4.4 Miscellaneous features

4.4.1 Standard Graph Display Interface

A standard graph display (an example of which can be found with the Main Summary Graph - figure 1) has the following features:

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Graph types can be selected between ``Line Graph'' which connects each data point with a colored line representing the appropriate data entry. This information may be ``stacked'' or ``unstacked'' (controlled by the checkbox to the right). A ``stacked'' graph places one data point set (Y values) on top of another. An ``unstacked'' graph simply uses the data point's Y value to directly determine the point's position; ``Bar Graph'' (the default) which draws a colored bar for each data entry and the value of the data point determines its height or starting position (depending on whether the bar graph is ``stacked'' or ``unstacked''). A ``Bar Graph'' displayed in ``unstacked'' mode draws its bars in a tallest to shortest order so that the large Y values do not cover over the small Y values; ``Area Graph'' is similar to a ``Line Graph'' except that the area under the lines for a particular Y data point set is also colored by the data's appropriate color. ``Area Graph''s are always stacked.

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x-scale allows the user to scale the X-Axis. This can be done by directly entering a scaling factor in the text field (simple numeric field - see below) or by using the ``'' or ``'' buttons to increase or decrease the scale by 0.25 each time. The ``Reset'' button changes the scale factor back to 1.0. A scrollbar automatically appears if the scale factor causes the canvas to be larger than the window.

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y-scale allows the user to scale the Y-Axis. This functions similarly to the x-scale feature where the buttons and fields are concerned.

4.4.2 Standard Dialog Features

Figure 19: An example Dialog with standard fields

Figure 19 shows a sample dialog box with standard features. The following are standard features that can be employed in such a dialog box:

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Moving from field to field via the tab key causes the dialog box update the last field input by the user. It also performs a consistency check. Whenever it finds an inconsistency, it will move mouse focus onto the offending field, disabling the ``OK'' button so as to force the user to fix the inconsistency. Examples of inconsistency includes: input that violates a field's format; input whose value violates constraints (eg. start time larger than end time); or out-of-range stand-alone values.

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Available buttons include ``OK'' which confirms the user's choice of parameters. This button is only activated if the dialog box considers the parameters' input to be consistent. ``Update'' causes the dialog box to update the last field input by the user and perform a consistency check. This is similar in behavior to the user tabbing between fields. ``Cancel'' closes the dialog box without modifying any parameters if the tool has already been loaded or aborts the tool's load attempt otherwise.

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Parameter History allows the user to quickly access information for all tools for a set of frequently needed time periods. An example of such a use is the desire by the analyst to view a particular phase or timestep of a computation without having to memorize or write on a piece of paper when exactly the phase or timestep occurred.

It consists of a pull-down text box and 2 buttons. ``Add to History List'' adds the current time range to the pull-down list to the left of the button. The dialog box maintains up to 5 entries, replacing older entries with newer ones. ``Remove Selected History'' removes the currently selected entry in the history list. ``Save History to Disk'' stores current history information to the file ``ranges.hst'' in the same directory where your logs are stored. Note that you will need write access to that directory to successfully store history information. A more flexible scheme is currently being developed and will be released in a later version of PROJECTIONS. Clicking on the pull-down list allows the user to select one out of up to 5 possible time ranges. You can do so by moving the mouse up or down the list. Clicking on any one item changes the start and end times on the dialog box.

4.4.3 Data Fields

Throughout PROJECTIONS tools and dialog boxes (see sample figure 19), data entry fields are provided. Unless otherwise specified, these can be of the following standard field with some format requirements:

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Simple numeric fields: An example can be found in figure 19 for ``Number of Bins:''. This field expects a single number.

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Time-Based Field: An example can be found in figure 19 for ``Start Time:''. This field expects a single simple or floating point number followed by a time-scale modifier. The following modifiers are supported: none - this is the default and means the input number represents time in microseconds. A whole number is expected; The characters ``us'' - the input number represents time in microseconds. A whole number is expected; The characters ``ms'' - the input number represents time in milliseconds. This can be a whole number or floating point number; or The character ``s'' - the input number represents time in seconds. This can be a whole number or floating point number.

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Processor-Based Field: An example can be found in figure 19 for ``Processors:''. This field expects a single whole number; a list of whole numbers; a range; or a mixed list of whole numbers and ranges. Here are some examples which makes the format clearer:

eg: Want to see processors 1,3,5,7: Enter 1,3,5,7

eg: Want to see processors 1,2,3,4: Enter 1-4

eg: Want to see processors 1,2,3,7: Enter 1-3,7

eg: Want to see processors 1,3,4,5,7,8: Enter 1,3-5,7-8

Ranges also allow skip-factors. Here are some examples:

eg: Want to see processors 3,6,9,12,15: Enter 3-15:3

eg: Want to see processors 1,3,6,9,11,14: Enter 1,3-9:3,11,14

This feature is extremely flexible. It will normalize your input to a canonical form, tolerating duplication of entries as well as out-of-order entries (ie. 4,6,3 is the same as 3-4,6).