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hiveeyes / ds18b20-datalogger

A temperature sensor matrix with heatmap visualization for bee hive monitoring, using Raspberry Pi, Linux, Python, DS18B20, MQTT, Kotori DAQ, and Grafana.
https://community.hiveeyes.org/t/laborprotokoll-4x5-temp-matrix-mit-ds18b20/5102
GNU General Public License v3.0
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Modularization, documentation, installation, configuration, and naming things #1

Closed amotl closed 7 months ago

amotl commented 7 months ago

Dear @bee-mois,

thanks a stack for conceiving and contributing the temp-matrix_5x6.py program. We would like to give it a bit of love on the course of a few subsequent iterations.

We hope you appreciate corresponding improvements in order add robustness and flexibility. We plan to submit a few PRs including corresponding enhancements, or bundle a few items together into single PRs.

With kind regards, Andreas.

amotl commented 7 months ago

Refactoring Proposals

Modularization

Configuration

Improve configurability:

Installation

In the end, it would be sweet to be able to install this program using pip, no?

Naming Things

In order to make that work smoothly, it will make sense to rename the repository / program once more, to have a proper name that either conveys what's inside, like linksmith, or, alternatively, would be a nickname without making any reference to the content at all, like saraswati is doing it, or something in between, like terkin-datalogger. wdyt / do you have any ideas or suggestions in this regard?

amotl commented 7 months ago

About naming things, do you absolutely want to retain the matrix term within the canonical name, or would you be up for alternative suggestions? We'd suggest to use beehive-templogger, or, even more generic yet tuned to better convey "what's inside, technically", what do you think about ds18b20-datalogger?

We guess the program would be in a good neighbourhood when published to PyPI for example, see https://pypi.org/search/?q=ds18b20-datalogger.

bee-mois commented 7 months ago

go ahead, you are the coding guys. i appreciate it!

concerning names: i think multi or mapped (if not matrix) should be part of the name. because there are tons of ds18b20 projects out there. but all of them are about one or a few sensors. none are about 20+ in a mapped order. temp-map-logger? heatmap-logger? ds18b20-map-logger?

amotl commented 7 months ago

I see where you are coming from, but actually, I would expect from a good and canonical DS18B20 datalogger to be capable enough to handle multiple DS18B20 sensors. From my perspective, that the sensors are aligned in a matrix, and convey a heatmap, is just an implementation detail, while I see it is an important one.

Nevertheless, in order to support a canonical naming for future broader expansion capabilities, I would still like to suggest a short and canonical name. All other details which are inside should go prominently into the main feature list, where I totally agree that the conveyance of a 2D temperature matrix visualized as a heatmap is the main application use case for that datalogger, and should be made the core catchphrase to improve the description of the whole project.

That the name ds18b20-datalogger is not yet taken on PyPI, is actually a good thing, so we can use it, and save a few keystrokes by keeping the name as short as possible, still conveying the main details about what's inside.

Do you agree?

On the other hand, if we consider the use of the DS18B20 as "just an implementation detail", sure enough we'd approach the naming things differently, and use temperature-heatmap-datalogger or such. I don't like shortening labels like temperature to temp, and prefer using full label names.

Which one do you like better?

bee-mois commented 7 months ago

before we come to a decission, another thought conerning shortness of expression: isn't "datalogger" kind of pleonastic? what else would you log (especially in connection with a temperatur sensor)? are ds18b20-logger and temperature-heatmap-logger taken on pypi?

amotl commented 7 months ago

Isn't "datalogger" kind of pleonastic?

Well, pleonastic or not, "datalogger" is an established term ^1.

Are [...] taken on PyPI?

So far, none of the enumerated variants are taken on PyPI yet.

amotl commented 7 months ago

Logger vs. datalogger

TLDR; Logging usually refers to recording and keeping a log of events, while data logging usually refers to recording data over time or about location using sensors or instruments.

Details

"datalogger" is an established term.

Contrary to that, in computing, "logger" is closer to logging, in the sense of application logging, log file management, syslog, etc.

In computing, logging is the act of keeping a log of events that occur in a computer system, such as problems, errors or just information on current operations. These events may occur in the operating system or in other software. A message or log entry is recorded for each such event.

Evaluation

It is all about using well-established terms, for better discoverability, abstaining from NIH when possible, optimizing for DWIM instead. 🌻

bee-mois commented 7 months ago

ok, thanks for making me understand tech talk better.

and - naming - let's go and name it ds18b20-datalogger. the angle of view is thereby decided by the superior criterium of shortness. (have a good night!)

amotl commented 7 months ago

Proposal

What Content
Package Name ds18b20-datalogger
Package Description A data logger specializing in reading an array of DS18B20 sensors.
Project Description A temperature sensor matrix with heatmap visualization for bee hive monitoring, using Raspberry Pi, Python, DS18B20, MQTT, Kotori DAQ, and Grafana.
bee-mois commented 7 months ago

i like it. go for it.

amotl commented 7 months ago
amotl commented 7 months ago

ds18b20-datalogger 0.0.3 has been released and published on PyPI.

There is a general community heads-up note about the newly introduced configuration file.

There is also a request for support, to validate the release version 0.0.3, including its documentation.