[ome-users] [Fwd: Re: Future of OmeroCpp]

[Mario Valle]

Hi all!
I forward to the list some considerations on the future of OmeroCpp and 
in general on the development of "add-on" functionalities to OMERO.
Ciao!
                mario

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: Future of OmeroCpp
Date: 	Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:28:18 +0100
From: 	Joshua Moore <josh.moore at gmx.de>
To: 	Mario Valle <mvalle at cscs.ch>
CC: 	Jason Swedlow <jason at lifesci.dundee.ac.uk>, Caterina Strambio De 
Castillia <strambc at mail.rockefeller.edu>



Mario Valle writes:
 > Ciao Josh!

Ciao Mario, our C++ trailblazer!

 > Currently I'm trying to build a simple C++ client. Till now I'm
 > failing, but this will be covered in another mail...
 > 
 > Now I want to be assured that I'm following on the right path.

Check.

 > Remember our goal: to connect an image analysis algorithm to OMERO
 > so it can retrieve images and put back the analysis results.

Check.

 > My idea is to create a C++ client that integrates the analysis code
 > and that connect to OMERO using OmeroCpp.
 > 
 > Do you think this is the right choice? Or should I wait till
 > OMERO.script or whatever comes out? Or is it better to create a
 > service inside the main OMERO server? I'm also wandering if Beta4
 > updates will be relevant to this.

Whew. Lots of good questions. I'll answer briefly here, but if you
don't mind I'd like to take this discussion to the list, since I think
it will benefit everyone. (Feel free to just forward your response
there)

First, Beta4 will change specifics of how you would do each of these
tasks (a few types have been changed, methods added, etc.) but it
won't change the answer to: "Client, script or service?"

The only way to answer that really is to make a list of all your
requirements including:

 * What do you want your users to be able to do with the the analysis?
   Should it be a command-line tool which doesn't need many
   parameters?  Does it need a GUI? Does it need to be extensible or
   accessed from a language other than C++?

 * In what ways can you get code/software to your users? Adding a
   service requires you to provide your own code for all server
   deployments, scripts requires uploading something to an existing
   server, and a client requires getting binaries to all your users.

 * What platforms do you need to support? Providing your analysis as a
   service or script means that you only have to worry about coding
   for your server platforms; the reverse is true for the client
   choice.

My assumption is that you don't need a service, since there's little
that you could do (especially with C++ code) in a service that you
can't do from the API. Both clients and scripts use that same API.

Most likely, then, it makes sense to do things just as you are doing
them now, and if you want to then go farther and provide it as a
service or a script, we can help you do that.

 > The OmeroCpp documentation seems a "little" outdated; also the
 > javadoc documentation still contains "ome" and "omero" that do not
 > help clarifying which is the right interface to use. I'm very happy
 > to experiment, but at least with something that will remain useful
 > in the (near) future.

The documentation is certainly outdated for you. You're working from
the code which will not be released for another 2 months, and we still
have a lot to do to polish that. We've been working hard deprecating
JBoss and extending the C++/Python support, so there are definitely
things we need to make clearer. We'll get this to you as quickly as
possible in the New Year, but it will take some time. Until then, ask
as often as you need and feel free to post your experiences to trac.

 > I know the question is a little open-ended, but I'm confident you
 > understand.

Very much. Let's see if we can't find an optimal solution.

 > Thanks a lot for your help and your work!
 > 						mario

The same to you, Mario!

Cheers,
~Josh.


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-- 
Ing. Mario Valle
Data Analysis Group                              | http://www.cscs.ch/~mvalle
Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS)      | Tel:  +41 (91) 610.82.60
v. Cantonale Galleria 2, 6928 Manno, Switzerland | Fax:  +41 (91) 610.82.82