INACommandFileGenerator is an independent Java class, which serves as an interface for Java programs to the Integrated Net Analyser (INA), an interactive, terminal based Petrinet analysis tool. The operation of INA is simplyfied in a way, that it is only necessary to pass the tasks which shall be executed by INA to the generator. The generator creates a command file, which executes the passed tasks regarding a given net (see Using the INACommandFileGenerator). Alternatively, the file SESSION.ina can be read directly, which is produced by INA while the generator is generating the command file. The concrete utilisation of the results is not a task of the generator.

To use the INACommandFileGenerator in a Java program, a generator object must be created. The constructor method needs two parameters of the type File. The first one has to declare the path of INA, including the name of the program file. The second path has to refer to an existing directory which is used as the working directory. That means that files needed for the work with INA are written into this directory as well as the files COMMAND.ina and SESSION.ina, which are created by INA.

Now you can tell the generator object which tasks shall be performed by INA. You can do this by creating an array of integer values which contains a special value for each task to be performed. By now there are the following tasks available:

• DO_ANALYSE - This value causes the generator to lead INA to its analysis menu. Even if no other analysis-tasks are chosen, INA analyses some things by default. The results can be read in file SESSION.ina.
  If a task is chosen to be performed for which INA has to enter the analysis menu (e.g. DO_P_INVARIANTS), the generator recognises that fact itself; so the user does not have to enter the value DO_ANALYSE as well.
• DO_P_INVARIANTS - If this value is entered, place invariants will be computed. INA writes a matrix for base-place invariants of the analysed net into the file SESSION.ina.
• DO_PRINT_STATIC_CONFLICTS - If this value is entered, all static conflicts will be written into the file SESSION.ina.

So if e.g. the place invariants of the net shall be computed, the array has to contain the value INACommandFileGenerator.DO_P_INVARIANTS. By calling the method setToDo(int[]) at the generator object, the array announces the corresponding tasks.

Now at the latest, the net which shall be analysed has to be stored in INA-format as tempnet.pnt in the working directory. This can be done by the program which uses the generator or manually before starting the program. The generator is implemented only for Place/Transition Nets. Thus, other net types can cause errors.

Now, you can call the method generateCommandFile(), which actually starts the computation. This method returns an integer value telling wheather generating the command file succeeded or not. This value should be tested exactly before finally using the generated files.

The following return values of the method generateCommandFile() are possible:

• RETURN_VALUE_OK - No errors occured, so a command file was created that is able to work and grants the requests.
• RETURN_VALUE_INVALID_INAFILE - The path where the INA program should be found does not exist or does not refer to a file. Therefore, INA could not be called and no command file was generated.
• RETURN_VALUE_INVALID_WORKINGDIR - The path which should refer to the working directory does not exist or does not refer to a directory. No command file was generated.
• RETURN_VALUE_NO_INA - INA could not be executed, so no command file was generated.
• RETURN_VALUE_NO_INA_OUTPUT_READABLE - The outputs of INA could not be read, so no correct command file could be generated.
• RETURN_VALUE_INTERRUPTED - The generating process was interrupted from outside.
• RETURN_VALUE_INCOMPLETE_COMMAND_FILE - A command file was generated which is able to work but does not grant all the requests. Some tasks could not be performed.
• RETURN_VALUE_FAULTY_COMMAND_FILE - A command file was written, but it is not able to control INA correctly.

ICFG.zip

There is already an application using the generator. It is called InaControl which is an application o the Petri Net Kernel (PNK). For more information see the homepage of the PNK as well as the site with all the implemented PNK applications.