Difference between revisions of "User:Jmandel/WRF-Fire VisTrails wishlist"

Latest revision as of 08:44, 25 June 2010

Summary

At the teleconference June 24 2010, we have agreed that

SCI will keep the information what exactly to do and where the files are as howtos on the wiki
SCI will output a NetCDF file with only the arrays as processed for visualization, for diagnostic purposes
UCD will communicate requirements for a custom visualization tool using VisTrails and CrowdLabs

Jan's wishlist

Easy start

I think the following would really help to make it easier for a user (especially a novice) to take advantage of the software.

up-to-date at least the first part of How to visualize WRF-Fire output in VisTrails (before the server), good even for a novice, and noting specific versions known to work
all up to date files (anything extra that is not in stock VisTrails distribution) identified and publicly accessible (git repository, tarballs, package files in vistrails, crowdlabs), explained in the Howto, keep track of versions

Creating visualization

Tell SCI folks which arrays to support
SCI will build a custom visualization too, requires close communication
Wiki how to use kept up to date
Long-term solution
Need howto should be for someone who has fresh installation
VisTrails will dump also the NetCDF file with arrays that actually are visualized (and no others, to compress size) and the computed atmospheric nodes elevations. We'll use those files for input to Matlab and VAPOR for diagnostics. It would be good if the generated netcdf file is compatible with the wrfout file and can be used as the VisTrails input instead of wrfout.

Other

Jon's ideas

A couple of ideas that could help with usability and development.

Configuration parameters

Trying to customize a simulation by setting defaults for input ports is awkward and becomes almost impossible to manage when there is a large number of options in a workflow. I'm wondering if it would be possible to make some sort of a default configuration dialog that would pop up when running a workflow. Something like a standard configuration widget that contains all unconnected input ports that you can see and modify in one place.

Even better would be something like a module that you can place in the workflow with one output port. When you connect the output port to an input with a basic class (float/int/file/bool, etc.) that input is added to the configuration dialog with an appropriate gui element (for files, a string input with a button for opening a file dialog, etc.). Maybe multiple configuration boxes in the workflow could create individual tabs in the dialog.

