SCADE API-tools Companion Article

In this article, we'll take a look at Ansys SCADE API Tools (GitHub link), designed to simplify usage of the SCADE Python APIs.

The vanilla SCADE Python API

Most Ansys products come packaged with Python APIs (as part of the PyAnsys initiative). These open-source libraries allow engineers to interact programmatically with Ansys products, integrating them into their workflows.

Ansys SCADE is no exception. Its Python API allows users to:

• Walk through SCADE models and modify them using code
• Access generated artefacts (mapping files, test results, model coverage...)

If you're interested in using the SCADE Python API, we've already written an article on getting started with your favorite IDE.

Introducing ansys-scade-apitools

We are pleased to announce the release of ansys-scade-apitools, a Python package that extends the standard SCADE Python API.

Its goal is to make the SCADE API easier to use by adding a collection of high-level functions that accomplish complex operations without exposing low-level concepts to the user.

Key benefits are:

• Simplified configuration to run Python code from your preferred IDE.
• High-level, Pythonic APIs allow creating models, automatically handling intermediate elements and their consistency.

The package is structured into five modules:

• create: collection of functions for creating or updating SCADE models. This includes creating types, operators, interfaces and other constructs.
• expr: collection of functions for accessing expressions. This covers walking through a model's operators and expressions.
• info: provides information on the current version of SCADE.
• prop: collection of functions for the storage of settings and properties.
• query: collection of queries about SCADE Suite types.

Some examples

The examples below illustrate a couple of the numerous functions exposed by API Tools.

Example 1: accessing an If expression with a Python script (link)

• SCADE Diagram:

• Python code:

from scade import output
from scade.model.suite import get_roots as get_sessions
from ansys.scade.apitools.expr import IfThenElseOp, accessor
# load the Scade model
model = get_sessions()[0].model
# retrieve the equation defining 'expression'
equation = model.get_object_from_path('Access::IfThenElseOp/expression=')
# get an accessor for the equation's expression
ex = accessor(equation.right)
# check the type of the wrapped expression
assert isinstance(ex, IfThenElseOp)
# dump the fields of the expression
output('kind: %s\n' % ex.code)
output('instance name: %s\n' % ex.name)
# the 'if' flow is a local variable, dump the name
output('condition: %s\n' % ex.if_.path.name)
# the 'then' flows are local variables, dump the name
output('then: [%s]\n' % ','.join([_.path.name for _ in ex.then]))
# the 'else' flows are local variables, dump the name
output('else: [%s]\n' % ','.join([_.path.name for _ in ex.else_]))

• Output:

kind: Eck.IF
instance name: 1
condition: i
then: [t]
else: [e]

Example 2: printing SCADE version properties with a Python script (link)

• Python code:

from scade import output
from ansys.scade.apitools.info.install import get_scade_properties
for property, value in get_scade_properties().items():
    output('%s: %s\n' % (property, value))

• Output:

RELEASE: 2023 R2
BUILD_NUMBER: 20230526T185112
RELEASE_DATE: May 26, 2023
RELEASE_COPYRIGHT: (C) 2023 ANSYS, Inc. […]
COPYRIGHT_END_DATE: 2023
RELEASE_INTERNAL: 23.2
INSTALL_FOLDER: v232
SCADE_STUDIO_NUMBER: 23200

The library has many more functions than illustrated in this short article. You may find them described in the Examples section of our online docs.

Ready to try it out?

If you're interested in using Ansys SCADE API Tools, our online docs are a great starting point. The package is published on PyPI (Python Package Index) as ansys-scade-apitools.

If you wish to look under the hood and/or contribute, sources are available on the dedicated Ansys GitHub repository.

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