Re: [OpenBabel-Devel] Babel executable usability study

[Donald E. C. <don...@ui...>]

I have a couple suggestion that would fix this and i have run into the
same problem.

So with 'babel -isdf -ofpt myfile.sdf' it is very bad that it wipes his
input file.  Easily; if this happens and the user pushes Ctrl-C while OB
is waiting for stdin input, then OB should not have opened the output
file and thus there should be no wipe.  I am unsure how this works
currently.

Now, my suggestion would be to have the correct input from stdin to be
'-' so that the correct usage from stdin and the previous example would
be 'babel -isdf - -ofpt myfile.sdf'.  Easily the parameter parser could
"check" the special case where whatever follows -i is '- ' and if it is
some parameter '-xx' then it returns an invalid syntax error.  Using '-'
is pretty standard for most programs to tell them to get their input
from stdin.

Getting input from stdin is a very special case and i don't think it'd
take much work to fix this up.  If i get a few "aye" from the community
saying they like this change i'll go ahead and do the implementation.

-Donald


(Thu, Dec 14, 2006 at 05:47:16PM +0000) Chris Morley <c.m...@ga...>:
> Noel O'Boyle wrote:
> > Every time I use the babel executable, I like to carry out a little
> > usability study. I don't read the documentation, and I just try to
> > convert my input file into a different format.
> > 
> > Every time, I end up with no molecules converted and my input file wiped.
> > 
> > Here's how it goes:
> > "babel -isdf -ofpt myfile.sdf"
> > 
> > Then it seems to hang, so I press Enter and then it tells me:
> > "0 molecules converted"
> > 
> > And to add insult to injury, my input file has been wiped clean.
> > 
> > Is this a problem for other people? If so, perhaps some changes could
> > be considered for Babel 3.0.
> > 
> It's a struggle to design an infallable user interface, and it's 
> hindered by people not volunteering their negative experiences. Thanks 
> for helping here (as you did with the GUI).
> 
> The OB command line is really quite flexible and versatile. There are 
> just a few rules...
> 
>   - Input files come before the output file.
>   - If the -o option is present, it comes after any input files and 
> before any output files.
>   - If there is no input file specified you can input data after 
> pressing Enter.
>   - If there is no output file the output is displayed.
>   - You don't have to use the -i and -o options if the extensions on the 
> filename are appropriate.
> 
> The second one is the least intuitive but if it's remembered it is 
> difficult to go wrong. Don't forget the last one - specifying the input 
> and the output only once makes things much clearer.
> 
> or
> "Specify the input and then the output, adding other options whenever 
> you like."
> 
> So what you wanted was:
> babel myfile.sdf -oftp
> 
> Can you suggest how to improve the interface? I feel that explicitly 
> identifying the input and output files (perhaps making them part of an 
> option), or preventing accidental erasure of input files (perhaps by an 
> are you sure message?) would be too cumbersome. The GUI (currently 
> Windows only) queries you if your output file name has an extension 
> which belongs to a format different from the one you are outputting. 
> Maybe we could do the same for the command line.
> 
> Keyboard interfaces are good for regular users; making them too verbose 
> will put them off. A GUI is better for less regular use and for the 95% 
> of users who use nothing else.
> 
> Chris
> 
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