Re: [Scilab-users] Xcos - names/labels for subsystems and ports?

[Pierre-Aimé Agnel]

Hi,

Le 12/04/2016 16:39, Paul Bignier a écrit :


Hello Graham,

Pleased to hear that you're using Xcos, it's always good to have 
feedback!


1) Right-clicking a "link" (which you call "signal") pops "Format" and 
"Link style" menus which enables you to label/color it as well as 
using automatic layouts (also accessible via keyboard shortcuts).


2) When dragging a link from a port, you can click in the diagram at 
random points. Those will be "control points" through which the link 
will pass regardless of the position of its connecting blocks. You may 
play with the demos to check it out.


3) If you want to label ports at the moment, you need to define your 
own block and set its graphics.in_label & graphics.out_label in its 
interface function (typically, the ones in 
modules/scicos_blocks/macros/*).


4) That goes with the 1).

5) I don't understand why you would mask a superblock before designing 
it properly. Masks are meant to be created once your block is stable, 
so there's something I'm missing here.


For 5) it's quite natural to design a system it a top-down approach 
where you consider a subsystem as a black-box first, set up the 
requirements for this black box and how it will interact with the system 
as a whole, then design, or have designed, the inside of your black box. 
This enables a parallel workflow where an integrator can verify the 
behaviour and simulate the whole system when all parts are ready. Xcos 
is rather bottom-up because of the model verification for simulation 
done each time you insert a block.


In a sense, Xcos is more suitted for writing what's inside the black-box 
than for designing whole sytems where you typically less constrained by 
simulability but want to have a link to requirements, traceability, 
verification & validation, tests, costs etc.


This could also be a good idea to have black-box for import of other 
models (I think FMU here). You don't have the implementation for a 
subsystem but want to consider its input/output.



Hope this helps!
Regars,
Paul

On 04/12/2016 02:30 PM, Graham Bartlett wrote:
I've done quite a lot of work with Matlab and Simulink in previous 
jobs.  At my new place, I'm checking out Xcos (and hence Scilab) as a 
free alternative to Simulink, partly on principle, and partly so our 
team aren't constrained by bean-counters telling us how many 
development seats we can afford. :)


What's currently bugging me with Xcos is subsystem and signal 
labelling, which are fundamental to building a design that's 
maintainable.  There are a few newbie things I'm trying to work out 
with this, none of which I've managed to find in the Xcos tutorials, 
help docs, or the wiki.  I went looking for a mailing list FAQ but I 
didn't see one.


1) The first one should be simple.  How do I make signals default to 
horizontal instead of rat's-nest (point-to-point)?


2) Perhaps related to that, is it possible to manually drag signals 
to where I want them to be laid out?  Some time back I used VisSim 
(for another example) - that also routed signals automatically, but 
it had a "wiring" block which let you direct them via a particular 
point.  I can't find anything like that in Xcos.  Of course I can use 
from/goto blocks where the automatic layout doesn't look good, or I 
could use unity gains or single-input sum blocks as a hack to force 
signals through some point without changing them, but none of that is 
really ideal. My rule of thumb is that if the design layout looks 
messy or rushed then the thought processes involved probably were 
too, and that makes me worried.


3) In Simulink, I can put labels on inputs and outputs.  If I've got 
a subsystem calculating biquad filter coefficients, say, I can label 
the inputs "cornerFreq", "qFactor" and "sampleTime", and the outputs 
as "b0/b1/b2/a0/a1/a2".  When I drop an instance of that subsystem 
into a diagram, those names will appear next to the inputs/outputs.  
That makes the design clearer, instead of having to dig into the 
subsystem and look for annotion text in there (or worse, figure it 
out directly from the design itself).  Is there a way to make Xcos 
subsystems do this?


4) Simulink lets you put names on signal flows as they come out of an 
output.  As the signal flow goes through the design, Simulink labels 
the signal.  Typically you'd give this a variable name.  Auto-coding 
can then use that variable name, or if you're coding up a design 
manually then you can use that name.  I can see the "Kalman" demo 
doing something like this (or perhaps like point 2, I can't tell), 
but I can't find anywhere how those names for flows are set up.


