Advanced Table Specification
back to Table Specification
Introduction
Beside the usage of Simplified Table Specification , we also provide with advanced table specification to define the behavior of components.
There are three table patterns are supported in a Advanced Tabular Specification: State Transition Tables, Mode Transition Tables, and Function Tables.
For more information, please refer to table pattern supported in AF3.
For more information about function tables, please refer to function tables in AF3.
Creating an Advanced Tabular Specification
To create a Advanced Tabular Specification for a component, please open the context menu of the corresponding component and select "Advanced Tabular Specification".
Then an advanced tabular specification without sub table has been created.
Open the context menu of the new created tabular specification, select the table pattern for the further contained table.
To create a State Transition Table for a Advanced Tabular Specification, please open the context menu of the corresponding Advanced Tabular Specification and select "State Transition Table".
Then a default State Transition Table will be added into this tabular specification. This default state transition table takes existing input ports, output ports and data state variable as the source of inputs, outputs, prevariables, and post variables columns, which means the new created state transition table has columns with same name and data type as its ports and date state variables.
Taking Component "Behavior" which has one input port and three output ports as an example, the new created state transition table for Component "Behavior" will be as follows:
Creating a Mode Transition Table
Similar with the Creating a State Transition Table, we open the context menu of the corresponding Advanced Tabular Specification and select "Mode Transition Table".
For each Table Mode, the Mode Transition Table have a Component Structure, which is similar with Mode Component Structure
Operations on State (Mode) Transition Table
State Transition Table and Mode Transition Table not only have the similar structure, but also have similar operations on tables.Each state transition table can change its table structure by table structure configuration. However, the mode transition table has no such feature. Each mode transition table is designed to own "Source" column (source mode) and "Target" column (target mode).
To define the transition rules of the State (Mode) Transition Table, the correct type of the input is required. All of cells of table in the Transition Rule Editor should be the right data type required.
Some operations on tables has been introduced in simplified table specification.
- Step 1 - Open an state transition table in Transition Table Editor.
- Step 2 - Choose "Table Mode Editor" tab to open Table ModeEditor.
- To Add a new table state, please press the "Add" button on the right side.
- To remove a table state from the table, please choose the table state at first, then click the "Remove" button on the right side.
- To set a table state as initial state, please double click on this table state. If
shown before the table state, then this table state is initial.
The table specification can be simulated in the AF3 Simulator. If a row is picked for execution, the row will be highlighted.
- Step 1 - Open the "Tabular Specification Analyses" view by clicking on the button
from the toolbar and choose the "Nondeterminism Analyses" tab.
- Step 2 - Open a (State/Mode) Transition Table in the editor and press the "Check non-determinism" button.
- Step 3 - In case when potential non-deterministic transitions are found, they will be displayed in the table on the left side. On the right-side an evidence about the non-determinism will be shown.
- Step 1 - Open the "Tabular Specification Analyses" view by clicking on the button from the toolbar and choose the "Completeness Analyses" tab.
- Step 2 - Open a State Transition Table in the editor and press the "Check completeness" button.
- Step 3 - In case when potential missing condition are found, they will be displayed in the table on the left side. When one of the missing conditions is chosen, on the right-side an example about the incompleteness will be shown in "Evidence" table.
