[ome-devel] Simple questions about files versus pixels

[Zachary Pincus]

Sorry for continually spamming the list! (And I hope you all are 
recovering well from ASCB...)

Anyhow, I've got an amendment to one of the questions I asked yesterday:

> First, is there any way to determine the original file a Pixels object 
> or Image object came from? I see the OriginalFile STs in OME, but 
> there doesn't seem to be a way to link those to anything else.

Upon close review, it seems that the way to do this is to:
(1) Take a pixels object, and look at it's ModuleExecution
(2) One of the inputs to that MEX will be something with a FormalInput 
type of "OriginalFiles"
(3) Look at the ID of the input_module_execution that created the input 
found in (2)
(4) Search for OriginalFiles objects with MEXs that have the ID found 
in (3)

This procedure works great for images that I imported one at a time. 
However, when I import two images at once via the web UI, it breaks. 
(Which is what caused me to ask the original question, I now see.)

Specifically, if a pixels object was created as part of a batch import, 
step 4 fails -- there are no OriginalFiles objects associated with the 
MEX that created the Pixels object, or any of the MEX inputs to that 
MEX (and so forth up the chain).

Moreover, if you then look at the OriginalFiles objects that were 
created, they have a MEX associated that is never referenced by any 
ActualInput...

Is this a bug, or am I failing to understand some sort of "tee" 
mechanism or something like that? (I presume the latter...)

Thanks,

Zach