5) Masks.  If it's your own block, Simulink lets you look at the 
subsystem under the mask.  Xcos lets you put a mask on a block, but I 
can't then see any way to look at the subsystem under the mask, 
except by completely deleting the mask.  For us mere mortals whose 
designs don't always work first time every time, this could be a 
problem.

Re: [Scilab-users] Xcos - names/labels for subsystems and ports?

[Paul Bignier]

Hello Graham,

Pleased to hear that you're using Xcos, it's always good to have feedback!

1) Right-clicking a "link" (which you call "signal") pops "Format" and 
"Link style" menus which enables you to label/color it as well as using 
automatic layouts (also accessible via keyboard shortcuts).


2) When dragging a link from a port, you can click in the diagram at 
random points. Those will be "control points" through which the link 
will pass regardless of the position of its connecting blocks. You may 
play with the demos to check it out.


3) If you want to label ports at the moment, you need to define your own 
block and set its graphics.in_label & graphics.out_label in its 
interface function (typically, the ones in modules/scicos_blocks/macros/*).


4) That goes with the 1).

5) I don't understand why you would mask a superblock before designing 
it properly. Masks are meant to be created once your block is stable, so 
there's something I'm missing here.


Hope this helps!
Regars,
Paul

On 04/12/2016 02:30 PM, Graham Bartlett wrote:

I've done quite a lot of work with Matlab and Simulink in previous jobs.  At my 
new place, I'm checking out Xcos (and hence Scilab) as a free alternative to 
Simulink, partly on principle, and partly so our team aren't constrained by 
bean-counters telling us how many development seats we can afford. :)

What's currently bugging me with Xcos is subsystem and signal labelling, which 
are fundamental to building a design that's maintainable.  There are a few 
newbie things I'm trying to work out with this, none of which I've managed to 
find in the Xcos tutorials, help docs, or the wiki.  I went looking for a 
mailing list FAQ but I didn't see one.

1) The first one should be simple.  How do I make signals default to horizontal 
instead of rat's-nest (point-to-point)?

2) Perhaps related to that, is it possible to manually drag signals to where I want them 
to be laid out?  Some time back I used VisSim (for another example) - that also routed 
signals automatically, but it had a "wiring" block which let you direct them 
via a particular point.  I can't find anything like that in Xcos.  Of course I can use 
from/goto blocks where the automatic layout doesn't look good, or I could use unity gains 
or single-input sum blocks as a hack to force signals through some point without changing 
them, but none of that is really ideal.  My rule of thumb is that if the design layout 
looks messy or rushed then the thought processes involved probably were too, and that 
makes me worried.

3) In Simulink, I can put labels on inputs and outputs.  If I've got a subsystem calculating biquad filter 
coefficients, say, I can label the inputs "cornerFreq", "qFactor" and "sampleTime", and 
the outputs as "b0/b1/b2/a0/a1/a2".  When I drop an instance of that subsystem into a diagram, those names 
will appear next to the inputs/outputs.  That makes the design clearer, instead of having to dig into the subsystem and 
look for annotion text in there (or worse, figure it out directly from the design itself).  Is there a way to make Xcos 
subsystems do this?

4) Simulink lets you put names on signal flows as they come out of an output.  As the 
signal flow goes through the design, Simulink labels the signal.  Typically you'd give 
this a variable name.  Auto-coding can then use that variable name, or if you're coding 
up a design manually then you can use that name.  I can see the "Kalman" demo 
doing something like this (or perhaps like point 2, I can't tell), but I can't find 
anywhere how those names for flows are set up.

5) Masks.  If it's your own block, Simulink lets you look at the subsystem 
under the mask.  Xcos lets you put a mask on a block, but I can't then see any 
way to look at the subsystem under the mask, except by completely deleting the 
mask.  For us mere mortals whose designs don't always work first time every 
time, this could be a problem.

Thanks folks.

Graham.

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[Scilab-users] Xcos - names/labels for subsystems and ports?

