Plug and Play Scientific Graphics with SGT

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Plug and Play Scientific Graphics with SGT

• Donald DenboNOAA/PMEL-UW/JISAO

http//www.epic.noaa.gov/java/sgt
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Introduction

• The Scientific Graphics Toolkit (SGT) is a
  collection of Java classes to produce scientific
  2D graphics.
• SGT is a flexible system, allowing developers to
  produce custom graphics.
• SGT, while popular, does require an expert
  programmer to use it effectively.

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Goals for Plug n Play Graphics

• Create easy-to-use JavaBeans from the SGT
  classes.
• JavaBeans will enable beginner and intermediate
  developers a quick entry into SGT graphics.
• SGT Beans will handle most events and provide
  tools to easily customize the appearance of the
  plot.

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Why JavaBeans?

• Provide component technology for Java.
  Components enhance re-usability in the Java
  environment.
• Can easily be used in IDE and RAD environments.
• Bean Customizers can be developed to work within
  IDE and RAD tools.
• Beans provide a standard mechanism to interact
  with development tools and simplify access to
  complicated Java class libraries.
• Beans have an object persistence mechanism. (XML
  serialization)

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Java Development Tools

• BeanBuilderAvailable free from Sun Microsystems
  for JVM 1.4 or later
• Java Integrated Development Environments
  (JBuilder, Eclipse, NetBeans)

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BeanBuilder
Event Connection
Component Layout
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SGT JavaBeans
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(No Transcript)
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Design
Page
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Page JavaBean

• Visual JavaBean. Page can be added to any swing
  container.
• Page can have any number of Panels placed inside
  it. Each Panel provides an independent graphical
  display of data from the DataModel.
• The location and size of the Panels are specified
  in the PanelModel.

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PanelModel JavaBean

• Non-visual JavaBean.
• PanelModel maintains
• location and size of Panels on Page
• AxisGroups and their positions on a Panel
• Legend position on a Panel
• Titles and annotation positions on a Panel

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DataModel JavaBean

• Non-visual JavaBean.
• DataModel uses information from the PanelModel to
  specify the connection between data and
  Panel/AxisGroup.
• Contains the SGTData and Attribute objects.

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Real World Example
ncReader

1. User opens ncReader and selects a netCDF file.
2. ncReader accesses the PanelModel to generate a
   list of Panel/AxisGroups.
3. User selects which Panel/AxisGroup the data
   subset should be attached.
4. ncReader adds the data with the Panel/AxisGroup
   information to the DataModel.

data
DataModel
Page
PanelModel
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Future Directions

• Implementation has just begun.
• Beta version of SGT with JavaBeans will be made
  available once an initial implementation of the
  Page, PanelModel, DataModel, and Customizer are
  complete.
• User feedback will help guide additional
  development.

http//www.epic.noaa.gov/java/sgt