Re[2]: [lmi] first version of multi dimensional data editor control checked in

[Vadim Zeitlin]

On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 03:55:46 +0000 Greg Chicares <address@hidden> wrote:

GC> The entity hardcoded in the sample program seems to vary across all axes.
GC> AFAICT, the user can select which axes to display, and, for the Strike
GC> axis, the minimum and maximum axis-values to display. And the user can
GC> change the data-value of any cell on the right-hand side.

 Exactly.

GC> To get closer to the lmi problem domain, imagine that some entity varies
GC> across the Strike axis only: it's 1 X 1 X 17 X 1.

 I thought being able to do it programmatically would be enough because I
believed the given entity would always vary by a fixed number of axis but I
now realize I was wrong. So I think that I do understand what's missing
now, let me write it down for verification:

        What is missing is a way for the user to remove the unwanted axis,
        i.e. those along which the data doesn't change at all.

 Is this correct?


GC> I think you had pointed out that a bimodal interface generally has one mode
GC> too many, and in most cases I'd agree. If there's a better way to offer
GC> these capabilities, that's great. I just don't see them in the sample
GC> program right now, but maybe they exist and belong elsewhere.

 If my above statement is correct, we just need to be able to
enable/disable the axis from the UI. This can be done either with a
"[x] varies along" checkbox near each axis or by adding a special "doesn't
matter" value to each combobox. Although conceptually a checkbox would seem
preferable (because being enabled/disabled is orthogonal to the set of axis
values), I think a special "doesn't matter" value would be easier to use in
practice because starting to use a currently unused axis would be easier
then (instead of having to click a checkbox and then choosing a value from
the combobox, you'd choose the value directly).

 So I'd like to propose to add a (optional as I think sometimes an axis
might be mandatory) special value to each axis combobox which would disable
it when selected. What do you think about this?

 Thanks,
VZ