Visual dataflow programming between parameterized objects.
Project description
Visual dataflow programming between parameterized objects
Boxflow allows visual programming by connecting and visualizing parameterized objects. Examples of types of parameterized objects that Boxflow aims to support include param parameters and number generators, Imagen patterns and eventually HoloViews elements in future.
Currently work-in-progress but many of the essential features are now in place. Note that development may be slow as this is currently a personal project that I am working on in my free time.
Recommended browser: Chrome with ES6 enabled (chrome://flags/#enable-javascript-harmony)
Interaction
Scroll up/down: Zoom in/out
‘+’/’-’ : Zoom in/out
Drag empty space: Pan view.
‘H’ : Hide GUI panel.
Click node: View node parameters.
Drag node: Move node.
Drag output port: Create connection.
‘d’/’Backspace’ over highlighted (red outline): Delete object
Features
Visual dataflow programming
Client/Server architecture allowing deployment online.
Extensible both on the client- and server-side.
Compose and manipulate imagen pattern generators visually.
Developer instructions
Launch server.
sh $ python server.py
To serve ES5 Javascript from the es5 directory (needs to be updated with Babel):
sh $ python server.py -es5
Alternatively:
$ python -c "from boxflow.server import main; main('js')"
Babel and ES5
This project is written in ES6 using Chrome (with these experimental language features enabled). Recent versions of Firefox support ES6 but for everything else, ES5 is required. To update the es5 directory:
Install babel globally:
sh sudo npm install -g babel-cli - Install ES5 ‘preset’:
sh npm install babel-preset-es2015
Update the contents of the es5 folder:
babel ./boxflow/js/ --out-dir ./boxflow/es5/
About the code
Goals
Offer an alternative to the Jupyter notebook environment.
Offer a rich, visual way of manipulate parameterized objects:
Param: Number generators, parameterized classes. Possible alternative to paramnb.
HoloViews: Elements, HoloMaps, Layouts, Operations.
Imagen: PatternGenerators.
Declarative specification (JSON) that can be loaded from Python or into the browser.
Allow custom nodes to be defined on the client (by defining a parameterized class).
Personal goal: learn ES6 and modern, idiomatic Javascript.
TODO
JQuery used for a single line of code (dependency can be removed).
Enforce DAG graph + port type checking.
Save/Load functionality.
Ensure Python 3 compatibility.
Personal goal: learn ES6 and modern, idiomatic Javascript.
License
BSD 3-clause license.
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