Create and edit an application

Create an application

1. Provide basic information for the application

   • Application names must be unique within the same workspace. The name can contain only digits, letters, underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The name must be no more than 64 characters long and cannot start with a digit or a hyphen.

   • The platform currently supports only flow-type applications that follow the WDL standard.

   • You can set a unique version tag, which is equivalent to a version number. When you create a task, you can choose to use either the version number or the tag.

2. Write the application WDL file

   • You can load an example for reference. For more information about the complete WDL syntax, see the official community document.

   • The application must have one and only one workflow, which serves as the main file.

     • For example, main.wdl.

   • You can define tasks in the main file. You can also add more files as inputs for tasks and import them into the main file.

     • For example, you can add a file named sub.wdl and define a task named foo in it. After you import "sub.wdl" into main.wdl, you can use the foo task.

   • The runtime section in a task is critical for defining the resource consumption of the genomics analysis application. For more information, see Set runtime properties.

   Note

   The platform validates the syntax of the WDL file. If the validation fails, an error message is displayed that includes the specific line number and content.

3. Add runtime parameters (Optional)

   • The platform parses the application content and automatically generates input parameters. These parameters serve as a template for adding runtime parameters.

   • You can add multiple sets of runtime parameters. You can use names and descriptions to explain the scenario for each set.

   • You must provide a valid value for each runtime parameter according to the type declared in the WDL file.

4. Write help documentation (Optional)

   • Version introduction: Revision information for this version.

   • Help document: Usage instructions for the application. Markdown syntax is supported.

Edit an application

In the application list of a workspace, you can edit a specific application:

• Applications from the application repository are mirrored references of public applications in the workspace. You cannot edit them directly. To modify a public application, you can create a new application that uses the public application's WDL code.

• You can select a specific application version to edit:

  • When you edit an application, you cannot change its name.

  • The WDL file displays the content of the selected version.

  • If the WDL content of the new version is unchanged, the runtime parameters of the selected version are retained.

  • After you save the changes, a new version number is automatically generated.

Tag a version

You can click an application name to go to its details page. On the details page, you can click Tag Version to add or modify a unique tag for the currently selected application version. The tag must be unique among all versions of the application. If you apply a tag that is already used on another version, the tag is automatically removed from the old version. When you create a task or template, you can select this tag to automatically use the application version that has this tag.