[SciPy-Dev] Python Scipy Block Diagram Editor with ACG

[Pierre Haessig]

Hi,

I think a block diagram editor would be a great addition to the Python
scientific ecosystem. I've had this in mind for some years now, but
never put it seriously on my programming agenda.

Now, I would really make the difference between :
1) a block diagram editor ("Simulink/xcos/Modelica-like") which, as
Chuck said, is really a tool to describe a dynamical system (either a
physical system or a control system).
2) a visual programming environment, like Labview, which has many flaws
that Matthias forcefully described ;-)

Now, to come back closer to what Dwight presented, I think that using
the GUI from an existing Office suite won't lead far enough.
I've experienced a bit GUI programming on the closely related matter of
a schematic editor (schematics of electrical circuits : see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYv-6w8FCf4&feature=player_detailpage#t=39s).
This GUI is done in Python+Qt (PyQt or PySide as a matter of licensing
taste) with the key element being a QGraphicsView
(http://qt-project.org/doc/qt-4.8/graphicsview.html)  which handles the
display of the schematic.
I've really had a positive feeling with this graphical framework from
Qt. (However, I didn't practice with many others to allow for a fair
comparison).
Also, these years have seen the growing popularity of browser-based
editors (like https://www.circuitlab.com/) so that it may be worth
studying javascript/HTML5 frameworks (which I unfortunately never did).

Best,
Pierre

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