Object (directive)

object - The object directive is used to define one or more objects in the model.

= Synopsis =

object class { name object-name; id object-id; groupid group-id; parent parent-name; rank rank; schedule_skew schedule_skew; latitude degrees-minutes-seconds; longitude degrees-minutes-seconds; in date-time; out date-time; heartbeat seconds; // flags NONE|HASPLC|LOCKED|RECALC|FOREIGN|SKIPSAVE|RERANK|DELTAMODE; } object class:id { ... } object class:from-id..to-id { ... } object class:..count { ... }

= GLM =

Common properties
All objects share common properties that can be defined.

name
Specifies the unique name used to reference this object from other objects. Object names must only contain letters, numbers, and underscores. By default, object names cannot start with a number, but the global property  can be set to a nonzero value to work around this. Starting an object name with a number can lead to parsing errors when linking objects at load time.

id
Specifies the unique id number used to reference this object when no name is given.

groupid
Specifies a group number to which this object belongs. This is used to help find objects that are aggregated using collectors.

parent
Specifies the parent object in the object ranks. will set an object's parent as the specifically named object. If an object is nested within another object, it will automatically use the object that it is defined within as the parent object. Entering  into the object's property block will set an object to explicitly not have a parent.

rank
The rank of the object determines its order of execution. An object's parent will always have a numerically greater rank than its children. Object ranks can be increased, but not decreased from within a model file. Increasing an object's rank will cause it to be called later in the pre-top down and post-top down passes, and earlier in the bottom-up pass.

schedule_skew
The number of seconds to offset any input schedule signals by, used to smooth out the otherwise lock-step behavior when changing parameters. Positive and negative integers are equally valid, telling the object to use the value later or sooner, respectively.

latitude
Specifies the latitude of the object's geo-coordinates. It is valid to use decimal numbers with an N, S, E, or W to indicate the hemisphere. The format  is also valid. Note: as of only the format   or   are valid.

longitude
Specifies the longitude of the object's geo-coordinates. See latitude

in
Specifies the date and time at which the object becomes active in the simulation. The default is INIT. Objects that are not in service for the entirety of a given run should not parent any objects.

out
Specifies the date and time at which the object becomes inactive in the simulation. The default is NEVER. See in.

heartbeat
The object heartbeat determines the number of seconds that elapse between calls to the heartbeat_classname export function. If the object heartbeat is zero or if the object's class does not export the heartbeat function, the heartbeat is not called. By default the object heartbeat is zero.

flags
Specifies the flags for special object behavior. See below for the specific meanings of the various flags

NONE
Indicates that no flags are set (default).

HASPLC
Indicates that the object has active PLC code.

LOCKED
Indicates that the object is current locked against concurrent memory access control.

RECALC
Indicates that the object is in an inconsistent state and needs an internal recalculation to be performed at the earliest opportunity.

FOREIGN
Indicates that the object was created by a DLL and its memory cannot be freed by the core.

SKIPSAFE
Indicates that the object sync functions can be safely skipped.

RERANK
Reserved for internal use only.

DELTAMODE
Indicates that the object should be included in any subsecond processing.

Single objects
To create a single object use the syntax:

object class { property value; // ... }

Numbered objects
To create an object with a specific identification number use the syntax:

object class:id { property value; // ... }


 * Note : There is no guarantee that the object will keep the assigned id number once loaded in memory. However, the number given will be used to ensure a unique identity for that object.

Multiple numbered objects
To define multiple objects with identification numbers in a range use the syntax:

object class:from..to { property value; // ... }

Multiple objects
To define multiples objects use the syntax:

object class:..count { property value; // ... }

Expansions
There are a number of intrinsic expansions available while an object is being defined:


 * {file} embeds the current file (full path,name,extension)
 * {filename} embeds the name of the file (no path, no extension)
 * {fileext} embeds the extension of the file (no path, no name)
 * {filepath} embeds the path of the file (no name, no extension)
 * {line} embeds the current line number
 * {namespace} embeds the name of the current namespace
 * {class} embeds the classname of the current object
 * {id} embeds the id of the current object
 * {var} embeds the current value of the current object's variable var

Expansions are embedded using the syntax:

object class { property `value{expansion}value`; }

For example, the following property assignment will embed the object id in the property my_string:

my_string `object_{id}`;

= See also =


 * Class directive
 * Directives