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Sage Usability Tasks

Source: Sage Usability Improvements List. TODO: Assign difficulties to individual tasks, if it's appropriate, or just order or group by difficulty.

1. General

• Y. Aner's notebook threat model (PDF).

• Keith Lang's Top 10 UI Myths.

• Sage Forge.

2. Documentation

• Allow $ for reST math - #6892.

• Document:

  • pexpect interface for users.

  • notebook port forwarding.

3. Development

• More convenient development workflow
  • Current workflow is:
    1. Change file
    2. Restart Sage Notebook
    3. Wash, rinse, repeat
  • Possible improvements:
    • Autoreload and autobuild mechanism (dev mode)

4. Notebook: Admin

• Authentication:
  • LDAP.
  • UNIX accounts.
• Dashboard for server settings / status:
  • View logged-in users, load, processes, etc.
  • Backups: all critical data, selective.
  • Configure thresholds, alerts, snapshot behavior.
  • Manage user accounts, groups, privileges.
  • Restricted version for users.
• Registration:

  • reCAPTCHA.

  • Challenge questions.
  • Admin approval.
  • Revokable custom tokens.
• Users:
  • Groups.
  • Privileges.
  • Email address as username.
  • Use secure tokens to reset passwords.

5. Notebook: Introspection

• Use Sphinx for sagenb.org docstrings.

• Matrix B mentioned twice in B.solve_left?: B.solve_left(B, ...).

• Better error detection, e.g., for Maxima command completion.
• Completions link for mobiles.
• Live introspection cells.
• Introspection cross-links.
• Improve introspection / completion interface: floating div, RHS div.

• New documentation browser. Send worksheet docstrings to this browser.

6. Notebook: "Modes"

• %timeit.

• Graph editor - #1321.

• LaTeX doc mode.

• reST:

  • TinyMCE-style editor.

  • %rest cells (auto-hide, double-click to show) converted to HTML by Sphinx.

• Preparse in the browser: implicit multiplication, less work for server.

• Chat, plus math. qwebirc / Web IRC.

• Python debugger a la Pylons.

• Vector graphics - #6973.

  • Draw - SVG-edit.

  • Annotate output from matplotlib's SVG backend.

• Code editor a la BeSpin

  • Command-line history.
  • Syntax highlighting.
  • Context-sensitive completion.

• Math input GUI plug-ins.

7. Notebook: User Interaction

• Help:
  • Reorganize help page.
    • Search for commands
    • linking to similar and related commands
  • Easy set up of shipped jsMath fonts.
  • Automatic tips for keyboard shortcuts, editing features, etc. Opt out.
  • Friendly bug buddy that emails reports, bundles session history, etc.
• Customization:
  • Typeset output default setting.
  • Implicit multiplication default setting.
  • Custom window close callback.
  • Function to update worksheet titlebar.
  • Easy backups of own work, with or w/o data, output, snapshots, etc.

  • Download zip files of multiple worksheets, even if accounts=True.

• Keys
  • Restart worksheet shortcut.
  • Splash-screen with common keys.
  • Insert new cell after current cell shortcut.

  • Custom shortcuts, e.g., ctrl-bksp to delete previous word, not join cells - js-hotkeys.

• Cells:
  • Auto-updating cells, e.g., interacts.
  • Prevent text movement by a pixel on cell frame focus.
  • Always show links for long output cells, regardless of length or interruption.
  • Easily identify idle, queued, and running cells.

  • Select, delete, (un)group, move multiple cells.

  • Leading space input bug - #6729.

• 2D / 3D plots:

  • JavaScript animations.

  • Mouse-over for coordinates - matplotlib.

  • Interactively zoom, pan, annotate - canvas, SVG, Flot, Open Flash Chart.

• Worksheets:
  • Slideshow mode.
  • Use notebook as IDE for running sage instance.
  • Always visible menubar at top of worksheet.
  • Toolbar with buttons to interrupt running code, save, attach files, etc.

  • Parens matching - #3646.

  • TinyMCE synchronization problem.

• Published worksheets:
  • Delete them.
  • RSS feeds.
  • Live cells, e.g, interacts.
  • Only to selected users or groups.
• Notebook:

  • Tags.

  • Suppress browser warning for Konquereor.
  • Unique cookies for logins from different browsers / computers.

  • Full-text search: SQLalchemy, Whoosh (codenode-devel).

• Fix MoinMoin.

• Externally embed live cells / worksheets. Live published workseets. #6855.

8. Notebook: Under the hood

• Better handling of concurrent worksheet use.
• Smartly manage Jmol applet count, or memory use.

• Component architecture.

• Cythonize pexpect.
• Client-server synchronization:
  • TinyMCE problem.
  • Server-to-server for backups, possibly with authentication.
• Track worksheets and user data with Mercurial.
• Balance server pool loads.
• Load JS / CSS components on demand.

• Migrate to server / framework: Django, Pylons, Pyjamas, Tornado, etc.:

  • URL routes.

9. Notebook: Development

• Auto-reloading (similar to paster serve --reload or CherryPy's AutoReload mechanism)

10. Build / Test

• VirtualBox Sage.

• andLinux Sage.
• Binary distibutions that don't use SSE3, etc.
• Sagelite for Windows.
• Windows build farm.
• Windows port.

• Notebook testing infrastructure: Selenium, Testled, Webdriver, WebTest, Windmill.