Exercise 2: Hello World!
Your function will use either the ui_write(…), ui_writef(…), or ui_writec(…) functions.
If you use the ui_writef(…) and ui_writec(…) functions, refer to the documentation for the correct format specifiers.
Extra credit: How would this function change if you wanted to echo your favorite 10 numbers to the session file?
Extra credit: How would this function change if you wanted to echo your favorite color to the session file?
Exercise 3: Effective PCL
Write an essay on how the effective use of PCL could:
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Help create a lasting world peace
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Eliminate world hunger
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C onquer the common cold
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Stop global warming
Extra credit: How could PCL be used to find Elvis?
PCL Operators
Operators
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Comments
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+
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-
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!
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Unary plus, minus, logical not
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**
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Exponentiation
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*
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/
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Multiplication and division
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+
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-
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Additions and subtraction
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//
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String concatenation
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<
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>
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<=
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>=
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==
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!=
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Relational operators
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||
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&&
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Logical or, logical and
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+=
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-=
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=
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Increment, decrement, assignment
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Examples
Dist = mth_sqrt((x2-x1)**2 + (y2-y1)**2 + (z2-z1)**2)
MyString3 = MyString2//”hijk”
IF (a == b) THEN c = d
IF (a == b && a == c) THEN ui_write(“Equilibrium”)
x += 1 (this is equivalent to x = x + 1)
String comparisons -
The string comparison operators are special in that they ignore trailing blanks and uppercase and lowercase. Therefore, all of the following expressions are TRUE
“ABC” == “ABC “
“ABC” == “abc”
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Leading blanks are compared, i.e., “TEST” != “ TEST”
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To perform case sensitive comparisons use the str_equal() function, i.e.,
IF (str_equal(GroupName1, GroupName2)) THEN RETURN 0
PCL Variables and Constants -
LOGICAL Boolean value: TRUE or FALSE
LOGICAL done, created
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INTEGER Value between +/- (231-1)
INTEGER i, num_nodes, node_id
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REAL Single precision floating value between 1.0E-30 and 1.0E+30 (positive or negative)
REAL x, y, z, force, pressure
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STRING Character string surrounded by double quotes, “Have you seen Elvis?”. Size or string length is defined with brackets, [ ]
STRING FileName[80], GroupName[32]
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WIDGET Value is assigned by calls to UI_WIDGET_NAME_CREATE(…), used to create and manipulate forms, etc.
WIDGET main_form, MyButton, group_lbox
PCL Variables and Constants
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GLOBAL Available to all functions during the MSC.Patran session
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LOCAL Default, only visible within the defining function
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STATIC Same as LOCAL, but retains its value between calls
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CLASSWIDE Available to all functions in the CLASS and retains its value during the MSC.Patran session
PCL Variables and Constants
Directly Allocated Arrays -
Directly allocated arrays can have any number of subscripts (dimensions), defined within parentheses ()
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Assigned upper and lower bounds, ArrayName(Lower:Upper)
INTEGER MyArray(2:10)
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Default lower bound is 1 (not 0)
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Available for all datatypes
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R
1 2 3
4 5 6
   ow major (unlike Fortran which is column major)
INTEGER MyArray(2, 3) = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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Array dimensions are inherited from the argument list, i.e., PCL passes by reference
FUNCTION MyFunc()
STRING MyString[32](32)
YourFunc(MyString)
END FUNCTION
 
FUNCTION YourFunc(MyVal)
STRING MyVal[]()
END FUNCTION
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Declaration Examples
REAL displacements(6, 200)
STRING group_names[32](20)
INTEGER ids(0:2, 0:4, 0:10)
LOGICAL exists(12)
PCL Variables and Constants
Virtual arrays -
Any variable can be defined as a VIRTUAL array instead of a directly allocated array. Virtual arrays do not have storage locations assigned to them at program initialization. The size and amount of storage is allocated as requested and can be reused for other virtual arrays.
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To declare a virtual array, use the keyword VIRTUAL in place of the subscripts for the declaration, i.e.,
REAL MyVals(VIRTUAL)
INTEGER NodeIds(VIRTUAL)
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Storage is allocated using the function, sys_allocate_array(), or
sys_allocate_array(MyVals, 1, 300)
sys_allocate_array(MyVals, 1, 300, 1, 3)
sys_allocate_array(MyVals, 1, 300, 1, 3, 0, 5)
etc.
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Storage may be reallocated using the function, sys_reallocate_array(),
sys_reallocate_array(MyVals, 1, 300, 1, 3)
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Storage may be freed using the function, sys_free_array(),
sys_free_array(MyVals)
PCL Variables and Constants
Virtual array example
FUNCTION CompareNodes(num_nodes, node_ids)
INTEGER i, j, status
INTEGER num_nodes, node_ids()
INTEGER num_db_nodes, db_node_ids(VIRTUAL)
LOGICAL found_node
$ Determine the total number of nodes in the database
status = db_count_nodes(num_db_nodes)
IF (status != 0) THEN RETURN status
/* If no nodes in the db, then don’t compare */
IF (num_db_nodes == 0) THEN RETURN –1
$ Allocate array to hold the Ids of all nodes in the db
status = sys_allocate_array(db_node_ids, 1, num_db_nodes)
IF (status != 0) THEN RETURN status
$ Get all of the nodes in the db
status = db_get_node_ids(num_db_nodes, db_node_ids)
IF (status != 0) THEN RETURN status
$ Compare node_ids() to node Ids in the database, db_node_ids()
$ Note: This is an inefficient way to compare nodes
FOR (i = 1 to num_nodes)
found_node = FALSE
FOR (j = 1 to num_db_nodes)
IF (node_ids(i) == db_node_ids(j)) THEN
found_node = TRUE
BREAK
END IF
END FOR
IF (!found_node) THEN
ui_write(“Node “//str_from_integer(node_ids(i))//” not found!”)
END IF
END FOR
RETURN 0
END FUNCTION /* CompareNodes */
PCL Variables and Constants
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Any string variable can be defined as a VIRTUAL length string instead of a fixed length string. Virtual length strings do not have storage locations assigned to them at program initialization. The string length is allocated as requested and can be reused.
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To declare a virtual length string, use the keyword in place of the subscripts for the declaration, i.e.,
STRING picklist[VIRTUAL]
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The string length is allocated using the sys_allocate_string() function
sys_allocate_string(picklist, 1000)
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The string length may be modified using the sys_reallocate_string() function
sys_reallocate_string(picklist, 2000)
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The string storage may be freed using the sys_free_string() function
sys_free_string(picklist)
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A virtual length string can also be a virtual array, i.e.,
STRING picklists[VIRTUAL](VIRTUAL)
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