[OpenWalnut-Dev] Switch for immediate update

[Sebastian Eichelbaum]

Hi Alex,

I see several issues with this idea (btw we already had this topic some decades ago).

on Sat, 21 Jun 2014, Alexander Wiebel wrote:

> Hi guys,
> I was wondering if we should introduce some "button" for each module to
> activate immediate update or update by pressing a button. I would place
> such a button in the upper right corner of the module's representation
> in the graph (opposite to the show/hide button).

* won't work as most modules would have to be modified to react properly.
* button in the module corner -> nobody will recognize it and associate it with the "immediate update feature". Believe me, nobody will hover its mouse there and read the tool-tip.

> 
> The idea is that in some modules I want immediate (after changing some
> parameter) updates in some cases and user initiated updates (by pressing
> a button) in other cases.

* would break the data-flow
> 
> If we opt for such a button one would also introduce an obligatory
> button "update now" in the settings panel of each module.

* See above. Will not work for most modules by default. They usually check for changes in certain properties and only update the corresponding parts. Just triggering the module condition is not sufficient. One has to re-write most modules to react properly.

> 
> Do you get my idea and the reasons behind bringing it up? If not please
> let me know where I need to be more specific.
> 
> Any comments?

As this is a specific wish which might be handy for a minority of modules, the best option for you would be to use a WPropTrigger in your module props. 

I assume the reason you ask is that you have a module which does some heavy work and depends upon multiple inputs? One input changes -> update -> ugly because it would require the new data at the other inputs too. 

==> We should think about proper synchronization in the flow graph instead of twiddling with the module-graph/data-flow principle. In parallel programming, synchronization mechanisms like fences/barriers and mutex are standard. We should think about similar techniques in the context of our data-flow graph.

Cheers,
Sebastian

> 
> Cheers
> Alex
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-- 
Dipl.-Inf. Sebastian Eichelbaum
Universität Leipzig
Institut für Informatik
Abteilung Bild- und Signalverarbeitung
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