Encapsulates information which is sent between Nodes. More...

#include <event.h>

Inheritance diagram for nest::Event:

Public Member Functions
	Event ()

virtual	~Event ()

virtual Event *	clone () const =0
	Virtual copy constructor. More...

virtual void	operator() ()=0
	Deliver the event to receiver. More...

void	set_receiver (Node &)
	Change pointer to receiving Node. More...

Node &	get_receiver () const
	Return reference to receiving Node. More...

Node &	get_sender () const
	Return reference to sending Node. More...

void	set_sender (Node &)
	Change pointer to sending Node. More...

index	get_sender_gid () const
	Return GID of sending Node. More...

void	set_sender_gid (index)
	Change GID of sending Node. More...

Time const &	get_stamp () const
	Return time stamp of the event. More...

void	set_delay (delay)
	Set the transmission delay of the event. More...

delay	get_delay () const
	Return transmission delay of the event. More...

delay	get_max_delay () const

long_t	get_rel_delivery_steps (const Time &t) const
	Relative spike delivery time in steps. More...

port	get_port () const
	Return the sender port number of the event. More...

rport	get_rport () const
	Return the receiver port number of the event. More...

void	set_port (port p)
	Set the port number. More...

void	set_rport (rport p)
	Set the receiver port number (r-port). More...

double_t	get_offset () const
	Return the creation time offset of the Event. More...

void	set_offset (double_t t)
	Set the creation time of the Event. More...

weight	get_weight () const
	Return the weight. More...

void	set_weight (weight t)
	Set weight of the event. More...

bool	is_valid () const
	Check integrity of the event. More...

void	set_stamp (Time const &)
	Set the time stamp of the event. More...

Protected Attributes
index	sender_gid_
	GID of sender or -1. More...

Node *	sender_
	Pointer to sender or NULL. More...

Node *	receiver_
	Pointer to receiver or NULL. More...

port	p_
	Sender port number. More...

rport	rp_
	Receiver port number (r-port). More...

delay	d_
	Transmission delay. More...

Time	stamp_
	Time stamp. More...

double	offset_
	Offset for precise spike times. More...

weight	w_
	Weight of the connection. More...

Detailed Description

Encapsulates information which is sent between Nodes.

For each type of information there has to be a specialized event class.

Events are used for two tasks. During connection, they are used as polymorphic connect objects. During simulation they are used to transport basic event information from one node to the other.

A connection between two elements is physically established in two steps: First, create an event with the two envolved elements. Second, call the connect method of the event.

An event object contains only administrative information which is needed to successfully deliver the event. Thus, event objects cannot direcly contain custom data: events are not messages. If a node receives an event, arbitrary abounts of data may be exchanged between the participating nodes.

With this restriction it is possible to implement a comparatively efficient event handling scheme. 5-6 function calls per event may seem a long time, but this is cheap if we consider that event handling makes update and communication succeptible to parallel execution.

See also: Node; SpikeEvent; RateEvent; CurrentEvent; CurrentEvent; ConductanceEvent

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

nest::Event::Event ( )

virtual nest::Event::~Event ( )

inlinevirtual

Member Function Documentation

virtual Event* nest::Event::clone ( ) const

pure virtual

Virtual copy constructor.

Implemented in nest::DoubleDataEvent, nest::ConductanceEvent, nest::DataLoggingReply, nest::DataLoggingRequest, nest::CurrentEvent, nest::RateEvent, and nest::SpikeEvent.

delay nest::Event::get_delay ( ) const

inline

Return transmission delay of the event.

The delay refers to the time until the event is expected to arrive at the receiver.

References d_.

delay nest::Event::get_max_delay ( ) const

References nest::Scheduler::get_max_delay().

double_t nest::Event::get_offset ( ) const

inline

Return the creation time offset of the Event.

Each Event carries the exact time of creation. This time need not coincide with an integral multiple of the temporal resolution. Rather, Events may be created at any point in time.

References offset_.

