Auto-Generation of Component Structs

InfrastructureSystems.jl provides a mechanism to auto-generate Julia files containing structs and field accessor functions from JSON descriptors. Here are reasons to consider using this approach:

• Auto-generation allows for easy refactoring of code. Adding fields to many structs can be tedious because you might have to edit many constructors. This process eliminates boiler-plate edits.
• The JSON descriptor format includes a mechanisim to define range validation on component fields. Validation can be enabled when adding components to a system.
• Provides consistent formatting of structs, fields, and constructors.
• Provides consistent documentation of structs and fields.

Instructions

1. Create the JSON descriptor file. Follow the PowerSystems.jl example.
2. Run the generation script, passing your descriptor file and an output directory.

InfrastructureSystems.generate_structs("./src/descriptors/power_system_structs.json", "./src/models/generated")

Notes:

• The code generation template provides several options which are not yet formally documented. Browse the PowerSystems example or the generation script.
• You will need to decide how to manage the generated files. The SIIP packages keep the generated code in the git repository. This is not required. You could choose to generate them at startup.
• You may need to create custom constructors and this approach will not allow you have put them in the same file as the struct definition.