[Graham Bartlett]

I've done quite a lot of work with Matlab and Simulink in previous jobs.  At my 
new place, I'm checking out Xcos (and hence Scilab) as a free alternative to 
Simulink, partly on principle, and partly so our team aren't constrained by 
bean-counters telling us how many development seats we can afford. :)

What's currently bugging me with Xcos is subsystem and signal labelling, which 
are fundamental to building a design that's maintainable.  There are a few 
newbie things I'm trying to work out with this, none of which I've managed to 
find in the Xcos tutorials, help docs, or the wiki.  I went looking for a 
mailing list FAQ but I didn't see one.

1) The first one should be simple.  How do I make signals default to horizontal 
instead of rat's-nest (point-to-point)?

2) Perhaps related to that, is it possible to manually drag signals to where I 
want them to be laid out?  Some time back I used VisSim (for another example) - 
that also routed signals automatically, but it had a "wiring" block which let 
you direct them via a particular point.  I can't find anything like that in 
Xcos.  Of course I can use from/goto blocks where the automatic layout doesn't 
look good, or I could use unity gains or single-input sum blocks as a hack to 
force signals through some point without changing them, but none of that is 
really ideal.  My rule of thumb is that if the design layout looks messy or 
rushed then the thought processes involved probably were too, and that makes me 
worried.

3) In Simulink, I can put labels on inputs and outputs.  If I've got a 
subsystem calculating biquad filter coefficients, say, I can label the inputs 
"cornerFreq", "qFactor" and "sampleTime", and the outputs as 
"b0/b1/b2/a0/a1/a2".  When I drop an instance of that subsystem into a diagram, 
those names will appear next to the inputs/outputs.  That makes the design 
clearer, instead of having to dig into the subsystem and look for annotion text 
in there (or worse, figure it out directly from the design itself).  Is there a 
way to make Xcos subsystems do this?

4) Simulink lets you put names on signal flows as they come out of an output.  
As the signal flow goes through the design, Simulink labels the signal.  
Typically you'd give this a variable name.  Auto-coding can then use that 
variable name, or if you're coding up a design manually then you can use that 
name.  I can see the "Kalman" demo doing something like this (or perhaps like 
point 2, I can't tell), but I can't find anywhere how those names for flows are 
set up.

5) Masks.  If it's your own block, Simulink lets you look at the subsystem 
under the mask.  Xcos lets you put a mask on a block, but I can't then see any 
way to look at the subsystem under the mask, except by completely deleting the 
mask.  For us mere mortals whose designs don't always work first time every 
time, this could be a problem.

Thanks folks.

Graham.

 -
The information contained in this email may be privileged and is intended for 
the personal and confidential use of the recipient(s) named above. If the 
reader of this message is not the intended recipient or an agent responsible 
for delivering it to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you 
have received this email in error and that any review, dissemination or copying 
of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in 
error, please notify us immediately.
This message and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or defect 
that might affect any computer system into which it is received and opened. 
However, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus 
free; therefore, no responsibility is accepted for any loss or damage in any 
way arising from its use.
 ---
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Re: [Scilab-users] SciNotes disappeared

[Paul Bignier]

Glad to hear!

I don't know, but please report a bug  if 
you manage to reproduce.


Best,
Paul

On 04/11/2016 10:21 PM, Stefan Du Rietz wrote:

Hello Paul,
thanks for the answer.

Because I had all my own libraries there, I could not just delete the 
folder.


I deleted scinotesConfiguration.xml and restarted Scilab to no avail.

I made a backup of SCIHOME, deleted it and then restored most of it. 
After that it is again working.


But why did it happen?

Regards
Stefan


On 2016-04-11 14:01, Paul Bignier wrote:


Hello,

You may delete you SCIHOME folder, that way SciNotes' config will be
renewed.

Regards,
Paul

On 04/11/2016 12:46 PM, Stefan Du Rietz wrote:

Hello,
suddenly I could not start SciNotes. Before, I had by mistake
dragged a bin-file instead of a sci-file to the SciNotes window and
it crashed. However, after a restart of SciNotes it worked for a
while. But after a restart of Scilab:

-->scinotes

 -->

and nothing happens. What can I do (Scilab 5.5.2, Xubuntu 14.04)?

Regards
Stefan
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Development engineer
---
Scilab Enterprises
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Phone: +33.1.80.77.04.68
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