core functionality
Objects
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This is the common base class of all `big' objects in polymake. It does not have any properties, but provides several useful methods for scripting and interactive use.
User Methods of Core::Object
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apply_rule (pattern)
Executes the specified production rule. If the object does not possess enough initial properties to provide all required rule sources, or any of its preconditions are not satisfied, an exception is raised.
Parameters
String pattern : either a label (see prefer) or a rule header. The rule header must exactly match the definition in the rulefile, up to white spaces around property names. If the given pattern matches headers of several rules, or the given label is associated with several rules, the rule chain with smallest total weight (including the rules supplying the source properties) is chosen. -
attach (name, data, constructor_args)
Attach an arbitrary data item to a `big' object. Attachments are saved in the same data file as the `big' object itself. They can be retrieved by calling get_attachment.
Parameters
String name : attachment name, can be an arbitrary string. If an attachment with the given name already exists, it is silently replaced with new data.Any data : attachment data, can be a simple numeric scalar, a string, or a complex data type, e.g. a Matrix or Polynomial. `Big' objects, anonymous arrays or hashes are not allowed.String constructor_args : optional list of property names of the owning `big' object which should be passed to the attached data constructor when it will be restored from a data file. Properties of subobjects are specified in dotted path notation. For example, for an attachment of type NodeMap you must specify the "ADJACENCY" property containing the graph the map is referring to. -
disable_rules (pattern)
Temporarily disable production rules matching given pattern for an object. Rules are re-enabled after the complete execution of the current script or input expression in interactive mode.
Works much like the user function disable_rules but only affecting the given object.
Parameters
String pattern : either a label (see prefer) or a rule header. The rule header must exactly match the definition in the rulefile, up to white spaces around property names. If the given pattern matches headers of several rules, or the given label is associated with several rules, they all will be disabled regardless their precoditions, weights, or other attributes. -
dont_save ()
Clears the `changed' flag in the object, so that it won't be saved in the XML file it stems from. This method is primarily designed for unit tests, but could be also useful in interactive mode if you want to revert all recent changes and reload the object from the data file.
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get_attachment (name)
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get_schedule (request) → Core::RuleChain
Compose an optimal chain of production rules providing all requested properties. The returned RuleChain object can be applied to the original object as well as to any other object with the same initial set of properties. If no feasible rule chain exists, `undef' is returned.
To watch the rule scheduler at work, e.g. to see announcements about tried preconditions, you may temporarily increase the verbosity levels
$Verbose::rules
and$Verbose::scheduler
.Parameters
String request : name of a property with optional alternatives or a property path in dotted notation. Several requests may be listed.Returns
Core::RuleChain Example:- generate an optimal rule chain for a parameterized family of polytopes:
> @p=map { new Polytope("POINTS" => my_matrix($_) ) } 1..10;
> $s=$p[0]->get_schedule("FACETS", "TRIANGULATION.FACETS");
> $s->apply($_) for @p;
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list_attachments ()
Return names of all attachments as a list of strings.
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list_names ()
Returns the list of names of multiple subobject instances. This method can be applied to any instance of a multiple subobject. For a normal (non-multiple) subobject or a top-level object just returns its name.
Example:- List all names of linear programs associated with a polytope:
> print join(" ", $p->LP->list_names);
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list_properties (deep)
Returns the list of names of all properties kept in the object.
Parameters
Bool deep : recursively descend in all subobjects and list their properties in dotted notation. -
properties ()
Returns or prints a string with all properties (names and values) and subobjects.
Options
Int maxdepth descend into subobjects up to given depth, default 0 -
remove_attachment (name) → Any
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set_as_default ()
Makes the multiple subobject instance the default one. Physically this means moving it at the 0-th position in the instance list.
The instance can be selected by give() or PROPERTY_NAME access method.
