Build Heta models in Julia

This guide shows how to create and build Heta projects directly from Julia with the compiler included in HetaSimulator.

Why use the compiler from Julia?

HetaSimulator provides Julia functions for the main heta-compiler commands. This approach is useful when you already work in Julia because:

• you do not need to install heta-compiler as a separate application;
• the compiler and simulator versions stay compatible;
• you can switch compiler versions by changing the HetaSimulator version;
• different projects can use different versions through local Julia environments.

Set up the project environment

Open Julia in your model directory.

] add HetaSimulator
using HetaSimulator

Check the compiler version

Run:

heta_version()

This prints the version of heta-compiler included in the installed HetaSimulator package. It is the Julia equivalent of:

heta --version

Make sure this version is allowed by the builderVersion field in platform.yml. See Manage software versions for details.

Create a Heta project

To create a project in the current directory, run:

heta_init(".")

This is equivalent to heta init. It creates the project template, including platform.yml and src/index.heta.

Build the model

Build the project in the current directory and check the consistency of units:

heta_build("."; units_check = true)

This is equivalent to:

heta build --units-check

Build with custom options

Arguments passed to heta_build can override settings from platform.yml. For example, the following build reads an Excel model, checks units, exports SBML and JSON, and writes the results to a custom directory:

heta_build(
    ".";
    source = "src/table.xlsx",
    type = "xlsx",
    units_check = true,
    export_ = "{format:SBML,version:L3V1},JSON",
    dist_dir = "generated",
    log_mode = "always"
)

Use heta_help("build") to see the available build options from Julia.

Manage the installed version

Use Julia's package mode to inspect or change HetaSimulator:

] status HetaSimulator

Shows the installed HetaSimulator version.

] add HetaSimulator

Installs a compatible current release.

] add HetaSimulator@0.8.3

Installs the exact version 0.8.3.

Command reference

Julia	Command line	Purpose
heta_version()	heta --version	Show the included compiler version.
heta_init(".")	heta init	Create a project template.
heta_build(".")	heta build	Build and export a project.
heta_help("build")	heta help build	Show build options.

For every supported argument, see the Heta compiler functions and the command-line reference.