[rkward-devel] GUI element for nxn matrix

[Birk Diedenhofen]

Hi Thomas!

Thanks for your reply!

> - I guess you are talking about rather small values of n, here, probably <=
> 5 in typical usage?

Yes. I am thinking of correlations matrices.


> - The idea is to use the data once, not store it as an R object?

Yes, I only thought of it as an input element which passes the data on to the
main function of the dialog.


> - You want the table directly in the dialog, not separately like the
> data.frame editor?

Yes, it would be nice to have it directly in the dialog. Or perhaps in a
separate modal window that pops up if you press the "Edit matrix" button.


> - n should probably be adjustable, dynamically?

Yes, the user should be able to specify n in the dialog.


> It's always somewhat hard to tell how much effort something will be. And of
> course it depends on how elaborate it will end up. E.g. if you want to
> allow factor data, column names, etc. in the table, that will increase
> complexity, considerably. In contrast, a small table allowing only
> numerical input could probably be done in a few hours work. Either way, I
> won't give you any promises. There's always that large list of things that
> I've been wanting to implement for a long time, and never got around to...
>
> Design-wise, I'm asking myself whether it would be possible / reasonable to
> base this on the existing data.frame editor. Suppose the current data
> editor would be extended such that:
> - It will handle 2-dimensional matrices. This would make a lot of sense on
> it's own.
> - It can be confined to a fixed nubmer of rows / columns.
> - It can be tied to a dialog, somehow, i.e., when you click a button in the
> dialog, an editor-window comes up, and when the dialog is closed, the
> editor closes, automatically.
>
> Would that cover your use-case?

That sounds good! A simple table for numerical input would definitely cover my
use case. But I think it would be better to have the matrix input in a modal
window that pops up and not in a tab like the data.frame editor.

Would it also be possible to use this for vectors (nx1)? Or is their currently
a way the user can type in a vector of arbitrary/a given length using the GUI?


Regards,
Birk


Am Mittwoch 29 August 2012, 16:14:24 schrieb Thomas Friedrichsmeier:
> Hi!
>
> On Wednesday 29 August 2012, Birk Diedenhofen wrote:
> > I thought it would be great to have a GUI element in RKWard that allows
> > to enter a nxn matrix: First, n has to be specified. Then the user can
> > type his or her data in a simple table with n rows and n columns.
> > Finally, a matrix is created from that.
> >
> > The matrix GUI element could be used in RKWard dialogs to facilitate the
> > input, especially for inexperienced users who don't know how to create a
> > matrix. At least, I have two dialogs under development that would benefit
> > from such an element ;).
>
> A few questions for clarification:
> - I guess you are talking about rather small values of n, here, probably <=
> 5 in typical usage?
> - The idea is to use the data once, not store it as an R object?
> - You want the table directly in the dialog, not separately like the
> data.frame editor?
> - n should probably be adjustable, dynamically?
>
> > What do you think? How much effort would it take to implement such an
> > element? I am sure Qt provides simple tables for this purpose. The
> > dimensions of the table must then somehow be manipulated via JavaScript.
>
> It's always somewhat hard to tell how much effort something will be. And of
> course it depends on how elaborate it will end up. E.g. if you want to
> allow factor data, column names, etc. in the table, that will increase
> complexity, considerably. In contrast, a small table allowing only
> numerical input could probably be done in a few hours work. Either way, I
> won't give you any promises. There's always that large list of things that
> I've been wanting to implement for a long time, and never got around to...
>
> Design-wise, I'm asking myself whether it would be possible / reasonable to
> base this on the existing data.frame editor. Suppose the current data
> editor would be extended such that:
> - It will handle 2-dimensional matrices. This would make a lot of sense on
> it's own.
> - It can be confined to a fixed nubmer of rows / columns.
> - It can be tied to a dialog, somehow, i.e., when you click a button in the
> dialog, an editor-window comes up, and when the dialog is closed, the
> editor closes, automatically.
>
> Would that cover your use-case?
>
> Regards
> Thomas