Examples:- by current position:
> $p->TRIANGULATION->[$i]->set_as_default;
- by subobject name:
> $p->TRIANGULATION("placing")->set_as_default;
- by checking for a specific property:
> $p->TRIANGULATION(sub { defined($_->lookup("WEIGHTS")) })->set_as_default;
- by analyzing all instances and picking the best one:
> for (@{$p->TRIANGULATION}) { assign_min($min_facets, $_->N_FACETS) and $t=$_ } $t->set_as_default;
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set_as_default_now ()
Temporarily make the multiple subobject instance the default one. The change is automatically reverted at the end of the current user cycle. Usage as set_as_default.
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A rule chain to compute properties of a `big' object. It can be obtained by calling the method get_schedule.
User Methods of Core::RuleChain
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list ()
Return the headers of rules in the chain.
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list_new_properties ()
Return the names of properties computed by the rule chain.
User Functions
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These functions are part of the core user interface. They are available in both scripting and interactive modes.
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application (name)
Called in void context sets the current application to the one given by name (loading its rules if necessary) or by an object of type
Polymake::Core::Application
.Called in non-void context loads the application if necessary and returns the
Application
object representing it, but does not make it the current application.Finally, if called without arguments, just returns the current
Application
object, which is also always available in the variable$application
. Sayprint $application->name;
to see its name.Parameters
String name | Application app_objExample:- To set the graph application as current, type this:
> application "graph";
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disable_rules (pattern)
Temporarily disable production rules matching given pattern. Rules are re-enabled after the complete execution of the current script or input expression in interactive mode.
This ban applies to all production rules defined in the current application. If you need more fine-granular control on object type level or even for individual objects, please use user methods of the same name:
$obj->type->disable_rules(...)
$obj->disable_rules(...)
Parameters
String pattern : either a label (see prefer) or a rule header. The rule header must exactly match the definition in the rulefile, up to white spaces around property names. If the given pattern matches headers of several rules, or the given label is associated with several rules, they all will be disabled regardless their precoditions, weights, or other attributes. -
prefer (label_expression)
Make the production rules, user functions, or methods (further called items) matching the given label_expression be preferred over competing rules (functions, methods).
The new preference list is also saved in your personal file
~/.polymake/prefer.pl
It remains active in all forthcoming sessions until you revoke it with another prefer or reset_preference command.For the sake of symmetry you can call this function by its alias name set_preference.
Parameters
String label_expression : may have one of the following forms:"top_label" or "top_label.sublevels" selects all items whose labels start with the given path, e.g. "javaview" or "cdd.convex_hull"."*.sublevels top_label_1, top_label_2 ... " selects all items with matching labels and establishes a ranking between them. For example, "*.convex_hull cdd,lrs" makes rules labeled with cdd.convex_hull and lrs.convex_hull preferred over all other convex hull rules, with cdd rules having the topmost rank. -
prefer_now (label_expression)
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reset_custom (Variable)
Reset the custom variable, array, hash, or hash element to the default value(s) as defined in the rule base and store it perpetually in your personal settings file
~/.polymake/customize.pl
Parameters
any Variable : following expressions are allowed:$var;
@array;
%hash;
$hash{key};
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reset_preference (label_expression)
Reset the matching preference lists to the default state. If there are matching preference lists declared in the rule files, they come back into effect; otherwise the preferences are neutralized, i.e. all competing items (rules/methods/etc.) get equal ranks.
This change is permanent, the former settings are wiped out from your preference file
~/.polymake/prefer.pl
Parameters
String label_expression : "label" or "label.sublevels" or "*.sublevels" or "*" or "all"Two last forms match all preference lists visible from the current application. -
save (object, filename)
Store the given object in a data file.
If filename is specified, create the file with this name (or overwrite an existing one) and store the object there. The filename may have the suffix ".gz" in which case the contents are compressed with gzip.
