[Up] [Previous] [Next] [Index]

# 3 Private Extensions of the AtlasRep Package

### Sections

1. Adding a Private Data Directory
2. The Effect of Private Extensions on the User Interface
3. Data Types
4. An Example of Extending the AtlasRep Package

It may be interesting to use the functions of the GAP interface also for representations or straight line programs that are not part of the ATLAS of Group Representations. This chapter describes how to achieve this.

Note that the features described in this chapter can be used only if the system program `ls` is available.

The main idea is that users can notify directories containing the ``private'' data files, which may consist of

1.
  new representations and straight line programs for groups that are declared already in the ``official'' ATLAS of Group Representations,
2.
  the declaration of groups that are not declared in the ``official'' ATLAS of Group Representations, and representations and straight line programs for them, and
3.
  the definition of new kinds of representations and straight line programs.

The first two kinds are dealt with in Adding a Private Data Directory and The Effect of Private Extensions on the User Interface. The last is sketched in Data Types, technical details are described in Data Types Used in the Atlas of Group Representations.

Finally, an example of using private extensions is given in An Example of Extending the AtlasRep Package.

## 3.1 Adding a Private Data Directory

After the AtlasRep package has been loaded into the GAP session, one can add private data. However, one should not add private files to the local data directories of the package, or modify files in these directories. It should be noted that a data file is fetched from a server only if the local data directories do not contain a file with this name, independent of the contents of the files. (As a consequence, corrupted files in the local data directories are not automatically replaced by a correct server file.)

- `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsNotifyPrivateDirectory(` dirname`[,` dirid`] ) F`

  Let dirname be a string denoting the name of a directory, such that `Directory(` dirname`)` is the GAP object describing this directory (see Directory in the GAP Reference Manual). This means that dirname can be an absolute path or a path relative to the home directory of the user (starting with a tilde character `` ) or a path relative to the directory where GAP was started.

  If the second argument dirid is given, it must be a string. This value will be used in the `identifier` components of the records that are returned by interface functions (see Accessing Data of the AtlasRep Package) for data contained in the directory with name dirname. Note that the directory name may be different in different GAP sessions or for different users who want to access the same data, whereas the `identifier` components shall be independent of such differences. The default for dirid is dirname.

  `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsNotifyPrivateDirectory` notifies the data in the directory with name dirname to the AtlasRep package. First the pair `[` dirname`,` dirid`]` is added to the global variable `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsInfo.private`. If the directory contains a file with the name `toc.g` then this file is read; this file is useful for adding new group names (see AGRGNAN), for adding field information for characteristic zero representations (see AGRFLD), or for adding new data types (see Data Types). Next the table of contents of the private directory is built from the list of files contained in (subdirectories of) the private directory.

  Only those files are considered whose names match an admissible format (see Filenames Used in the Atlas of Group Representations and Data Types). Filenames that are already contained in another data directory of the AtlasRep package are ignored, and messages about these filenames are printed if the info level of `InfoAtlasRep` (see InfoAtlasRep) is at least 1.

  Note that this implies that the files of the ``official'' (i.e. non-private) data directories have priority over files in private directories.

  If the directory contains files for groups whose names have not been declared before and if the info level of `InfoAtlasRep` is at least 1 then a message about these names is printed.

  The function returns `true` if none of the filenames with admissible format in the directory is contained in other data directories and if the data belongs to groups whose names have been declared. Otherwise `false` is returned.

  For convenience, the user may collect the notifications of private data directories in the file `.gaprc` (see The .gaprc file in the GAP Reference Manual).

  Several of the sanity checks for the official part of the AtlasRep package make sense also for private extensions, see Sanity Checks for the Atlas of Group Representations for more information.

- `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsForgetPrivateDirectory(` dirid`) F`

  If dirid is the identifier of a private data directory that has been notified with `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsNotifyPrivateDirectory` (see AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsNotifyPrivateDirectory) then `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsForgetPrivateDirectory` removes the directory from the list of notified private directories; this means that from then on, the data in this directory cannot be accessed anymore in the current session.

