[Pipet Devel] excerpt from CHANGES

[Gary Van Domselaar]

Jeff and Brad wrote:

> First, a command-line would be represented on the workspace as a workflow
> diagram (WFD).  This means, of course, multiple loci connected via lines.
> Now, this can be executed as it is (by running the main executable/processor
> perhaps).  This is just like what you have done _inside_ of a composite locus
> windowlet, only it's on the _workspace_.
> 
> But making a composite locus (single locus out of a WFD) is _not_ the same as
> constructing the WFD.  Making a composite means, for the workspace, making a
> single locus out of a WFD, and that's all.  Of course this also means the
> GUI's become merged.  Somehow, we'll just have the workspace 'zap' a whole WFD
> and leave a single locus in its place.

I have 2 questions about the 'zapping' part:  
1) Creating a new gui from a composited WFD.
Say you are constructing a command line with a switch that requires a
filename, regex, or some other field.  How would you construct the WFD
such that the switch and the text-field become associated during the WFD
composition? Say, like, take for example a standard POVRAY command-line:

loci>x-povray -Idef.ini  my_povray_file.pov

For the unitiated:  	-I requires the name of the povray config file
def.ini
			my_povray_file.pov is the input filename.

Using Jeff's method, would you create a WFD like this?

Header Locus	   Connector  Option			Connector  Field 	  Connector	Field	
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
URI path/to/povray   + 	      FLAG=-I	  		   ->	   ENTRY=def.ini    
+ 	       my_povray_file.pov
LOCUS_ID		      DESCRIPTION="Config
File"		                               DESCRIPTION="Input File"		
LOCUS_NAME
LOCUS DESCRIPTION
Etc.

Using the concatenator symbol '+' to represent the concatenation of
'unassociated' flags and the 'association'
symbol (->) to associate the Flags with their required fields (note:
these symbols are are mine and in no way reflect the symbols of my
employer ;-), or would you  instead use a 'concatenation connector (+)'
for all the connections, and use composite loci to associate the flags
with their required field?

2) What would one expect to see from the compostite locus when the
command line had been constructed?

-----------------------------------------
- POVRAY 3.0      	        	-
-----------------------------------------
- o Config File _def.ini________________-			
- o Input File  _my_povray_file.pov_____-
-					-
-----------------------------------------
- Helpful message here			-
-----------------------------------------

?

Gary

-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Gary Van Domselaar		gvd at redpoll.pharmacy.ualberta.ca
Faculty of Pharmacy 		Phone: (780) 492-4493
University of Alberta		FAX:   (780) 492-5305
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada       http://redpoll.pharmacy.ualberta.ca/~gvd