Hexaly Modeler
Object-oriented C++ APIs are provided for the virtual machine powering the
Hexaly modeling language. With only a few classes, you can load modules,
interact with their variables and execute them. If you are not familiar with the
modeling language, please have a look at the
language reference for more information.
Create a module
First, you have to create a HexalyModeler
environment. It is the
main class of the Modeler library and allows you to create a module in one
of two ways:
Both of these methods return an instance of HxmModule
which
will enable you to interact with the module’s variables and functions.
Launch a module
There are two launch modes for a module:
Optimization mode: This is the classic and default mode for the modeler.
At the very least, you must implement a model
method in your module
that will build an HxModel. You can then call
HxmModule::run()
to start the execution of the module. This function
takes as first argument a Hexaly Optimizer instance that you have to
create beforehand using the HexalyModeler::createOptimizer()
method.
After the Hexaly Optimizer model has been built, the resolution process
will be started automatically.
Note that the run method also accepts as a parameter a list of arguments
that will be passed as global variables to your module:
HexalyModeler modeler ;
HexalyOptimizer hx = modeler . createOptimizer ();
HxmModule module = modeler . loadModule ( "module_name" , "my_file.hxm" );
module . run ( hx , { "hxIterationLimit=100" , "hxTimeLimit=10" });
Main mode: In this mode, the modeler behaves like a classical programming
language. To use this mode, you have to implement a function named
main
in which you are free to do anything you want without being
limited by the formalism of the functions input
, model
, param
,
display
and output
. You can then call HxmModule::runMain()
to start the execution of the module.
Note that unlike the optimization mode, it is your responsibility to
manually create the optimizer instances, close your models and launch the
resolutions. In return, you are free to run several successive resolutions
or none at all if you just want to use Hexaly Modeler for its pure
programming features.
For more details on the differences between the optimization and the main
mode, read Main mode .
Interacting with variables
You can interact with the variables inside a module thanks to getters and
setters on the HxmModule
class. Values can be obtained in their
native type or retrieved as HxmValue
which is a container
that can hold any type of value inside a module. For more information
on value types available in the modeler you can look at HxmType
.
You can create maps from the modeler instance with
HexalyModeler::createMap()
. A Map is a data structure holding
(key, value) pairs that can also be used as an array. For more information
on maps you can look at the
map module .
Using external functions
You can expose your own C++ functions to Hexaly Modeler and turns them into
Hexaly functions thanks to the method
HexalyModeler::createFunction()
. First you have to extend the
HxmFunctor
class and implement the call()
function:
class MyHxmFunction : public HxmFunctor {
HxmValue call ( HexalyModeler & modeler , const std :: vector < HxmValue >& arguments ) {
hxdouble result = arguments [ 0 ]. asDouble () + arguments [ 1 ]. asDouble ();
return modeler . createDouble ( result );
}
}
MyHxmFunction myFunc ;
HxmFunction hxmFunc = modeler . createFunction ( & myFunc );
HxmValue args [ 2 ] = { modeler . createDouble ( 1.5 ), modeler . createDouble ( 2.3 )};
HxmValue result = hxmFunc . call ( args , 2 );
std :: cout << "result = " << result . asDouble () << std :: endl ; // prints "result = 3.8"
In the snippet above we declare a C++ function that takes two doubles as
input, adds them together and returns the result. We can then call the
function with HxmFunction::call()
to execute the function and
retrieve the result.
You can also assign the function to a variable in a module with
HxmModule::setFunction()
. After doing so, the function will be
callable within any function of the module.