  ## 3.2 The Effect of Private Extensions on the User Interface

  First suppose that only new groups or new data for known groups are added.

  In this case, `DisplayAtlasInfo` (see DisplayAtlasInfo) lists the private representations and straight line programs in the same way as the ``official'' data, except that private parts are marked with the string stored in the component `markprivate` of `AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsInfo` (see AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsInfo); by default, this is a star `*`. The ordering of representations listed by `DisplayAtlasInfo` (and referred to by `AtlasGenerators`) will in general change when private directories are notified. If several private directories are used then the ordering of data may depend on the ordering of notifications. For the other interface functions described in Chapter The User Interface of the AtlasRep Package, the only difference is that also the private data can be accessed. In particular the ``free format'' ``groupname `G` i`-X` descr `W` n`` for straight line programs (see Filenames Used in the Atlas of Group Representations) may be used in private directories; the data can be accessed with `AtlasStraightLineProgram` (see AtlasStraightLineProgram), where the last two arguments are the strings `"other"` and descr.

  If also private data types are introduced (see Data Types) then additional columns or rows can appear in the output of `DisplayAtlasInfo`, and new inputs can become meaningful for all interface functions. Examples for these changes can be found in An Example of Extending the AtlasRep Package.

  ## 3.3 Data Types

  Each representation or straight line program that is administrated by the AtlasRep package belongs to a unique data type. Informally, examples of data types are ``permutation representation'', ``matrix representation over the integers'', or ``straight line program for computing class representatives''.

  The idea is that for each data type, there can be

  -
    a column of its own in the output produced by `DisplayAtlasInfo` when called without arguments or with only argument a list of group names (see DisplayAtlasInfo),
  -
    a line format of its own for the output produced by `DisplayAtlasInfo` when called with first argument a group name (see DisplayAtlasInfo),
  -
    an input format of its own for `AtlasStraightLineProgram` (see AtlasStraightLineProgram),
  -
    an input format of its own for `OneAtlasGeneratingSetInfo` (see OneAtlasGeneratingSetInfo), and
  -
    specific tests for the data of this data type.

  Formally, a data type is defined by a record whose components are used by the interface functions. The details are described in Data Types Used in the Atlas of Group Representations.

  ## 3.4 An Example of Extending the AtlasRep Package

  Let us assume that the directory `privdir` contains two subdirectories `C4` and `S5` (one could choose other names for these subdirectories), with data for the cyclic group C4 of order 4 and for the symmetric group S5 on 5 points, respectively. Note that it is obvious what the term ``standard generators'' means for the group C4.

  Further let us assume that `privdir` contains the following files.

  `C4G1-p4B0.m1`
    a faithful permutation representation of C4 on 4 points,

  `C4G1-max1W1`
    the straight line program that returns the square of its unique input,

  `C4G1-a2W1`
    the straight line program that applies an outer automorphism to its unique input,

  `C4G1-XtestW1`
    the straight line program that returns the square of its unique input,

  `S5G1-p2B0.m1` and `S5G1-p2B0.m2`
    the permutation representation of the commutator factor group of S5, on 2 points.

  The directory and the files can be created as follows.