If filename is omitted, write the object back to the file it was loaded from. If the object is not yet associated with a file (e.g. it was created with a
new
constructor) a new file is created, with the name consisting of the object name and the application-specific suffix. If the object name is empty, you will be asked for it. In non-interactive mode an artificial name of the formObjectType_NNN
will be generated, whereNNN
is an ordinal number.The save operation is only performed if the boolean attribute
object->changed
has the true value. -
save_data (data, filename, description)
Create an XML data file and store the given data object there, together with an optional description. Only objects of complex types declared as
property_type
can be stored this way. The filename may have the suffix ".gz" in which case the contents are compressed with gzip. -
save_schema (object ..., filename)
Parameters
any object ... an object whose type should be described, may be specified as a type expression as well. Multiple objects or type expressions may be passed as a list. Mixing `big' and `small' object types is not allowed.String filename a suffix .rng is appended automatically if no suffix is givenExamples:- create a schema for a Polytope<Rational> and save it in the file poly_rat.rng
> save_schema(typeof Polytope<Rational>, "poly_rat");
the same, specifying a type via a representative object> $c=cube(3);
> save_schema($c, "poly_rat");
- create a schema for graphs and save it in the file graphs.rng
> save_schema(typeof props::Graph<Undirected>, typeof props::Graph<Directed>, "graph");
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script (filename, Arguments)
Run the polymake script, passing the arguments in
@ARGV
. The scripts specified without path are first looked for in the current application'sscripts
subdirectory, then in the user's script directories (custom array@lookup_scripts
), and finally in the top-levelscripts
subdirectory. -
set_custom (assignment)
Set the custom variable, array, hash, or hash element to a new value and store it perpetually in your personal settings file
~/.polymake/customize.pl
Parameters
any assignment : following expressions are allowed:$var=value;
@array=(values);
%hash=( key => value, ... );
$hash{key}=value;
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-
These functions are available in the interactive shell only.
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apropos (pattern)
List all help topics matching the given pattern.
Parameters
String pattern (part of) an item name to be looked for, may contain regular expression elements.Example:- To get all help topics that include the word "simplicial", type this:
> apropos("simplicial");
/objects/Visual::SimplicialComplexLattice
/objects/Visual::SimplicialComplex
/objects/GeometricSimplicialComplex
/objects/SimplicialComplex
/functions/Producing a new simplicial complex from others/simplicial_product
In order to view a help entry, you can use the help() funtion.> help("/functions/Producing a new simplicial complex from others/simplicial_product");
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exit ()
use this command only if you want to restart polymake.
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export_configured (filename)
Saves all custom variables having non-defalt values in a file. This includes all results of automatic or manual rule configuration. The obtained file can be edited manually, if needed, and used as a global configuration source (see also How to configure polymake for a group of users).
Parameters
String filename where to store the settingsOptions
Bool merge_with_global if TRUE, the settings inherited from *your* global configuration will be included in the resulting file as well.Bool only_configured if TRUE, configuration status of unconfigured or only partially configured rulefiles is not exportedString suppress regular expression matching fully qualified names of custom variables that should not be exported -
extend_application (extension, app_name)
Create a directory tree for rules, scripts, clients, etc. in the given extension pertaining to the given application.
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found_application (extension, app_name)
Create a directory tree for a new application, rooted at the given extension.
The new application is neither loaded at this moment (just because it's quite empty at its birth), nor it is inserted in the
@start_applications
list. Both must be done manually at the appropriate time.A new core application can be created by entering the string "core" instead of the extension argument. This action is only allowed in developer's mode, i.e. when polymake is invoked from the git copy of the source tree.
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found_extension (path)
Found a new extension at the given path. The specified directory may be absent, then it will be created; if it already exists, it should be empty or at least not contain any files and subdirectories with names having special meaning for polymake, like polymake.ext or apps.
A new bundled extension can be created by entering a name of the form
"bundled:NAME"
instead of the path argument. This action is only allowed in developer's mode, i.e. when polymake is invoked from the git copy of the source tree.Please note that this command only creates an empty skeleton of top-level directories. In order to be able to populate the extension with new rules, scripts, clients, etc. you must execute the command extend_application for every application you want to to extend.
Parameters
String path : top-level directory of the extension, or"bundled:NAME"
for a bundled extension. -
help (item)
Display the help information or comments associated with a given item.
If a single word without path separators
/
is given, it is looked for in the entire help hierarchy. If there are more than 5 matches, the corresponding help commands with full paths are generated and placed into the shell history buffer, so you can choose the themes of interest using the standard history navigation (arrow up/down keys).You may use TAB completion to navigate thru the category tree. Start with '/' to see the description of the current application. Descend via 'functions', 'objects', 'types', or 'preferences' to the topics of interest. If you stop in an intermediate category level, both the comment specific to this category and the list of subtopics will be displayed.
