How to write new resfile commands

Author: Steven Lewis

This page describes how to add new commands to the resfile in Rosetta. A command is an object with a method that will make changes to the PackerTask for ONE single residue at a time.

The resfile reader parses each record into whitespace-delimited chunks of information, and attempts to match them against a group of available commands (which must be known at compile time). It then passes the necessary information to an instantiation of a command object, which applies whatever the command is supposed to do.

In coding details, the interfaces are as follows:

Command objects should be declared in ResfileReader.hh and inherit from the ResfileCommand class at the top of that file. Implementation probably ought to reside in ResfileReader.cc.
The command MUST be added to create_command_map in ResfileReader.cc. This map connects the input strings to actual commands.
Any command can be interpreted as a default command, for almost-all residues, or a command specific to a residue. The commands will not be able to discriminate whether they are working on a default line or not and should only work on one residue at a time.
The object should have (at least) two methods:
- name() returns a string, which must EXACTLY MATCH the string you want to use for the command in the resfile (like "NATAA"). This is the map key for the command_map.
- residue_action, which takes four arguments:
  - a vector1 of strings (the tokenized line of input from the resfile)
  - a Size (integer...) which is a position in the input line
  - a reference to the PackerTask it operates on
  - another Size, which is the residue position it operates on.
Command objects should treat the input line as constant. They should increment the input line position as appropriate (++ once to account for the name itself, ++ again for each argument read and "used up").

Of course, the resfile only exists to modify the PackerTask. You will also have to modify the PackerTask_, or some child class, to include the set functions and data members you wish to modify.

How to write new resfile commands

See Also