CFD code input preparation form

J

Julian I. Kamil

Bil, looking at the linked page, it seems quite obvious to me that the
user interface can be greatly improved by using alternative elements
such as sliders, radio groups, auto-completing fields, etc.

However, from your question it sounds like you're looking for an
alternative way to input these information to the system that should
not rely on the use of so many UI elements. If that is the case, the
simplest way to do this that I can think of is by using a single text
area where the user can input YAML formatted data to a Ruby script that
can then process, cleanse, and transform the contents into the
appropriate format (USM3D?) for further processing.

So, my solution would contain the following components:

(1) a web page with a text area prepopulated with a YAML template--the
user simply types in the values that they want to input; and

(2) a Ruby script that takes the POST, validates the input, generates
the output file, and passes that file to the real consumer of the
information.

If you want an even simpler UI, you could ask the end user to create
the YAML file on their own machine with Emacs, Vi, or other text
editors, and have them upload the file with a web form. In this case,
(1) can be replaced with a single file upload form element.

I think that should be much simpler than the original example... :)

Julian I. Kamil <[email protected]>
http://pandora.rubyveil.com/ - Pandora Publisher
http://books.rubyveil.com/ - The Ruby Bookshelf
 
B

Bil Kleb

Julian said:
Bil, looking at the linked page, it seems quite obvious to me that the
user interface can be greatly improved by using alternative elements
such as sliders, radio groups, auto-completing fields, etc.
Yes.

However, from your question it sounds like you're looking for an
alternative way to input these information to the system that should
not rely on the use of so many UI elements.

You think too highly of me; I just took one look at the Javascript
behind that thing and ran for Ruby cover.
(1) a web page with a text area prepopulated with a YAML template--the
user simply types in the values that they want to input; and

I don't quiet understand this. Is this a single text box pre-populated
with yaml text or something else?
(2) a Ruby script that takes the POST, validates the input, generates
the output file, and passes that file to the real consumer of the
information.

A fun job for Camping, or is that overkill due to lack of
database?
If you want an even simpler UI, you could ask the end user to create
the YAML file on their own machine with Emacs, Vi, or other text
editors, and have them upload the file with a web form. In this case,
(1) can be replaced with a single file upload form element.

Actually, we already have that in the form of a Fortran namelist,
which is actually quite similar to YAML for this simple data, but
some folks want a web interface that provides some suggested ranges
and has some logic checking behind the scenes.

Thanks,
 
J

Julian I. Kamil

Sorry for the delay on the reply, Bil, I was tied up with other things
yesterday...
I don't quiet understand this. Is this a single text box pre-populated
with yaml text or something else?

Yes, that's what I meant...
A fun job for Camping, or is that overkill due to lack of
database?

I think it will be easy and fun to do. YAML is just so simple to
create and process, and although I don't know anything about USM3D, I
suspect that it won't be too hard to transform the input to that form.
Actually, we already have that in the form of a Fortran namelist,
which is actually quite similar to YAML for this simple data, but
some folks want a web interface that provides some suggested ranges
and has some logic checking behind the scenes.

I understand better now what you're looking for. In that case, my
suggestion would simply be to improve the UI with better elements
(slider, radios, auto completing fields, etc.) which means using
something like Prototype to do AJAX programming.

I hope that helps, Bil, and best regards,

Julian I. Kamil <[email protected]>
http://pandora.rubyveil.com/ - Pandora Publisher
http://books.rubyveil.com/ - The Ruby Bookshelf
 
J

Julian I. Kamil

Bil, looking at the linked page, it seems quite obvious to me that the
user interface can be greatly improved by using alternative elements
such as sliders, radio groups, auto-completing fields, etc.

However, from your question it sounds like you're looking for an
alternative way to input these information to the system that should
not rely on the use of so many UI elements. If that is the case, the
simplest way to do this that I can think of is by using a single text
area where the user can input YAML formatted data to a Ruby script that
can then process, cleanse, and transform the contents into the
appropriate format (USM3D?) for further processing.

So, my solution would contain the following components:

(1) a web page with a text area prepopulated with a YAML template--the
user simply types in the values that they want to input; and

(2) a Ruby script that takes the POST, validates the input, generates
the output file, and passes that file to the real consumer of the
information.

If you want an even simpler UI, you could ask the end user to create
the YAML file on their own machine with Emacs, Vi, or other text
editors, and have them upload the file with a web form. In this case,
(1) can be replaced with a single file upload form element.

I think that should be much simpler than the original example... :)

Julian I. Kamil <[email protected]>
http://pandora.rubyveil.com/ - Pandora Publisher
http://books.rubyveil.com/ - The Ruby Bookshelf
 

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