[Python-apps-team] Bug#488429: mayavi2: please implement a global data range switch

[Francesco Poli]

Package: mayavi2
Version: 2.1.1-5
Severity: wishlist

Hi!

Thanks to the resolution of bugs #478359 and #479448, I can now load
multiblock PLOT3D data files and visualize vector components!  :-)
Many thanks to upstream developers and to Varun for helping out!

When visualizing multiblock data, it would be very useful to have
the possibility to obtain automatic data ranges based on *all*
loaded data blocks, rather than necessarily on the current data block.
I would like to see a "global data range" checkbox implemented.

Let me (try and) explain what I mean.

I'll consider the attached test case, a gzipped tar archive (which
includes a test PLOT3D geometry+solution pair of files, along with
a Fortran77 program that generates it):

  $ tar xvzf fh_cross_testcase.tar.gz
  fakehurr_cross.q
  fakehurr_cross.xyz
  gen_fakehurr.f
  $ mayavi2

The main window shows up.

 * from menus, select File -> Load data -> PLOT3D file
 * as XYZ Co-ordinate file, select `fakehurr_cross.xyz'
 * as Q Solution file, select `fakehurr_cross.q'
 * in the Edit PLOT3DReader properties dialog window, check "Binary
file", "Do not reduce number of outputs", "Has byte count", "Multi
grid", and "Two dimensional geometry"; *un*check "Force read", and
"I blanking"; select "little_endian" Byte order; click on the OK
button
 * from menus, select Visualize -> Filters -> Select Output
 * from menus, select Visualize -> Filters -> Extract Vector Components
 * from menus, select Visualize -> Modules -> Surface (a semicircle
appears, cromatically visualizing the x component of the "momentum"
vector)

Now I would like to visualize the whole domain.
Since there's a second data block, I will need another SelectOutput
filter, with identical children:

 * in the MayaVi pane, left-click on SelectOutput and then right-click;
from the popup menu, select Copy
 * in the MayaVi pane, left-click on
PLOT3D:fakehurr_cross.xyz, fakehurr_cross.q and then right-click; from
the popup menu, select Paste
 * in the MayaVi pane, left-click on the newly created SelectOutput and
drag the slider in MayaVi object editor pane (so that output #1 is
selected, rather than #0)
 * in the TVTK Scene 1 pane, click on "View along the +Z axis" button

Now the whole domain is displayed, with the "momentum-x" scalar
cromatically visualized.
But the two blocks have different automatic data ranges:

 block #0:  min = -0.225736364722  max = 0.000902647909243
 block #1:  min = -0.000902647909243  max = 0.225736364722

As a consequence, the visualization appears as if the data were
discontinuous, which are not!  One block is mainly red, the other
one is mainly blue...

Let's manually cure this flaw:

 * in the MayaVi pane, left-click on one Modules item, and uncheck "Use
default range" in the Scalar LUT / LUT Manager subtab (MayaVi object
editor pane); set -0.225736364722 and 0.225736364722 as data range
 * do the same for the other Modules item

Now the visualization shows two consistent half-domains and it is
clear that the data are _not_ discontinous.


OK, what I would like to see implemented is a "Global range" checkbox
in the LUT managers (next to the "Use default range" checkbox): if the
user checks this "Global range" checkbox, MayaVi2 should compute the
default range by taking *all* loaded outputs (of the same data source!)
into account, rather than only the local one.
With this checkbox the above scenario could be cured automatically
(rather than manually).

Of course, if the user unchecks this "Global range" checkbox, the
current behavior would still be followed.

I don't know how exactly this feature can be implemented, since
I have not (yet) studied MayaVi2 source code.
Maybe the PLOT3D data source object should create and update
a list of minima and maxima of its currently loaded outputs,
one pair for each SelectOutput filter that extracts data from it: 
this pair is updated whenever the corresponding SelectOutput filter
changes selected output and is discarded as soon as the filter
is deleted.  When a LUT Manager needs to compute a global range,
it can ask to the PLOT3D data source object, which will return
the minimum of the minima and the maximum of the maxima.
OK, maybe I am completely off-track...  ;-)

Anyway, whatever the implementation details, I hope this feature
is not too hard to add.


Please forward this wishlist bug report to upstream.
Thanks in advance.




-- System Information:
Debian Release: lenny/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.24-1-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages mayavi2 depends on:
ii  libc6                        2.7-10      GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii  python                       2.5.2-1     An interactive high-level object-o
ii  python-central               0.6.7       register and build utility for Pyt
ii  python-enthought-traits      2.0.4-2     Manifest typing and reactive progr
ii  python-enthought-traits-ui   2.0.4-3     User interface related modules for
ii  python-numpy                 1:1.1.0-1   Numerical Python adds a fast array
ii  python-pkg-resources         0.6c8-3     Package Discovery and Resource Acc
ii  python-vtk                   5.0.4-1+b1  Python bindings for VTK
ii  python-wxgtk2.6              2.6.3.2.2-2 wxWidgets Cross-platform C++ GUI t
ii  python2.5                    2.5.2-6     An interactive high-level object-o

mayavi2 recommends no packages.

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