StartupBox: Templates and Tutorials categorization

[ermannolocascio]

1. Which tutorials should we include?
2. Which templates should we include? (_Executions tests -> /executiontests/ folder)
3. How templates should be catogorized?

Hints are very welcome.

[jkiviluo]

I'm not 100% sure how we will make the tutorials happen - are they just Toolbox projects or will there be some animation and stuff to guide the user to build these? Anyway, here are tutorial level topics:

• workflow: hello --> python script that prints out contents of a data connection file (basically Getting started section of current documentation)
• data structure in Spine Toolbox
• workflow: data connection --> importer --> data store --> exporter
• workflow: executing scenarios in parallel
• workflow with two tools interacting
• add a loop to previous
• options for plotting

In template, we should have sections for different purposes (to replace 'Beginner templates' etc.). Inside sections, there can be multiple templates. E.g.:

• Spine Toolbox
  • Basic modelling workflow: Data connection --> importer --> DB --> tool --> DB
  • Workflow with all item types
  • Iterative workflow between two tools which both use same input DB and output DB
• Energy modelling workbench
  • from Mopo datapipelines to ines-spec to SpineOpt
  • from SpineOpt DB to ines-spec DB to FlexTool DB
• Model specific workflows
  • SpineOpt.jl: Input DB --> SpineOpt.jl --> Result DB
  • We can add more complex later, e.g. result processing
  • IRENA FlexTool: Use the workflow in FlexTool repository: https://github.com/irena-flextool/flextool
  • OSeMOSYS: Basic workflow will appear in energy-modelling-workbench
  • PyPSA: Basic workflow will appear in energy-modelling-workbench

[suvayu]

We are summarising how we are proceeding with the contents of the startup box

• Renaming the "Tutorials" tab to "Learning materials"
• Include the following links with highlights
  • "Hello world" equivalent: https://spine-toolbox.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started.html
  • Introduction to the spine data structure: https://github.com/energy-modelling-workbench/spine-data-model#spine-data-model
  • Setting up a workflow: mention the section "Adding a Data Connection Item to the Project"
  • executing projects: https://spine-toolbox.readthedocs.io/en/latest/executing_projects.html
  • we can modify the above to demonstrate more advanced features at a later point in time

TODO: Template tab

[jkiviluo]

Would it be best if the tutorials were just a web-page in our documentation? I mean, doing it with animations in the workflow editor would be great, but maybe we don't have the resource for that? And we're anyway aiming the expert mode for more advanced users who should be able to figure these things out with help from a web-page.

[suvayu]

Hi @jkiviluo, by animation do you mean the idea about a tour of the UI with overlays? I think that's a good idea, but for later. This is how I'm thinking about this:

1. Complete the startup box addition, where we point to a web-page in our documentation
   • Relatively low-effort implementation on the Qt side
   • This allows us to refine the tutorials independently (including adding more)
   • The UI is currently changing a bit, e.g. the new User mode.
2. After User mode is merged, we update the startup box to use this stacked widget approach, reducing the window clutter.
3. Then we can work on the tour as a new issue. I think it's a new issue, because it's very different implementation wise and more focused on a specific window/view; e.g. a tour would be different between user/expert mode. If it proves useful even in expert, we could also extend the idea to DB editor.

[jkiviluo]

Good plan Suvayu, let's proceed with that. I would just leave #3 optional in mopo - I think we will likely have other things of higher value to do within the project. Animated tour would also be heavy on maintenance.