter kind (unknown)

Examples: Bank Accounts (in, var), Ecore2RDB (in, out, var), Ecore2Genmodel (in, out, var), Grid & Comb Pattern (in, inout, out), Gossiping Girls (out), Probabilistic Broadcast (in, var)

Parameter mappings

Parameters that need to be set externally can be set by the user using the API or the Interpreter Wizard. In addition, they can be passed in from another unit using a parameter mapping. A parameter mapping assigns a source parameter to a target parameter between a unit and its sub-unit. Parameters that need to be set automatically during unit application are either set during the match finding process (in the case of LHS elements) or after the creation of new elements (in the case of RHS elements). This behavior can be used to propagate values between LHS and RHS elements, as exemplified in the transferMoney rule in the Bank Example.

The legacy parameter kind unknown can be mapped arbitrarily depending on its usage.

Examples: Ecore2RDB (in→in, out→out), Ecore2Genmodel (in→in, out→out), Grid & Comb Pattern (in→in, out→out, in→inout, inout→in, inout→out)

Usage during definition

Parameters can be created using the tree-based or the graphical editor. They can be edited using the latter or the Properties view.

Declared parameters are used inside the unit by referencing them by name. Parameters can be used at any place in the unit where a string value is expected: in rules, this is the case for node names, attribute values, edge indices, and attribute conditions. In iterated units, this is the case for the iterations condition.

Parameter creation and editing in graphical editor

To create or edit a parameter with the graphical editor open the according *.henshin_diagram file. Select the name of a unit or rule by clicking on it. Click a second time to edit the name. You can now - text-based - add, edit and remove parameters which follow the unit/rule name encompassed by parentheses and separated by commas. The parameter entries adhere to the following scheme: <kind> <name>:<type> . Both kind and type are optional. If you omit a kind the parameter kind will be unknown.

Parameter creation in tree-based editor

To create a parameter with the tree-based editor open the according *.henshin-file. Right-click on the desired rule or unit and navigate to New Child → Parameter. You can continue with editing the parameter in its Properties view.

Parameter editing in properties view

In the Properties view you can edit a parameter after selecting it in the tree-based editor. To edit a value click in the according row of the Value column.

Parameter mapping creation

In the graphical editor parameter mappings are maintained implicitely based on overlapping parameter names: each parameter of a unit is mapped to all parameters of the same name in all sub-units; mappings in the opposite direction exist as well.

Using the tree-based editor mappings for parameters can be created manually. Therefore right-click the unit and select New Child → Parameter Mapping. The mapping can be edited using its Properties view.

Usage during execution

Before unit or rule execution parameters of kind in and inout have to be set externally. Parameters of kind unknown may be set externally depending on their usage in their units/rules. This can be done using the Interpreter Wizard or the Interpreter API.

Interpreter Wizard

Interpreter wizard with parameters

To set parameters using the interpreter wizard you have to open the wizard for your unit or rule of interest. In the lower part of the popup window is a table with the available parameters. You can set them by editing the cells in the Values column.

Interpreter API

See Setting and Getting Parameter Values in Henshin/Interpreter#Transforming_and_more.