Activity ParametersActivity parameters are named quantities that are exposed as inputs whose values can be driven externally (by other activities) and outputs whose values can be accessed by other activities. Parameters can store a value directly, or you can provide an expression to define the value of the parameter. All steps within a given activity share access to the common set of parameters defined for the activity. In addition, you can map a parameter from one activity to a parameter in another activity. To help customize your simulation process, you can give parameters unique names based on the quantities they represent. Parameters have a structure associated with them. The simplest structure is a scalar parameter, which is a single value. Parameters can also be arrays, as described below. You assign a value to each parameter and a data type (Boolean, integer, string, real, object, or timestamp) that defines the type of the parameter value. You can add, edit, and delete parameters. If you have a large number of parameters, you can import them from a selected XML file. In the simplest case activity execution typically proceeds in the following phases:
Array ParametersArray parameters are an array of activity parameters (one, two, three, or four dimensions). Each item in the array has the same data type. The array size is the number of elements in each dimension and follows the row-major ordering rule. Therefore, for a 2D array the first dimension is the number of rows and the second dimension is the number of columns. When you define an array parameter, you can indicate that the array parameter is resizable during execution. For example, an array needs to be resizable when you are reading parameters from a text file Object ParametersObject parameters are activity parameters with a data type of object. An object parameter refers to an object in the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, such as a part, a simulation document, or a Physics Simulation. When you create an object parameter, you can select the object to which you are referring from another native apps tab. For more information, see About Native Apps Tabs. Parameter NamesEvery parameter defined in an activity must have a unique name. However, parameters defined in different activities can have the same name. This naming process helps with consistency because a given quantity is often used throughout a process. Using the same name in different activities allows the parameters to be automatically mapped between the activities. Parameter names are not case-sensitive and can be up to 130 characters. Parameter names can be a string of Unicode characters but cannot contain the following characters:
Parameter ModesAutomation Process Composer supports four types of parameter modes: Input, Output, In/Out, and Neutral.
3DEXPERIENCE ParametersYou can create 3DEXPERIENCE parameters with other 3DEXPERIENCE apps, such as Part Design. 3DEXPERIENCE parameters include Knowledgeware parameters and PLM parameters. Knowledgeware parameters define features of objects such as parts, products, or simulation objects. PLM parameters are parameters with the characteristics of a PLM object, including lifecycle and maturity. 3DEXPERIENCE parameters are described further in the Knowledge Basics User's Guide. You can map 3DEXPERIENCE parameters to activity parameters, which allows you to pass data between Automation Process Composer and other 3DEXPERIENCE apps. |