[Pipet Devel] template system

[Harry Mangalam]

I was planning to re-write the output specifically to generate XML (as a
commandline flag request), but this is an interesting approach.  In one sense
it would be an XML preprocessor - some sort of tag or format that would be
easy for the author of a cli app to insert in his output to hint to the XML
preprocessor to 'treat this grid of x,y numbers as a flibber' or 'treat this
column of numbers as a trippet'. 

The tag hint is breaking with your idea about keeping the output untouched,
but sometimes a little hint is a big break - If a little fudging saves a lot
of work, I'll go for the fudge. 

So yes, I'll think (and do) something about this.  It will probably be
necessary for me to actually re-write my output to get a handle on the issues
that need to be addressed for other generic cli apps, but yes, I'll give it a
shot.

Cheers
Harry


On Sat, 23 Jan 1999, J.W. Bizzaro wrote:

> Harry,
> 
> Thinking about the whole Gatekeeper/batch system thing, we do need some sort of
> a template system to convert formatted ASCII output to XML.
> 
> You know that command-line programs like yours will need to put the output into
> XML so that we can have the GUI clients show pretty pictures (very pretty--I'm
> looking for publication quality).  But I don't want to require the authors of
> the command-line programs to change anything in their programs.
> 
> What I envisioned is someone who wants to plug a new command-line program into
> the server-side of Loci, will write a text file that is a template for the
> Gatekeeper to convert the text into XML.  I'm not sure just how it will work,
> but I think the template essentially needs to say "this much of the output is
> such and such, and that much is such and such".  You know that XML is linear,
> and the ASCII output from the command-line program can be read one character at
> a time.  Somehow we need to give the Gatekeeper instructions on making a
> conversion between two linear formats.
> 
> Do you have any thoughts on this?  Can you think of how you might make templates
> for tacg?  Is this something you'd like to work on as a project?
> 
> 
> Jeff
> -- 
> J.W. Bizzaro                  Phone: 617-552-3905
> Boston College                mailto:bizzaro at bc.edu
> Department of Chemistry       http://www.uml.edu/Dept/Chem/Bizzaro/
> --
> 

Cheers,
Harry

Harry J Mangalam, Developmental + Cell Biology
Rm 4201, Biological Sciences II, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697
(949) 824 4824[vox], (949) 824 8551[fax], mangalam at uci.edu
http://hornet.bio.uci.edu/~hjm/