Subworkflows

The problem with the workflow containing too many boxes is it becomes overcomplicated both to understand what it is really doing and to find what it is you are looking for. I'm aware that there is support for grouping of boxes and subworkflows; however, the problem with this approach is that all of the input/output ports get combined into a single box and (as far as I can tell) there is no way to figure out what each port does. Perhaps a way to annotate ports would help.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-. up-to-date "How to visualize WRF-Fire output in VisTrails" at
+==Summary==
-openwfm.org, working and clear enough for a clueless impatient
+At the teleconference June 24 2010, we have agreed that
-prospective user
+* SCI will keep the information what exactly to do and where the files are as howtos on the wiki
-. a command line utility to reduce the wrfout files by leaving only
+* SCI will output a NetCDF file with only the arrays as processed for visualization, for diagnostic purposes
-the variables needed (a simple python script would do; I did not try
+* UCD will communicate requirements for a custom visualization tool using VisTrails and CrowdLabs
-to set up the server yet.)
-. up to date .vt and package files and the above utility available in
-a publicly accessible git repository, also downoladable as a tarball
-or separately
-. in vistrails, input the directories by navigating to them in the
-usual fashion as all other mac programs, but leave the option to
-type/cut/paste if possible
-. a box with an error message should pop up if something is wrong
-with the path or the files
-. the vistrails window should remain responsive during the
-conversion, show a progress bar and a cancel button, not just freeze
-up
-. a box with an error message should pop up if something goes wrong
-with the conversion
-. there should be some sort of altert (a dialog box in front?) when
-the conversion is done. I need to do other things while it is working
-and the vistrails window gets buried somewhere.
-. the "Fire demo visualization" should already know where the vtk
-files are, not ask again (or it should prefill the choice with the
-known location)
-. make it simple to recover or backtrack when something goes wrong,
-including wrong user input. Make every step guaranteed re-runnable. I
-had to start from the scratch (exist vistrails, start again...) every
-single time when I messed up, which was quite often.
-. Why all those boxes? A scientist probably does not care about the
-details, certainly not the first time. Just show the user one big
-button, the user will push the button, navigate to the directory with
-the wrfout files, watch the progress bar for a while, and then watch
-the movie. Or at most two buttons (convert, visualize), and make it
-clear in some dialog box or in the howto how to save and visualize the
-next time without converting again.
-. There should be online help, or a help button to start the preview
-of the pdf of the manual. The pdf should be installed in the VisTrails
-application directory, where VisTrails.app is.
-. it needs to be clear how to start a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet
-should pop up and not hide under the vistrails window.
-. the axes in the visualization should be labeled and the current
-time displayed in every frame, please.
-. The control buttons on the bottom should give some feedback when
-pressed. The movie reacts slowly (or not at all at times), so it is
-not clear what is happening
-. The user interface is a bit raw and doing strange things at times.
-The look and feel should be the same as other native Mac applications.
- Probably VisTrails is not using the right Mac library for the GUI?
-. The GUI should be really simplified to get the user hooked the
-first time: simple useful things should be done in a simple way,
-without studying anything. Then, if someone wants to get deeper, they
-can do that later.
-. The Howto should say how to save the movie as a file.
-Here are some of the difficulties I run into.
+==Jan's wishlist==
-. the only howto I found was
+===Easy start===
-http://www.openwfm.org/wiki/How_to_run_the_Supercomputing_2009_WRF-Fire/Vistrails_demo
+I think the following would really help to make it easier for a user (especially a novice) to take advantage of the software.
-. In the absence of an up to date howto I was not sure which package
+# up-to-date at least the first part of [[How to visualize WRF-Fire output in VisTrails]] (before the server), good even for a novice, and noting specific versions known to work
-files to use. I have left whatever was in my vistrails installation
+# all up to date files (anything extra that is not in stock VisTrails distribution) identified and publicly accessible (git repository, tarballs, package files in vistrails, crowdlabs), explained in the Howto, keep track of versions
-from the last time.
-. I was not sure which .vt file to use because the howto is out of
+===Creating visualization===
-date. I have tried vt_files/fireDemoSC2009.new.vt from
+* Tell SCI folks which arrays to support
-ssh://math.ucdenver.edu/home/grads/jbeezley/wrf_vistrails.git, which
+* SCI will build a custom visualization too, requires close communication
-gave me the error "Pipeline cannot be instantiated:
+* Wiki how to use kept up to date
-Missing package: edu.cudenver.jbeezley.namelist".
+* Long-term solution
-. So I used VisTrails/scDemo2009/fireDemoSC2009running.vt file dated
+* Need howto should be for someone who has fresh installation
-/26/10 which I had from some earlier attempt.
+* VisTrails will dump also the NetCDF file with arrays that actually are visualized (and no others, to compress size) and the computed atmospheric nodes elevations. We'll use those files for input to Matlab and VAPOR for diagnostics.  It would be good if the generated netcdf file is compatible with the wrfout file and can be used as the VisTrails input instead of wrfout.
-. during the conversion, vistrails seemed to disable other windows or
-steal focus from them (Chrome, in particular, where I am writing this)
+===Other===
-. After the conversion, the vtk were nowhere to be found (I did not
+* [[User:Jmandel/WRF-Vistrails user interface suggestions|User interface suggestions]]
-create the directory, but Vistrains did not complain and just went
+* [[User:Jmandel/WRF-Fire-Vistrails difficulties|Difficulty finding the right files]]
-ahead with the conversion?)
-. it was not clear what exactly it means "View the spread sheet to
+==Jon's ideas==
-interact with the visualization" in the howto. I forgot since the last
+A couple of ideas that could help with usability and development.
-time. There is no button labeled "spreadsheet". The manual says
-something about main menu or spreadsheet toolbar but I did not see any
+===Configuration parameters===
-such things in the vistrails window either. I was afraid to try and
-push random buttons for fear I would get to some state I could not
+Trying to customize a simulation by setting defaults for input ports is awkward and becomes almost impossible to manage when there is a large number of options in a workflow.  I'm wondering if it would be possible to make some sort of a default configuration dialog that would pop up when running a workflow.  Something like a standard configuration widget that contains all unconnected input ports that you can see and modify in one place.
-recover from, and I would have to start all over again (another hour
-or so). Eventually, I accidentally found the spreadsheet hiding under
+Even better would be something like a module that you can place in the workflow with one output port.  When you connect the output port to an input with a basic class (float/int/file/bool, etc.) that input is added to the configuration dialog with an appropriate gui element (for files, a string input with a button for opening a file dialog, etc.).  Maybe multiple configuration boxes in the workflow could create individual tabs in the dialog.
-the vistrails window.
+===Subworkflows===
+The problem with the workflow containing too many boxes is it becomes overcomplicated both to understand what it is really doing and to find what it is you are looking for.  I'm aware that there is support for grouping of boxes and subworkflows; however, the problem with this approach is that all of the input/output ports get combined into a single box and (as far as I can tell) there is no way to figure out what each port does.  Perhaps a way to annotate ports would help.