This command sets and prints the maximum number of elaboration cycles allowed. If count is not given, this command prints the current number of elaboration cycles allowed. If count is given, it must be a positive integer and is used to reset the number of allowed elaboration cycles.
The "max-elaborations" parameter controls the maximum number of elaborations allowed in a single decision cycle. After this limit has been reached, Soar moves on to the next phase and a warning message is printed. The default initial setting of the "max-elaborations" parameter is 100.
In Soar8, max-elaborations is checked during both the Propose Phase and the Apply Phase. If Soar8 runs more than the max-elaborations limit in either of these phases, Soar8 proceeds to the next phase (either Decision or Output) even if quiescence has not been reached.
The command issued with no arguments, returns the max elaborations allowed:
max-elaborations
The next example makes use of Tcl command abbreviation while setting the maximum value to 50:
max-e 50
Note that the commandname uses dashes to separate the words. There is also a Soar variable "max_elaborations" (with underscores) that can be used to set the limit through the the Tcl set command. If count is not given, 'set max_elaborations' prints the current number of elaboration cycles allowed. If count is given, it must be a positive integer and is used to reset the number of allowed elaboration cycles.