Re: add attributes?

[Carl Karsten <carl personnelware com>]

Steffen Macke wrote:
> Hi,
>
> > Now to get a slightly manageable UI.  any clue how many hours of work it
> > would take to do something like I am looking for?
>
> Try to describe the UI you are looking for in as much detail as possible. I just
> read all the mails again and it's not clear to me what is missing.

2 parts:

1. Define new attributes.
For now (and forever is OK with me) this can just be a .conf file like so:
# ~/.dia/attributes.conf
Description char(90)
PartNo char(20)
Order int

2. Set attribute values on objects.  These 3 attributes would now be part of the 
Property Sheet. (perhaps they should be called "Custom Properties" ?)
see attached png.

Then run PyDia List Generation,  output:
1, "Firewire Cable 4m/4m", "1030103", 10
2, "DVSwitch laptop", "dv67", 3
3, "Firewire Cable 6m/4m", "1030105", 7
4, "vga scan converter", "TwinPact100", 2

Or whatever the python csv module spits out.  The 1,2,3,4 is not a counter, but 
the unique ID that Dia uses.  (I am assuming it exists, and I am assuming it is 
easy to include in the export.)

Things others might enjoy, but I have no need for now:
in addition to name/type, options to have name/data rendered as part of the diagram:
Description char(90) n y
PartNo char(20) y y
Order int n n

This would cause the following text to be hung off the object:

Firewire Cable 4m/4m
PartNo: 1030103

Notice "Description" is not shown, just "Firewire Cable 4m/4m", and neither 
"order" or "10" is shown at all.

But this sounds like a huge time sink, mainly coming up with a way to position 
the text away from other objects, either automatically or another UI to allow 
the user to define the position.

(the reason I went down this path was to show where it lead, in hopes that what 
I need happens sooner.)


> Regarding additional attributes: Would it be possible to add them from the code?
> E.g. if the export finds object x named y, it knows that description z
> should be added
> to the list.

I can do that with the resulting export.  the export itself should stay very 
simple, otherwise it needs some way of being configured, and documented, etc.

> It might help if you would attach the list that should come out of
> your sample diagram.

(see above)

> In addition: Is plain text ok or would you prefer e.g. a HTML table to
> open the as a spreadsheet?

csv or xml would be my 2 choices.  whatever makes the .py code the simplest.

> Should the export list repeated items in separate line or add a count column?

For this PyCon video task, I need 2 things:
1. Assembly Instructions: step by step guide of how to setup the system:

1) dv67 dvswitch laptop on back table, plugged in
2) twinpact on back table, plugged in
3) vga cable from presenter into twinpac (rgb in)
4) ... (see 
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pIfz0wOzPtW2vRdor3fgERg&hl=en assembly tab)

2. parts list of everything I need.  in this case, consolidating and counting 
would be handy.  (see budget tab)
But this is something I can take care of myself; I don't think it's a good idea 
to try to make Dia do it.

For #1 Assembly Instructions I don't think I would include that text in the 
.dia, but use the part number on both (.dia and Instructions) to double check 
that everything was accounted for - Each .dia object needs an instruction, each 
instruction needs a .dia object.

For the Deluxe Version: generate a description that includes the descriptions of 
the objects a line connects:

These 3 objects:
"DVSwitch laptop", "dv67", 3
"Firewire Cable 6m/4m", "1030105", 7
"vga scan converter", "TwinPact100", 2

and some template string: "from %(end1)s to %(end2)s"

Would generate this: "from presenter to twinpac"

I think this can be split into two parts: A) dia, B) external.

A) dia part would add 2 things to the export:
Object ID - I am sure dia object have some unique ID.  use that.
Connected Objects - list of Object ID's that are attached.  For lines, it would 
be the ID's of the end points, for other things, blank.
example:
"1", "", "DVSwitch laptop", "dv67", 3
"2", "1,3", "Firewire Cable 6m/4m", "1030105", 7
"3", "", "vga scan converter", "TwinPact100", 2

For "other things" I considered having stuff besides blank, but it would be 
redundant, and might make it harder to process.  blank/not makes it easy to tell 
if it is a line or not.

B) The external part would be up to the user: spreadsheet, .py, whatever.

Hopefully it is clear what I need and what would be nice, but I would not want 
if it causes what I need to be delayed.  PyCon is March 25, so after that I 
don't need anything.  I am working on this project now, so the sooner .dia can 
make my live easier, the better.

Carl K