[kepler-dev] Icons in the *DataSource actors

[Matt Jones]

Well, for the EML actor we might have a pretty good idea of the data 
size based on the metadata that states size of the data.  It is an 
optional field in EML so won't always be present, but if we have it then 
it would be effective feedback on the state of the download.

Other DataSource actors may also be able to extract some size 
information from their metadata to be used, or maybe not, so the 
spinning arrow as a default would still be needed.

Matt

Kevin Ruland wrote:
> The biggest problem with a pie graph is knowing how big the data is
> before hand.  We might have to extract information from the http header
> if it's even available then we need to plug in custom something-or-other
> in the Axis response handlers to issue events when bytes are recieved. 
> I think something like a spinning arrow or some such would be about the
> best we can hope for.
> 
> Just let me know how it's supposed to work.  Note that removing the
> background data loads does make things a whole lot easier since we won't
> have as many threading issues to worry about.
> 
> Kevin
> 
> Matt Jones wrote:
> 
> 
>>Regarding negotiation: everything is up for negotiation :)
>>
>>My only point in our conversation was we needed a visual way to
>>indicate that a workfow was ready to run -- or not when the data isn't
>>there.  If we move to downloading the data during execution then some
>>of this need goes away -- although it would still be nice to indicate
>>to the user that a data source is downloading a large data set -- a
>>pie-graph progress meter overlayed in the icon would be even better
>>but is probably complicated.
>>
>>Matt
>>
>>Kevin Ruland wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Matthew Brooke wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Laura (also Kevin & Dan) -
>>>>
>>>>Sorry - the states that I know about are 'busy' (currently red),
>>>>'ready' (currently yellow) and 'error' (currently pink). Not sure if
>>>>there are any more.
>>>>
>>>
>>>Those are the states:  busy, ready, and error.  BTW - the error color
>>>is called "magenta" in the code.
>>>
>>>I think a consistent background icon with some overlays would work
>>>fine.  Flashing might be more difficult to do because we'd have to
>>>code timers etc and as others have stated can be visually
>>>distracting.  I think overlays (text + icon of some kind) would work
>>>best.  If we are going to use flashing, then I think an animated
>>>overlay would be much more appealing and probably just as difficult
>>>to code.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I also think I recall seeing a discussion on IRC or by email about
>>>>having the datasources *not* get their data before the workflow is
>>>>run - was that conversation between Dan and Kevin? Can either of you
>>>>guys summarize what you decided?
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>I asked Matt about this in the past, and I don't think this feature
>>>is up for negotiation.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>m
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>
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-- 
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Matt Jones                                   Ph: 907-789-0496
jones at nceas.ucsb.edu                    SIP #: 1-747-626-7082
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS)
UC Santa Barbara     http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecoinformatics
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