(ATS3-DEV01) Introduction to Scripting in Symyx Notebook

Mark BenzelPrincipal Software Engineer, R&D

mark.benzel@accelrys.com

The information on the roadmap and future software development efforts are intended to outline general product direction and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision.

Scripting in Notebook

In-place Python editors are available in several places• Experiment Editor toolbars• Experiment Editor events• Form events and buttons• Table section events• Property events

Dynamic Toolbars

• Toolbar buttons backed by Python script can be added to the Experiment Editor

• Attached to Document Templates– Every experiment created from that template has the buttons

Demo• Dynamic toolbars

Dynamic Toolbars

• Can be attached at the document level or section level

• Script environment is populated with useful variables from Notebook– Key variables: editor, active_workspace

• Static Notebook classes are available to the script environment, and objects from the Notebook API may be instantiated

Experiment Editor Events

• Experiment Editor Events

– Scripts can be executed when a number of events in the Experiment Editor happen

– As with dynamic toolbars, they are associated with document templates, and can be attached at the document level or the document section level

– Some events can be canceled via script

Demo• Experiment Editor events

Experiment Editor Events• List of Experiment Editor Events:

OnApplicationClosingOnApplicationLoadedOnSavingOnSavedOnInsertingSectionOnLockingSectionOnRemovingSectionOnSectionInsertedOnSectionLockedOnSectionRemovedOnSectionUnlockedOnUnlockingSectionOnMenuItemEnabledStatesUpdatedOnToolBarButtonEnabledStatesUpdatedOnSectionActivatedOnSectionDeactivated

• Key variables: – e

• e.Section (for section-specific events)• e.Cancel, e.CancelReason (for cancelable events)

– editor• Represents the Experiment Editor• Properties and methods are defined in IDocumentEditor

– active_workspace• Provides services for contacting Vault

Forms Events

• Scripts can be attached to form and widget events– Form events:

• OnEdit• OnValueChanged

– Widget events:• OnReview• OnValidate• OnClick (buttons only)

Demo• Forms events

Forms Events

• OnEdit doesn’t fire when the form is in read-only mode– If OnApplicationLoaded is needed, you can put a form in a section template and have

users insert the template instead of the form

• Review Results can’t prevent a document from getting checked in– However the workflow Review activity can prevent a document from transitioning to

the next stage based on review results

Table Section Scripting• Can write scripts for the following events:

– After Cell Value Changed– After Import Row– After Record Weights– Before Import Row– Before Record Weights– Removing Row– Request Column Dictionary– Row Added– Row Changed– Row Removed– Signing Options

• Additional events for Materials sections– After Import Materials– Before Import Materials

• Additional hierarchical table events (Preparations, Formulations)

– Audit script– Component Added– Component Removed– Component Request Column Dictionary– Component Row Changed– Removing Component– Replicate Created

Demo• Table section scripting

Table Section Scripting

• Key script variables

– sender : the TableSection

– e• FieldName• OldValue• TheDataRow• Value

• Cancel, CancelMessage (if cancelable)

– row (for row-based events)

Property Events

• Property Set Definitions are reusable field definitions used by table and form sections.

• Can attach scripts to events at the property level:– Set Initial Value– Calculated Value– Property Changed– Validations

Demo• Property events scripting

Property Events

• Key variables– host_object

• property set host• E.g. Material

– properties– property– value: output parameter for Initial Value and Calculated Value scripts

– e• ValueChangedEventArgs• e.OldValueIsNull• e.NewValueIsNull• e.NewValue• e.OldValue• e.Key: QualifiedPropertyKey• ValidationResult[] ValidationResults

Tips and tricks

• Scripting Performance

– Beware of events that happen when the Experiment Editor loads, or when changing section.• OnApplicationLoaded• OnSectionActivated• OnSectionDeactivated• FormEdit

– Avoid the wire

– Use “Minimal Get’s” whenever possible

– Employ short-circuit coding

• Use the new script performance logging feature provided in Symyx Notebook 6.6 SP1

• Covered the various places scripting can be used in Symyx Notebook– Experiment Editor toolbars– Experiment Editor events– Form events and buttons– Table section events– Property events

• Resources– Symyx Notebook Developer’s Guide

• Section entitled “Scripting in Symyx Notebook”

– IronPython in Action

Summary

The information on the roadmap and future software development efforts are intended to outline general product direction and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision.

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