Re: [bika-users] Making changes to the LIMS

[Campbell <alm...@gm...>]

I'm also not sure I'm the very best person to reply to this, but I heard 
you teach best that which you most need to learn.  Most of it requires 
some level of plone knowledge, and Plone is not a joke (it's Infinitely 
Flexible), so the learning curve sometimes feels like the flat side of a 
planet. Plone 2 docs are scarce, but a lot Plone 3 documentation is 
still very useful to point you in the right direction.


On 06/08/2010 16:13, Lee James wrote:
>    1. We do not need the bika_products table and would either like to
>       repurpose it, re-titling some of the columns or add a similar
>       table with the columns we need. I am not at all clear where to
>       start in either of these endeavors.

It's a fairly common precedure to create and restructure these tables. 
it works a bit manually...  You can pick some object as a reasonable 
starting point and copy it's definition python file (bika/Object.py) to 
a new file, and edit it.  there are plenty of good docs for this part, 
its quite simple.

Then just search through the system and add equivalent sections 
everywhere in the templates where you see the original field or object 
name, and ask when you get stuck - everyone here is sneaky with the Plone.

(you should be able to alter the translation files in bika/i18n to 
change the text in the templates, and edit the existing object, but I've 
never done it like this).

If you want to install from the modified bika product, you need to read 
about GenericSetup and look in profiles/default, profiles/default is 
also a good all round reference.

>    2. Under the ZMI I can access a number of bika entities (e.g.
>       bika_services). Can I use the ZMI to make changes? I seem to
>       recall reading somewhere that I should stay away from the ZMI
>       because I could compromise the system integrity that way.

The ZMI is the only way to do some plone/zope things. Exploring it can't 
hurt, and it has an undo.  If the option you want is not in Bika or the 
site seup, then exploring the ZMI is maybe the next step.

>    3. Is there a way to use the calendar to reserve blocks of time with
>       any of a number of pieces of equipment?

first reaction would be to say "not really, no", but it would be quite 
simple i think, depending on the depth of what you want.  Check out 
RecordsField and RecordsWidget in Products/ATExtensions.  If that will 
hold the kind of data you need, then add one to bika/Instrument.py - you 
will initially be able to access it directly as a list of text fields in 
the Instrument page, or you'll need to edit templates until they match 
your expectations..

otherwise... create new object type for instrument_schedule, read about 
HoldingReference and reference_catalog...  and portal_catalog and... 
anything's possible.


>    4. When someone request an new analysis, he is presented with a form
>       containing many rows. Each row specifies some characteristic of
>       the analysis being requested. Some of the rows are fields from
>       Analysis Services. However other rows, like Client Order Id seem
>       to be preordained. How would one go about defining additional rows
>       like these?

Look in bika/AnalysisRequest.py...

You'll need to edit the templates, and also some python.  Search and 
replace through skins/bika/ and edit relevant .pt, .py, .cpy, .vpy 
files, and anything else suspect.

If we ever fix this cleverly enough, we will never have to say 'fork'.

>    5. Is it possible to add "alerts" or "red flags" when the input of a
>       result does not have the proper number of significant figures?

You could duplicate/modify the "uncertainties" attribute of the 
AnalysisService.  I know this flags items which are outside of the 
acceptable limits, but making it perfect should be trivial.


If you have specific questions, ping.