Allow waves for multiple parameters in built-in functions

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Mon, 04/06/2020 - 08:03 am

Built-in function parameters are often specified like this:

Slider limits = {low,high,inc}

I'd often like to be able to use syntax like this:

Slider limits=myLimitsWave   //where myLimitsWave would presumably be a 3-point 1-dimensional wave

For an example use case: Sometimes I make a function that is going to iterate over multiple calls of a built-in function. I'll use Slider as an example below. (It could also be ModifyGraph rgb, muloffset, or any function with a multiple-value named parameter.) In such cases I resort to loops like the following:

function buildSliders_currently()

    newpanel/k=1
    int i,numSliders = 3
    make/o/free/n=(3,numSliders) minMaxIncr
    minMaxIncr[][0] = {-100,100,10}
    minMaxIncr[][1] = {-1000,0,100}
    minMaxIncr[][2] = {-5,10,.1}

    for (i=0;i<numSliders;i++)
  //passing the 3 parameters like this has always seemed cumbersome
        slider $("slider_"+num2str(i)) limits={minMaxIncr[0][i],minMaxIncr[1][i],minMaxIncr[2][i]}
    endfor

end

But every so often I try (and then fail to compile) code like this. I'd use this syntax regularly if it worked because I find it easier to read and write

function buildSliders_wishedSyntax()

    newpanel/k=1
    int i,numSliders = 3
    make/o/free/n=(3,numSliders)/free minMaxIncr
    minMaxIncr[][0] = {-100,100,10}
    minMaxIncr[][1] = {-1000,0,100}
    minMaxIncr[][2] = {-5,10,.1}
   
    for (i=0;i<numSliders;i++)
        //option A
        duplicate/o/r=[][i] minMaxIncr,limitsWv;redimension/n=(-1) limitsWv
        slider $("slider_"+num2str(i)) limits=limitsWv      //doesn't compile
       
        //option B
        slider $("slider_"+num2str(i)) limits=minMaxIncr[][i]       //doesn't compile
    endfor
   
end

 

I like this idea. In the meantime, why not use a general purpose function for both cases:

Function SetSliderLimits(sname,pname,wlimits)
    string sname, name
    wave wlimits

    Slider $sname, win=$pname, limits={ ...}
    return 0
end

This change might also lend itself to this:

make/N=(Nsliders)/FREE dummy
...
dummy = SetSliderLimits(("slider"+num2str[p]),"mypanel",minmaxInc[][p])

as a way to avoid the for-loop.

April 6, 2020 at 11:02 am - Permalink