Version 3.0

Post date: Nov 9, 2011 11:21:19 PM

• • Version 3.0.3, 08 Sep 2008: Extended the set of allowed characters that can appear in a dataset ID to include these punctuation marks: @ . | < >. Also fixed a bug in the parsing and validation of dataset IDs.

  • Version 3.0.2, 03 Sep 2008: 

    • • When you open a DataNav figure or dataset source file that you've not opened before, that file's parent directory is immediately added to the workspace's cache. In prior versions, that directory did not show up in the Workspace Browser until you closed and reopened it. Now the browser is updated automatically.

      • Bugs fixed: (a) DataNav was incorrectly throwing an exception when opening figure files in which a dataset was referenced more than once by presentation elements in the figure. You should now be able to read in such files. (b) Figures that were open when DataNav last shutdown are now loaded after the frame window is displayed rather than beforehand. Hopefully this will address a strange problem that Xin had when trying to run DataNav on his laptop.

      • A tooltip is now associated with the drop down list of the workspace directory combo box in each tab of the Workspace Browser. Hover the mouse over an item in the drop down list to see the tooltip, which displays the full file-system path to the directory represented by that list item.

  • Version 3.0.1, 19 Aug 2008:

    • • In the Figure Composer perspective, the chooser dialog raised by File|Export... is now initialized to reflect the last file successfully exported, if that file exists. This is useful, for example, if you are saving a bunch of JPEGs of a figure in a directory that's different from the figure file's parent directory.

      • Minor tweaks to the custom file chooser dialog: (a) When saving a figure or dataset, the dialog can now be extinguished by hitting the Enter key when the focus is on the Filename field, or by double-clicking on a valid file in the file list. (b) One now must double-click on a directory in the file list to open that directory. Most users are accustomed to this gesture; in the prior version, if one double-clicked on a directory, one could end up navigating down two directory levels.

      • Miscellaneous minor bug fixes.

      • Added Matlab M-function getdatanavsrc(), which reads datasets stored in DataNav-compatible source files into Matlab. This function complements putdatanavsrc(), which writes Matlab data into DataNav-compatible source files. Both functions require that the JAR file datanavsrc.jar (formerly, putdnsrc.jar) be installed on Matlab's Java classpath.

  • Version 3.0.0, 22 May 2008: This is the initial release of DataNav, which integrates all Phyplot functionality into its "Figure Composer" perspective. Work will begin soon on a "Portal Builder" perspective, by which the user can create and edit a "data portal" that manages lots of data files and includes figures that serve as "views" of the data. DataNav provides additional figure-creation features not available in Phyplot --

    • • The Figure Composer perspective lets the user open multiple figure files. Each open figure has its own undo history, but they all share a common clipboard -- so one can copy a graph in one figure, switch to a different figure, and paste it there! In Phyplot, only one figure could be open at a time.

      • A Workspace Browser. DataNav caches the file system paths of figures or dataset source files created or edited by the user. This path cache, along with the user's application preferences, constitutes the user's "workspace". The workspace is persisted in the subdirectory .datanav in the user's home directory. The Workspace Browser, docked on the right-hand side of the application frame window, provides access to the user's workspace files and includes a "preview" of each file's content. The user can drag and drop a figure file, data source file, or a single dataset into the Figure Composer perspective; the action taken depends on the object dragged.

      • Support for raster data and "heat maps". Two new dataset formats were introduced, as well as two specialized graphic nodes that render these data.

      • Added a fourth error bar style code -- none -- to the ptset and series dataset formats.

      • Better support for dataset generation. New binary and annotated text file formats introduced. These include a "table of contents" at the beginning of the file to facilitate access to a single dataset within the source file. The binary format is by far the most efficient and will be used in data portals to store lots of datasets as compactly as possible. A Matlab M-file function, putdatanavsrc(), is provided so that users can export Matlab-prepared data into a DataNav-compatible source file. DataNav can also read the simpler dataset source files that were used in Phyplot, but these text files are very inefficient and are considered to be obsolete -- DataNav does NOT permit exporting datasets in this old format.

      • Reintroduced support for exporting a figure as a JPEG image; added support for exporting it as PNG (Portable Network Graphics) image.

      • Developed a custom file chooser that includes previews of DataNav figure or dataset source files.

      • DataNav does NOT include Phyplot's HTML-based Help Browser -- we decided it was not very useful. As in Phyplot, most widgets have tooltips which should help the user. May reintroduce some sort of help facility at a later date.