Re: jython interface

• To: Tom Whittaker <tomw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
• Subject: Re: jython interface
• From: m huang <qomo@xxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2002 03:43:13 -0800 (PST)

I posted this but forgot to include visad-list in the
to: list. 

--- Tom Whittaker <tomw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > The end users want something like this can work
> >in the interactive environment:
> >
> >-> plot([1,2,5,6,2],title="foo bar")
> >  
> >
> 
> Actually, you can do:
> 
> lineplot(field([1,2,5,6,2]),title="foo bar")
> 
> and get your plot (assuming you have imported 'graph'). It would be
> trivial to have lineplot() change the first parameter from a
> list/tuple  to a field, though. 

I have a wrapper class prototype that can be called in Jython like

>>> plotVisAD2D([1,2,3],[[4,5,6],[7,8,9]],lineType=2)

it allows the X arrays to be more than a simple integer set,
and multiple y arrays with settable individual looks. More
importantly it is a package also for Java programmers who want to
to imbed VisAD for plotting but don't want to understand all
the underlying mechanism. I hope some part of the visad.Python
package that provide casual-user-friendly interfaces can go
to the visad core, though technically it is possible to use
them at where they are now.


>  I think 
> what you are implying is that the Python lists and tuples should
somehow 
> be seamlessly interchangable with VisAD Data objects. 

Or any convertable data object if I can have it that way!

> 
> The real issue for me is that I think scientists should be using
the 
> VisAD Data model to represent their data, because of the rich meta
> data that goes along with it, and not just simple array of numbers.


The user group will fight teeth and nail against that statement :-)
I know because we have people from the targeted users sitting
in some of our IA meetings. They make it clear that they just
want to get the number processed and plotted with minimum
has-to-learn-another-system. If I don't agree, they would just
walk away from me. (This is not to say they can't be educated.
But if tutorials and javaDocs are having low priorities,
think who has the time to educate general users?)

Simple array of numbers is what every scientist who has 
learned programming can understand. 

> the idea of automatically pasting successful commands into
> the script is quite appealing [in Jython Editor / console].

what I wish is a a console like above plus a Jython IDE. One
can run commands, edit scripts, and do all the debugging things
like setting break-point and watches. But it will perhaps
remain as a wish for a while because of lack of 
time/funding/users' voice level asking for such a thing.



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• Follow-Ups:
  • Re: jython interface
    • From: Tom Whittaker
  • Re: jython interface
    • From: Bill Hibbard

• References:
  • Re: jython interface
    • From: Tom Whittaker