This section discusses the graphical user interface for FSA. It's mostly extremely obvious. So this is a kind of `If you click on the help button, a help text will be displayed' explanation. Note that currently the graphical user interface is available only under SICStus Prolog. Take a look at http://www.let.rug.nl/~vannoord/Fsa/Manual/dump.png if you would like to know what the graphical user interface looks like.
MENU
The menu consists of a number of menu buttons. Really. The actions associated with the menu buttons are:
File
[Load]: Loads a file that is assumed to contain an automaton.
[LoadAux]: Loads a file that is assumed to contain auxiliary regular expression macro's and operators.
[ReconsultAux]: Reconsults a file that is assumed to contain auxiliary regular expression macro's and operators. This allows tracing of your code.
[SaveAs]: Saves the automaton and the associated geometry information in a file. Such a file can be read-in using the Load button, or as the startup file. Various formats are available under various [SaveAsX] buttons.
[Revert] Redraws the current automaton without the current layout; a new layout will be computed.
[Redraw] Redraws the current automaton with the current layout.
[Close] Halts the graphical user interface, but FSA continues.
[Quit] Halts.
Settings A number of global variables can be set via this menu. Help is available on-line.
Operations A number of unary operations on the current regular expression can be fired through this menu. The operations are a subset of those allowed in regular expressions.
Produce Produces a number of example strings (pairs of strings) accepted by the current finite automaton.
Visualization Interface to a number of external visualization tools. These only work if you have the tools installed (really!), and the appropriate commands are in your PATH (yes, no magic here either).
Help Well. What do you think this menubutton would do?
Now let's consider some of the other widgets maintained by the graphical user interface:
Regex
If a regular expression is typed in the field, then after hitting <CR> the corresponding automaton will be visualised on the canvas.
The [Expand User Macro's] and [Expand All Macro's] can be used to expand all the macro's of the current regular expression.
String
If a sequence of symbols (separated by whatever the symbol_separator flag requires) is typed in this field, then (after hitting <CR>, or after pushing the `Submit' button) the system runs the current automaton on the input you provided. The actual way in which the automaton is run depends on the value displayed in the radio-button available to the right of the `Submit' button.
Canvas
The large canvas contains a picture of the current regular expression (or automaton read-in from a file). Note that you can drag states to alter the layout interactively. If you point your mouse to a label of an edge, then the corresponding edge will become red temporarily (this is useful for large labels). Also note that for states P and Q all edges from P to Q are combined in a single edge. Start states are green, final states are red and have a sunken relief. If a state is both a start state and a final state, then it is green with a sunken relief.
ToolBar
The tool bar at the bottom consists of the following sub parts:
[EdgeAngle]: Text field should contain a real. Does a redraw using the current (typically) new angle variable upon <CR>. Does not require re-computation of layout.
[Xdistance]: Text field should contain an integer. Re-computes and re-draws using the current (typically new) distance of states parameter.
[Quality]: Re-computes and re-draws using the current (typically new) parameters.
[DisplaySigma]: Displays internal representation of alphabet and symbols list of current automaton.
[DisplayFa]: Displays internal representation of current automaton.
[CountFa]: Provides numerical information of current automaton.
[ClearCache]: Clears the cache of the regular expression compiler.
[ZoomIn]: This does the opposite of ZoomOut.
[ZoomOut]: This does the opposite of ZoomIn.
Finally, the [Interp] button can be used to get the name of the current Tcl/Tc interpreter. This is of interest only for development work.
TkConsol (experimental)
As an experimental feature, you can include a widget displaying standard input and standard output. If you want to try out this new feature, you have to set the global variable tkconsol to on. E.g.:
fsa tkconsol=on -tk
Note that this is currently not very robust.
The following global variables are relevant for this module:
tkconsol
v_angle
v_xdist
no_display_beyond
Starts a Tcl/Tk widget for the automaton read from File
Starts a Tcl/Tk widget for the automaton Fa
Atom is an atom, converted to regular expression and compiled into automaton. A Tcl/Tk widget is started for that automaton.
Atom is a regular expression and compiled into automaton. A Tcl/Tk widget is started for that automaton.
