Advanced Engineering Language (A-EKL)

Note that this language inherits the behaviors and components of the Mathematical Engineering Language (M-EKL) and of the Core Engineering Language (C-EKL).

A-EKL uses the full set of capabilities of the Engineering Knowledge Language (EKL) letting you access attributes and functions and manipulate types. V5 applications aim at creating design objects enriched by a knowledge type. A-EKL is the level of language required to manipulate them as knowledge objects through tightly integrated knowledge artifacts:

Actions and Reactions, for Knowledge Advisor
Expert Rules for Knowledge Expert
Behaviors for BKT
Patterns for PKT

A_EKL also provides a full set of functionalities to manipulate V5 features as Knowledge Objects

Knowledge Object: Basic attributes and methods
Search capabilities
Value pointers manipulation
Applications-specific services

Knowledgeware and Extended Functions and Types

Object Type	Feature Type	Literal Type
Keywords	Design tables	Generative Functions
Law	List	Macros
Mathematical Functions	Messages	Operators
Pointer Objects	Search Function	String
Analysis Operators	Circle Constructors	Direction Constructors
Electrical Functions	Line Constructors	Measures
Part Measures	Plane Constructors	Point Constructors
Surface Constructors	Wireframe Constructors

	Operators belonging to Knowledge products.
	Operators and constructors belonging to non Knowledge products.

Note that the packages available in the Knowledge Expert browser are documented in the Reference section in the Knowledge Expert User's Guide.

More Information About A-EKL

Working with Types and objects

The knowledge type is defined by:

A set of attributes.
A set of methods.

Note that an attribute can be:

Single values parameters ( string, integer, real, boolean, dimensions)
A reference to another object ( the type of the attribute being the type that must support the object that will be linked through this attribute)
A list of values, or a list of references to other objects. For example : Pad.Height where Height is a length

An object in V5 implements one or several types. Implementing means that this object will have the attributes defined by the type (and its super types). It also means that it can be used at a place where we expect an object of this type. For example, a mechanical feature (like a Pad) implements both the type of its specification (the Pad) and the type of its result (a solid).

Working with Basic Types

When manipulating an object in the Knowledgeware language, it is possible to read or to write its attributes. We describe here the basic types hierarchy. The applicative types inherit from this basic hierarchy, and use these types for the definition of their attributes.

Types can be broken down into 3 main categories:

The Feature (3) type. This type provides a list of attributes available on each V5 objects (Name, UserInfo, Children) and a list of methods that can be applied to each V5 object (Access to dynamic attributes, query, find, etc...).
The Value types deriving from the Literal (2) type (Length is a sub-type of Literal.) Those objects cannot have attributes. They have a limited list of characteristics.
The VoidType (4) type is a dummy type that can be used when defining the output argument of a function to indicate that it returns nothing.

All types derive from a basic type called ObjectType (1). If a function takes such a type as argument, you will be able to pass both values and objects. You can therefore create a list of objects or a list of values (List.setItem (ObjectType)).

Note that the List (5) type is a sub-type of Feature. So an attribute of List type is similar to an attribute of Point type, i.e. they both provide access to an object of List type or of Point type.

Writing and Reading Attributes

An attribute is characterized by its name and its type.

`Example 1`	`Example 2`
`sin (x.att)`	`x.att = 4`
The reference to the attribute of x is passed as variable of the sinus function. The variable is read within this function which reads the value of the attribute att of x.	The reference of the attribute att of x is passed as variable of the affectation operator. Within this operator, the variable is valuated, thus allowing you to write the value of the attribute att of x.

Using Object Methods

Example

if PartBody\Pad.1\Boolean.1 
     <> true

     PartBody\Pad.1.SetAttributeBoolean("Boolean.1", 
     true)