Platform declaration file

The platform declaration file describes the configuration of a Heta modeling platform.
It is located in the root directory of the project and is used by the heta build command.

By default, the file is named platform.yml, but platform.json and platform (without extension) are also supported.

The declaration file can be in one of the following formats: JSON or YAML with the same schema.

The declaration file serves two purposes:

• Platform annotation – provides metadata about the modeling platform such as identifier, version, contributors, repository, and other descriptive information.
• Compiler configuration – defines how Heta compiler should locate model sources, configure compilation options, and export results.

Using a declaration file allows storing the build configuration inside the project instead of specifying many options in the command line.

Using platform file with heta build

When a platform declaration file is present, the heta build command automatically reads it and applies the configuration defined inside the file.

By default the compiler searches for the declaration file. If the file is found, its settings are used to configure the compilation process.

If no declaration file is present, Heta compiler runs with default settings. Command line options override values defined in the declaration file.

If you want to use a declaration file with a different name, specify it using the --declaration option:

heta build --declaration my-platform

Platform file structure

There are properties in the declaration file which do not change the compilation process. They can be used for annotation of a developed QSP platform for summarizing annotations and auxiliary information.

option	type	CLI option	default value	description
id	string			This is a unique identifier of modeling platform. Do not use spaces. Annotation element
notes	string			Put a description in it. This helps people discover your package. Annotation element.
version	string			Version of the platform. Substantial changes to the platform should come along with changes to the version. It is recommended to follow semver rules.
keywords	string[]			Array of keywords for possible indexing platform. This helps people discover your package. Annotation element.
homepage	string			The URL to the page supporting the platform. Annotation element.
repository	object		{}	Specify the place where your code lives. This is helpful for people who want to contribute.
repository.type	string			Type of repository, for example: "git", "svn". Annotation element.
repository.url	string			The URL of source repository, for example: "https://github.com/insysbio/heta-case-mini.git". Annotation element.
license	string			Short identifier under which license the platform is distributed. It is important especially for Open source platfroms. If you’re using a common license such as BSD-2-Clause or MIT, add a current SPDX license identifier. Annotation element.
private	boolean			Set true if a platform must not be shared in public repositories. Annotation element.
contributors	string[]			Array of authors and contributors. Please follow the format "Albert Einstein albert.einstein@gmail.com (https://einstein.org/cv)" Annotation element.
builderVersion	string			The required version of Heta compiler which should compile the code. This prevents running the old compiler for the updated QSP platforms. The string must follow the rules of semantic versioning. See also semantic versioning calculator.
importModule	object		{}	Container for the description of index module.
importModule.source	string	--source	index.heta	Path to index heta module. Absolute and relative filepaths are applicable. Example: "src/table.xlsx"
importModule.type	string	--type	heta	Type of source file. This option sets the type of module which will be applied for parsing. Available values: heta/xlsx/json/yaml/sbml.
options	object		{}	A set of compiler options.
options.unitsCheck	boolean	--units-check	false	If true all Record will be checked for units consistency.
options.distDir	string	--dist-dir	dist	By default all export files are created inside dist directory. The option can set the another target for storing outputs.
options.debug	boolean	--debug	false	Working in debugging mode. All parsed modules will be saved in JSON files in the meta directory.
options.metaDir	string	--meta-dir	meta	If options.debug is set as true this option changes the target directory for meta files.
export	object[]	-e, --export	[]	List of export formats to run separated by colon. Each component includes format option and optional settings. See more details in export-formats.

Default configuration

Using neither declaration file nor CLI options is equivalent to the following declaration file:

{
    "builderVersion": "*",
    "options": {
        "distDir": "dist",
        "metaDir": "meta",
        "debug": false,
        "unitsCheck": false
    },
    "importModule": {
        "source": "index.heta",
        "type": "heta"
    },
    "export": []
}