Vector<Protocol> protocols = new Vector<Protocol>() ;
// create the layer described by DEFAULTS
protocol = Configurator.createProtocol(defaultProps, stack) ;
// process the defaults
protocol_configs.add(new ProtocolConfiguration(defaultProps)) ;
protocols.add(protocol) ;
Configurator.setDefaultValues(protocol_configs, protocols, StackType.IPv4) ;
// get the value which should have been assigned a default
int a = ((DEFAULTS)protocol).getA() ;