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Unit Anatomy

An onCore Unit can be seen as a graphical representation of a function (as in traditional programming). It has one or

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multiple attributes

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. 

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Specifications of an onCore Unit

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nameexampleUnit

Exemplary onCore Unit

  • This exemplary Unit adds two numbers and provides the result.
  • Units have attributes which can be modified by the user – or other Units.
  • Units can exchange data via
cables
  • Cables. Think of them as small 'tunnels' where data
can
  • is able to travel between the Units.
  • Cables are usually connected/disconnected by the user, but there are also situations where
cables
  • Cables between Units are automatically re-created.
  • On the left and right
and/or left
  • side of each Unit there are small circles and triangles. These are the connection points of
cables
  • Cables and they are called Trigger Ports, Input Ports and Output Ports.
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Unit Ports

nameexampleUnitAdd

Fictional Example of an onCore Unit

  • On the left is a very simple example of a Unit. It just adds two numbers and provides the result.
    • Trigger Ports are omitted in this example, they are explained later

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    There are three types of Ports:

    1. Trigger Port: Trigger the execution of a Unit (= Execute Trigger) or trigger the next Unit which is connected to one of the outgoing Triggers (= Success/Fail Trigger).
      See chapter → Unit Triggers & Events.
    2. Input Port: These Ports accept data from the User or other Units. They can also represent the attributes of a Unit. Not all Input Ports can be modified by the User, some of them only accept data from other Units as their input, i.e. a Cable has to be connected to them (for example Structure-based Units). Once a Port is connected with a Cable, it can not be altered by the user anymore.
      See chapter → Unit Attributes.
    3. Output Port: These Ports output data and may be connected to other Units.

    Unit Types

    Units can roughly be categorized in three types. Of course the exception proves the rule. 

    Unit TypeDescriptionExample
    Provider UnitThey only have one or multiple Output Ports and "provide" something.Variable Getter, System Timestamp
    Processing UnitThey have one or multiple Input and Output Ports and process or modify their input.String Replace, String to Time
    Consumer UnitThey only have one or multiple Input Ports and "consume" data.Print String, Variable Setter

    Unit Interaction Example

    Here's a simplified schematic on how Units can interact with each other. Trigger Ports are omitted in this example, they are explained later.

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    Info

    There may be Units which do not fall under only one category.