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doc_basics_of_extensions Class Reference

## Detailed Description

# Basic principles of SBML package extensions in libSBML

  SBML Level 3's package structure permits modular extensions to the core SBML format. In libSBML, support for SBML Level 3 packages is provided through optional package extensions that can be plugged into libSBML at the time it is built/compiled. Users of libSBML can thus choose which extensions are enabled in their software applications.

LibSBML defines a number of classes that developers of package extensions can use to implement support for an SBML Level 3 package. These classes make it easier to extend libSBML objects with new attributes and/or subobjects as needed by a particular Level 3 package. Three overall categories of classes make up libSBML's facilities for implementing package extensions. There are (1) classes that serve as base classes meant to be subclassed, (2) template classes meant to be instantiated rather than subclassed, and (3) support classes that provide utility features. A given package implementation for libSBML will take the form of code using these and other libSBML classes, placed in a subdirectory of `src/sbml/packages/`.

The basic libSBML distribution includes a number of package extensions implementing support for officially-endorsed SBML Level 3 packages; among these are Flux Balance Constraints ("fbc"), Hierarchical Model Composition ("comp"), Layout ("layout"), and Qualitative Models ("qual"). They can serve as working examples for developers working to implement other packages.

Extensions in libSBML can currently only be implemented in C++ or C; there is no mechanism to implement them first in languages such as Java or Python. However, once implemented in C++ or C, language interfaces can be generated semi-automatically using the framework in place in libSBML. (The approach is based on using SWIG and facilities in libSBML's build system.)