Where to add a new type

In the workflows/ directory, ng6 provides a types.py file where new types can be added.

ng6/
├── bin/
├── docs/
├── src/
├── workflows/
│   ├── components/
│   ├── extparsers/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── formats.py
│   └── types.py   [ file where to add new jflow types ]
├── applications.properties
└── README

How to add a new type

In ng6 a type is represented by a function named by the desired type name. The function should take only one argument, whose value is given by the user. The function is in charge to check and/or modify the given value. If an error occurred or if the value does not meet the expected criteria, an argparse.ArgumentTypeError should be raised with the suitable error message. This message will be used by ng6 to inform the final user of the error.

In the following example, the intBetween1and100 function checks if the input value is in between 1 and 100:

def intBetween1and100(myint):
    # the input argument type is allways a string
    try:
        myint = int(myint)
    except:
        raise argparse.ArgumentTypeError("'"+str(myint)+"' is not a valid int!")
    if myint <= 100 and myint >= 1:
        return myint
    else:
        raise argparse.ArgumentTypeError("'"+str(myint)+"' is not between 1 and 100!")

How to use a new type

The new created type can then be used in both add_parameter and add_parameter_list of classes jflow.workflow.Workflow, ng6.ng6workflow.NG6Workflow, ng6.ng6workflow.CASAVANG6Workflow, ng6.analysis.Analysis and jflow.component.Component as following:

[...]
def define_parameters(self, function="process"):
    self.add_parameter("my_param", "A value in between 1 and 100", type="intBetween1and100")	
[...]