[guppi-list] Guppi as a mime-type handler

[Neil J Pilgrim <eennjp electeng leeds ac uk>]

I've just been reading about the NetCDF file format and a web-server
extension that provides access to data-files in multiple ways, using a
web form (DODS). This was all rather stunning, since I had considered a
system (API/class) like NetCDF offers and wondered how hard a web
'front-end' would be to code.

Various plotting programs support the NetCDF format (eg xmgrace) and so
one point I would like to make is that this would be desirable as a new
'import' filter for guppi.

The main question though, regards the 'bonobo-ification' of guppi, and
what features/windows/etc does guppi expose in this process? The reason
I ask is that I envisage a (probably too idealistic) system whereby
you're using a file- (web-, URL-) browser, and find a set of data
'files'. You use the web-form to select the specific data you want and
that data is then returned in the form of (one example) a NetCDF file.
The browser figures that such files should be opened with guppi, for
example, and the data is then automatically read-in to a new guppi
session (currently with a new app, possibly 'in-line'?). Another
possibility would be allowing DnD of files into the guppi 'Database'
window, or even directly onto a plot (given appropriate hints
beforehand). Arguably some of this is likely already possible with other
tools, but would such a thing be possible with guppi? (ok, so what
*isn't* theoretically possible, but hey)

Please excuse me if this is too confusing, but given the amount of time
I seem to spend transferring files between servers (manually) and
relabelling axes/sets (manually) then such a development would really
relieve some of the repetition involved in such work; perhaps this can
be achieved with just using a format like NetCDF (ie. sufficiently
descriptive).

Any comments welcome!

--                                                                             
Neil                          linux up 187 days 5:50