Dia forms (Was:Re: A general box)

["Dolores Alia de Saravia" <loli unsa edu ar>]

 On Thu, 29 Aug 2002, Lars Clasen wrote:
> On Thu, 29 Aug 2002, Cyrille Chepelov wrote:
> > Le Thu, Aug 29, 2002, à 03:29:28PM -0500, Lars Clausen a écrit:
> > 
> >> I'm not quite sure I understand you.  You want the user to be 
able to
> >> add properties to the Properties dialogs.  These properties 
wouldn't
> >> affect the display, but would be saved in the file, useable for 
other
> >> programs.  Is that right?  (Leaving aside the implementation of 
how the
> >> user add them.)
> > 
> > I think I understand the same as Lars. The answer I think is just 
to add
> > new property descriptors to property desc lists.



I am not thinking of adding properties to the Properties Dialog


Just a very simple example to explain what I am talking about: 

 We draw   diagrams with Dia (extended with some shapes)
 describing  thermal circuits.

 Some software (my responsability), by interpreting the
 diagram file, performs the simulation and produces a file
 with numerical results and one or more  graphs.

 But the diagram without any text is not enough; More
 information is needed to perform the simulation: For
 example,

|---------------------------------------------
| DATA FOR SIMULATION
| 
|  Duration   120     Minutes       
|
|  Integration Method:  IMPLICIT
|
|  Initial Conditions:  TEMP C1 = 20, Temp C5 = -10
|
|  Desired Outputs   Temp 4, TEMP 5
|---------------------------------------------  

 Several possibilities for the way that information is
 given: (in increasing order of convenience)

 1) By words or  written on a paper. 

 2) Written  using one or more  "Text",   (Standard Text)
 of Dia.  

 3) Written as text in an "UML-object" 

 4) Written by filling a "Dia form"   (I am inventing the 
 name!) like

|---------------------------------------------
| DATA FOR SIMULATION                        |  
| Duration___________ XXXXXXXX               |
| Integration Method YYYYYYYY                | 
| Initial Conditions ______________________  | 
| Desired Outputs    ______________________  |
|--------------------------------------------- 
  Where XXXXXXXX stands for one of :
   Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days to be selected. 
   YYYYYYYY stands for one of: 
    IMPLICIT, TRAP to be selected.

 
 This "Dia Form", and many other "Dia Forms" may be 
quite useful.

Of course these forms  can be programmed as  objects 
(they are simpler than a UML-class!); but each
 one of them   would be usable for not too many people: may
 be just for the person who programmed it. 

Alternativelly, getting "Dia Forms" from a "General Box"
 would require the programming of just one more object, the
 "General Box" or "Dia Form generator"; although it is a
 very special one as it needs some parameters to be read at
 the moment of loading Dia .....  (Well, Dia is used to read  shapes' 
descriptions at loading time...) 

(Just an idea: to use
 some XML language to describe a Dia Form; Dia, would
 translate this description into the desired object)

Loli
email:  loli@unsa.edu.ar
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