Referenced by nest::parrot_neuron_ps::handle(), nest::iaf_psc_alpha_presc::handle(), nest::iaf_psc_exp_ps::handle(), nest::iaf_psc_alpha_canon::handle(), nest::iaf_psc_delta_canon::handle(), nest::ContDelayConnection< targetidentifierT >::send(), and nest::Scheduler::send_offgrid_remote().

port nest::Event::get_port ( ) const

inline

Return the sender port number of the event.

This function returns the number of the port over which the Event was sent.

Return values

A	negative return value indicates that no port number was available.

References p_.

Referenced by nest::gamma_sup_generator::event_hook(), nest::poisson_generator_ps::event_hook(), nest::ppd_sup_generator::event_hook(), nest::noise_generator::event_hook(), and nest::sinusoidal_gamma_generator::event_hook().

Node & nest::Event::get_receiver ( void ) const

inline

Return reference to receiving Node.

References receiver_.

Referenced by nest::gamma_sup_generator::event_hook(), nest::poisson_generator_ps::event_hook(), nest::sinusoidal_poisson_generator::event_hook(), nest::ppd_sup_generator::event_hook(), nest::noise_generator::event_hook(), nest::poisson_generator::event_hook(), nest::mip_generator::event_hook(), nest::sinusoidal_gamma_generator::event_hook(), nest::spike_generator::event_hook(), and nest::Node::event_hook().

long_t nest::Event::get_rel_delivery_steps ( const Time & t ) const

inline

Relative spike delivery time in steps.

Returns the delivery time of the spike relative to a given time in steps. Causality commands that the result should not be negative.

Returns: stamp + delay - 1 - t in steps

Parameters

Time	reference time

See also: NEST Time Memo, Rule 3

References d_, nest::Time::get_steps(), and stamp_.

rport nest::Event::get_rport ( ) const

inline

Return the receiver port number of the event.

This function returns the number of the r-port over which the Event was sent.

Note: A return value of 0 indicates that the r-port is not used.

References rp_.

Referenced by nest::iaf_psc_exp_multisynapse::handle(), nest::iaf_psc_alpha_multisynapse::handle(), nest::music_event_out_proxy::handle(), nest::aeif_cond_alpha_multisynapse::handle(), nest::iaf_psc_exp::handle(), nest::ht_neuron::handle(), nest::correlomatrix_detector::handle(), nest::correlation_detector::handle(), and nest::iaf_cond_alpha_mc::handle().

Node & nest::Event::get_sender ( void ) const

inline

Return reference to sending Node.

References sender_.

Referenced by nest::Scheduler::send_offgrid_remote(), and nest::Scheduler::send_remote().

index nest::Event::get_sender_gid ( void ) const

inline

Return GID of sending Node.

References assert(), and sender_gid_.

Referenced by nest::binary_neuron< TGainfunction >::handle(), nest::spin_detector::handle(), and nest::spike_detector::handle().

Time const & nest::Event::get_stamp ( ) const

inline

Return time stamp of the event.

The stamp denotes the time when the event was created. The resolution of Stamp is limited by the time base of the simulation kernel (

See also: class nest::Time). If this resolution is not fine enough, the creation time can be corrected by using the time attribute.

References stamp_.

weight nest::Event::get_weight ( ) const

inline

Return the weight.

References w_.

bool nest::Event::is_valid ( ) const

inline

Check integrity of the event.

This function returns true, if all data, in particular sender and receiver pointers are correctly set.

References d_, receiver_, and sender_.

virtual void nest::Event::operator() ( )

pure virtual

Deliver the event to receiver.

This operator calls the handler for the specific event type at the receiver.

Implemented in nest::DoubleDataEvent, nest::ConductanceEvent, nest::DataLoggingReply, nest::DataLoggingRequest, nest::DSCurrentEvent, nest::CurrentEvent, nest::RateEvent, nest::DSSpikeEvent, and nest::SpikeEvent.

void nest::Event::set_delay ( delay d )

inline

Set the transmission delay of the event.

The delay refers to the time until the event is expected to arrive at the receiver.

Parameters

t delay.

References nest::names::d, and d_.

void nest::Event::set_offset ( double_t t )

inline

Set the creation time of the Event.