Parameters
String item : "word" | "category/subcategory/.../item" -
history ()
Let you choose and edit the commands typed earlier in the interactive shell. The complete history list is written in a temporary file, which is opened with a text editor. Until you store your favorite editor in the custom variable
$history_editor
, the values of environment variablesVISUAL
andEDITOR
are consulted. -
import_extension (path, options)
Load the extension installed in the given directory. The path is also included in the custom list
@extensions
for future sessions.If the extension requires some third-party libraries, which can't automatically be found by its configuration script, you can pass options to it as trailing arguments of this command. Usually, the error message displayed after the failed attempt to configure the extension will tell you which options you should specify. To obtain the complete list of configuration options supported by the extension, you can pass a single option
"--help"
, examine its script configure.pl, or just make use of the TAB completion when typing this command. -
load_commands (filename)
Read the lines from the given file, filter out comments and empty lines, append them to the history list of the interactive shell, and enter the replay mode (see replay_history) starting at the first inserted line.
Parameters
String filename -
obliterate_extension (path)
Removes all references to the specified extension from your settings, so that the following polymake session won't load anything from it. Beware that in the current session all the rules and functions defined in the extension remain active! Therefore it's strongly recommended to quit the current session right after executing this command. The files comprising the extension itself are not deleted, however, so that you can re-import the extension later once you need it again.
Parameters
String path URI or top-level directory of the extension. -
reconfigure (rulename)
Repeats the auto-configuration routines stored in the given rulefile, possibly asking for program paths, options, etc. If the configuration succeeds, and the rulefile hasn't been configured until now, it will be loaded, as well as all other known rulefiles depending on it.
Parameters
String rulename name of the rulefile with optional prefix and suffix: "[APPNAME::]rulefile[@URI]". APPNAME is to be specified when the rulefile does not belong to the current application; URI specifies an extension the rulefile comes from. -
reconfigure_extension (path, options)
Re-run the configuration script of the extension, passing some options to it. The extension must already have been imported; if not, please use the command import_extension, which supports passing configuration options too.
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replay_history ()
Bring the interactive shell in the replay mode. In this mode you can revisit, edit and execute the commands stored in the history. Simply press RETURN if you want to execute the command as is; alternatively you can edit it or jump over it using the usual history navigation keystrokes. The replay mode is switched off when the last history line has been executed or navigated over. You can leave it prematurely by entering Control-C as well. The replay mode is visually signaled by the history line number in square brackets displayed in the shell prompt.
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save_history (filename)
Saves the commands entered in the current and recent sessions in the file. Polymake does it automatically at the end of each interactive session; this command is provided for the case that you might want to store the commands in an alternative file and/or don't want to exit the session. Commands can be loaded using load_commands.
Parameters
String filename : defaults to ~/.polymake/history -
show_credits (brief)
Prints the short descriptions of third-party software packages available from within polymake, including the copyright holders and project site URLs. Please note that here you will see only packages for which the polymake interface has been successfully configured; try show_unconfigured command to see what's you currently missing.
Parameters
Bool brief : list the product names only, no descriptive text -
show_extensions ()
Prints the list of active extensions including their URIs and credit notes.
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show_preferences ()
Prints the currently active preference lists. Please be aware that the output only reflects the persistent preferences; temporary changes made by prefer_now are not displayed even if they might be in effect when this command is executed.
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show_unconfigured ()
Prints the names of all rulefiles visible from the current application, which could not be loaded because of configuration failures (in most cases, due to some lacking external software). You may use the command reconfigure to load some of them if you have installed the required software and/or cleared out other configuration troubles.
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unconfigure (rulename)
Forgets the configuration made for the given rulefile and disables it for the following polymake sessions.
Parameters
String rulename name of the rulefile with optional prefix and suffix: "[APPNAME::]rulefile[@URI]". APPNAME is to be specified when the rulefile does not belong to the current application; URI specifies an extension the rulefile comes from.
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