      gap> pkg:= Filename( DirectoriesPackageLibrary( "atlasrep", "" ), "" );;
      gap> prv:= Filename( Directory( pkg ), "privdir" );;
      gap> if IsExistingFile( prv ) <> true then
      >      Exec( Concatenation( "mkdir ", prv ) );
      >    fi;
      gap> priv:= Filename( Directory( prv ), "C4" );;
      gap> if IsExistingFile( priv ) <> true then
      >      Exec( Concatenation( "mkdir ", priv ) );
      >    fi;
      gap> privdir:= Directory( priv );;
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "C4G1-p4B0.m1" ),
      >             MeatAxeString( [ (1,2,3,4) ], 4 ) );
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "C4G1-max1W1" ),
      >             "inp 1\npwr 2 1 2\noup 1 2\n" );
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "C4G1-XtestW1" ),
      >             "inp 1\npwr 2 1 2\noup 1 2\n" );
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "C4G1-a2W1" ),
      >             "inp 1\npwr 3 1 2\noup 1 2\n" );
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "C4G1-Ar1aB0.g" ),
      >             "return rec( generators:= [ [[E(4)]] ] );\n" );
      gap> priv:= Filename( Directory( prv ), "S5" );;
      gap> if IsExistingFile( priv ) <> true then
      >      Exec( Concatenation( "mkdir ", priv ) );
      >    fi;
      gap> privdir:= Directory( priv );;
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "S5G1-p2B0.m1" ),
      >             MeatAxeString( [ (1,2) ], 2 ) );
      gap> PrintTo( Filename( privdir, "S5G1-p2B0.m2" ),
      >             MeatAxeString( [ (1,2) ], 2 ) );

  The official part of the AtlasRep package does not contain information about C4, so we first notify this group, in the file `privdir/toc.g`. (The group S5 is known with name `A5.2` in the official part of the AtlasRep package, so it need not be notified.) Then we notify the private directory.

      gap> PrintTo( Filename( Directory( prv ), "toc.g" ),
      >             "AGRGNAN(\"C4\",\"C4\");\n" );
      gap> AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsNotifyPrivateDirectory( prv, "priv" );
      true

  Now we can use the interface functions for accessing the data in the private directory.

      gap> DisplayAtlasInfo( "C4" );
      Representations for G = C4:    (all refer to std. generators 1)
      ---------------------------
      1: G <= Sym(4)*
      2: G <= GL(1a,C)*

      Straight line programs for G = C4:    (all refer to std. generators 1)
      ----------------------------------
      available maxes of G:  [ 1 ]*
      available automorphisms:  [ "2" ]*
      available other scripts:  [ "test" ]*
      gap> DisplayAtlasInfo( "A5.2", NrMovedPoints, 2 );
      Representations for G = A5.2:    (all refer to std. generators 1)
      -----------------------------
      4: G <= Sym(2)*
      gap> info:= OneAtlasGeneratingSetInfo( "C4" );
      rec( identifier := [ [ "priv", "C4" ], [ "C4/C4G1-p4B0.m1" ], 1, 4 ] )
      gap> AtlasGeneratord( info.identifier );
      rec( generators := [ (1,2,3,4) ], standardization := 1,
        identifier := [ [ "priv", "C4" ], [ "C4/C4G1-p4B0.m1" ], 1, 4 ] )
      gap> AtlasStraightLineProgram( "C4", "maxes", 1 );
      rec( program := <straight line program>, standardization := 1,
        identifier := [ [ "priv", "C4" ], "C4/C4G1-max1W1", 1 ] )
      gap> AtlasGenerators( "C4", 1 );
      rec( generators := [ (1,2,3,4) ], standardization := 1,
        identifier := [ [ "priv", "C4" ], [ "C4/C4G1-p4B0.m1" ], 1, 4 ] )
      gap> AtlasStraightLineProgram( "C4", "other", "test" );
      rec( program := <straight line program>, standardization := 1,
        identifier := [ [ "priv", "C4" ], "C4/C4G1-XtestW1", 1 ] )

  For checking the data in the private directory, we apply some of the sanity checks (see Sanity Checks for the Atlas of Group Representations).

      gap> AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsTestWords( "priv" );
      true
      gap> AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsTestFileHeaders( "priv" );
      true

  Finally, we ``uninstall'' the private directory, and then remove the data. (Also the group name `C4` is removed this way, which is an advantage of using a `toc.g` file over calling `AGRGNAN` directly.)

      gap> AtlasOfGroupRepresentationsForgetPrivateDirectory( "priv" );
      gap> Exec( Concatenation( "rm -rf ", prv ) );

  [Up] [Previous] [Next] [Index]