Each Event carries the exact time of creation in realtime. This time need not coincide with an integral multiple of the temporal resolution. Rather, Events may be created at any point in time.

Parameters

t	Creation time in realtime. t has to be in [0, h).

References offset_.

Referenced by nest::iaf_psc_exp_ps::emit_instant_spike_(), nest::iaf_psc_delta_canon::emit_instant_spike_(), nest::iaf_psc_alpha_canon::emit_instant_spike_(), nest::iaf_psc_exp_ps::emit_spike_(), nest::iaf_psc_delta_canon::emit_spike_(), nest::iaf_psc_alpha_canon::emit_spike_(), nest::poisson_generator_ps::event_hook(), nest::Scheduler::prepare_nodes(), nest::ContDelayConnection< targetidentifierT >::send(), nest::MusicEventHandler::update(), nest::parrot_neuron_ps::update(), nest::iaf_chxk_2008::update(), nest::iaf_psc_alpha_presc::update(), and nest::spike_generator::update().

void nest::Event::set_port ( port p )

inline

Set the port number.

Each event carries the number of the port over which the event is sent. When a connection is established, it receives a unique ID from the sender. This number has to be stored in each Event object.

Parameters

p	Port number of the connection, or -1 if unknown.

References nest::names::p, and p_.

Referenced by nest::Connector< K, ConnectionT >::send(), nest::Connector< 1, ConnectionT >::send(), and nest::Connector< K_cutoff, ConnectionT >::send().

void nest::Event::set_receiver ( Node & r )

inline

Change pointer to receiving Node.

References receiver_.

void nest::Event::set_rport ( rport p )

inline

Set the receiver port number (r-port).

When a connection is established, the receiving Node may issue a port number (r-port) to distinguish the incomin connection. By the default, the r-port is not used and its port number defaults to zero.

Parameters

p	Receiver port number of the connection, or 0 if unused.

References rp_.

void nest::Event::set_sender ( Node & s )

inline

Change pointer to sending Node.

References sender_.

void nest::Event::set_sender_gid ( index gid )

inline

Change GID of sending Node.

References sender_gid_.

Referenced by nest::Scheduler::prepare_nodes(), and nest::Network::send_local().

void nest::Event::set_stamp ( Time const & s )

inline

Set the time stamp of the event.

The time stamp refers to the time when the event was created.

References stamp_.

Referenced by nest::poisson_generator_ps::event_hook(), nest::Multimeter::handle(), nest::Scheduler::prepare_nodes(), and nest::MusicEventHandler::update().

void nest::Event::set_weight ( weight t )

inline

Set weight of the event.

References nest::names::w, and w_.

Member Data Documentation

delay nest::Event::d_

protected

Transmission delay.

Number of simulations steps that pass before the event is delivered at the receiver. The delay must be at least 1.

Referenced by get_delay(), get_rel_delivery_steps(), is_valid(), and set_delay().

double nest::Event::offset_

protected

Offset for precise spike times.

offset_ specifies a correction to the creation time. If the resolution of stamp is not sufficiently precise, this attribute can be used to correct the creation time. offset_ has to be in [0, h).

Referenced by get_offset(), and set_offset().

port nest::Event::p_

protected

Sender port number.

The sender port is used as a unique identifier for the connection. The receiver of an event can use the port number to obtain data from the sender. The sender uses this number to locate target-specific information.

Note: A negative port number indicates an unknown port.

Referenced by get_port(), and set_port().

Node* nest::Event::receiver_

protected

Pointer to receiver or NULL.

Referenced by get_receiver(), is_valid(), nest::SpikeEvent::operator()(), nest::RateEvent::operator()(), nest::CurrentEvent::operator()(), nest::DataLoggingRequest::operator()(), nest::DataLoggingReply::operator()(), nest::ConductanceEvent::operator()(), nest::DoubleDataEvent::operator()(), and set_receiver().

rport nest::Event::rp_

protected

Receiver port number (r-port).

The receiver port (r-port) can be used by the receiving Node to distinguish incoming connections. E.g. the r-port number can be used by Events to access specific parts of a Node. In most cases, however, this port will no be used.