Graphviz For Mac Sierra

Exercise 8: Getting to know foma

Install foma, establish workflow

Windows users

1. Download GraphViz zip file 'graphviz-2.44.1-win32.zip' from here, unzip it, then move the folder into C:Program Files (x86)
2. Download Foma zip file 'foma-0.9.18_win32.zip' from here, unzip it, then move the folder into C:Program Files (x86)
3. Add the two applications to system PATH. Here's how.
4. In cmd, run foma. Create a regex. Instead of 'view', use: print dot > fst.txt (see workflow below)
5. In another cmd, use command:
   dot -Tpng -o fst.png fst.txt & start fst.png (see workflow below)
6. Your workflow should now be like this.

Mac users

Versions 10.12 'Sierra' and 10.13 'High Sierra': choose this option only if you have time, resource and patience. If not, try the next set of instructions for 'Mojave'.

1. You should have Xcode and homebrew installed on your system. It took me 1+ hour to install Xcode, just FYI.
2. In Terminal, install GraphViz through homebrew along with its app: brew install graphviz --with-app
3. You need to do some system-side housekeeping. See this stackoverflow post, the answer by Eliot with 33 votes.
4. Install foma: brew install foma
5. In Terminal, run foma. Create a regex. The 'view' command will work. (see workflow below)
6. Your workflow will be like this (image from my WSL setup).

1. Install homebrew, if you don't have it already
2. In Terminal, install GraphViz through homebrew: brew install graphviz
3. Install foma: brew install foma
4. In Terminal, run foma. Create a regex. Instead of 'view', use: print dot > fst.txt (see workflow below)
5. In another Terminal, use command:
   dot -Tpng -o fst.png fst.txt ; open fst.png (see workflow below)
6. Your workflow should now be like this.

Linux users

Explore

• Need to quit foma? Type in 'exit' followed by ENTER. That kicks you back into your command-line environment.
• Make sure to substitute the 'view' command with the 'print dot --> convert to png --> open image' routine above.
• Avoid going into the 'up' and 'down' modes, which can be hard to get out of (Ctrl+D usually works). Instead, supply a word argument with up and down: up buses, down bus[PL].
• + is a special regex symbol, so you will need to escape it.
• Defining a regular expression (def NAME REGEX ;) does not in fact push it onto the stack, which is necessary before you can test it out. For this, you should follow up with the push command, as in push NAME
• In fact, going the other way is more intuitive: first create a regular expression onto your stack through regex a|b|c|d ;, test it out, and when you are satisfied, give it a name through define. Screenshot here.
• Is your stack becoming too high? Use clear stack
• Having trouble? Check the 'Common mistakes' section at the bottom.