JAS- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Things I like about JAS:

-The best feature of JAS is its integrated Tuple Explorer, Plotter, and
Java IDE.

> \- It is possible to write, compile, and run your code, and then see
> the data and analyze and plot the results all in the same program.

-There is a possibility in the future to write a plugin for JAS that
will enable full interactivity with SDA.

\- If the program was fully developed, we wouldn't need anything else!

-Many of the interactive plotter's features are intuitive and easy to
use, making it a good way for outsiders to access SDA data.

\- The Tuple explorer is simple, yet practical. A few issues:

> 1\. Cuts and calculation columns added to the Tuple in the interactive
> environment are not saved with the Tuple. Apparently there is a 'save
> configuration' menu item that will save these columns and cuts, but
> only for specific iTuples.
>
> 2\. The Tuple doesn't recognize other compatible Tuples with the same
> length. Plotting from two different Tuples is not allowed.

\- The plotter is quite powerful, quickly making plots with thousands of
data points. It has support for fits, statistics, histograms,
scatterplots, and profiles. The plots can be exported into many formats.
Some possible features:

-Multiple axes will be supported in the upcoming release of JAS.

> -Exporting plots into Excel- readable formats would be a nice feature.
> It would be nice to be able to change the plot after it has been
> saved. Is this possible already?
>
> \- The automatic color and shape assignments to the plot points should
> be customizable. Many of the randomly assigned colors are unreadable.

-Minor bugs:

> -When a plot is made from different cuts of the same Tuple, and the
> axes are then manually changed, the last active cut is applied to all
> of the data.
>
> -Some odd packaging issues with Java compilation: JAS will compile
> into a package's directory, but will not read the compiled class file
> from that same directory.
>
> -Aside from these issues, the plotter is excellent. Having all of the
> required data at hand, and being able to produce nice plots quickly,
> is one of my favorite features. It is possible to create a wide range
> of plots on the spot at meetings to verify other people's
> presentations!

-One of the hardest features in JAS to get used to was the
documentation. Many times I had to resort to the forums and the frequent
and excellent help that the developers gave me. However, for their sake,
in the future it should be easy to find out how to:

> -Write code for the cuts, and calculations. Nowhere was it specified,
> as far as I could find, that the format had to be Java--like.
>
> -Format the plots in Java. I was guided to the JAS release notes which
> have specific details about arguments the plotter formatter takes. I
> could not find this from the tutorial or other documentation.
>
> -I would like a more detailed explanation of the plotter formatting
> hierarchy in AIDA. Despite having read the release notes, it seems to
> behave irrationally.
>
> -In general, the tutorials are a great way to get started, but should
> point to the most detailed documentation at the end of each section,
> to enable users to easily go beyond the level of the tutorial.
>
> Top Three Things I Would Most Like to See:

1.  Compatibility with a high-end IDE, like JBuilder. While almost
    compatible, JAS's packaging issues prevent identical compilation
    with JBuilder. A nicer, but more wishful, alternative, would be to
    incorporate a more user-friendly programming environment into JAS
    (text color according to syntax, real-time compilation), eliminating
    the need for IDEs like JBuilder. This would make JAS a program to
    end all programs. Perhaps there could be a plugin or module built
    for this?

2.  Complete plotter usability. All of the above issues mentioned should
    be easily resolved, making the plotter feature as powerful as any I
    have used.

3.  Memory clean-up "button." JAS has a tendency to not let go of memory
    once it has gotten a hold. After running my program a few times, the
    whole computer is slowed, and plotting and navigating the program
    becomes a game of waiting.