Following the upgrade to Ubuntu 18 and the subsequent failure of both the X-Plane and FlightGear sim drivers to load at runtime, it was found that the associated error message was too easy for the user to miss, leading to a protracted debugging session which could easily have been avoided.
An error message will get buried in the log view unless it is a specific kind of error for which the gui has been hard-coded to pop up a message window. Rather than hard-coding the gui to recognize each and every important kind of error (excessive coupling, hard to maintain), overhaul the gui to make errors more readily accessible in general, while also ensuring that benign errors do not impede the interface.
I suggest borrowing ideas from Airbus ECAM or Boeing EICAS. A light can indicate the current status (off = no problem, yellow = a warning was logged, red = an error was logged). This would alert the user that a more detailed status is available in the log view. By reading the pending messages, the user can cause the light to be extinguished.
Following the upgrade to Ubuntu 18 and the subsequent failure of both the X-Plane and FlightGear sim drivers to load at runtime, it was found that the associated error message was too easy for the user to miss, leading to a protracted debugging session which could easily have been avoided.
An error message will get buried in the log view unless it is a specific kind of error for which the gui has been hard-coded to pop up a message window. Rather than hard-coding the gui to recognize each and every important kind of error (excessive coupling, hard to maintain), overhaul the gui to make errors more readily accessible in general, while also ensuring that benign errors do not impede the interface.
I suggest borrowing ideas from Airbus ECAM or Boeing EICAS. A light can indicate the current status (off = no problem, yellow = a warning was logged, red = an error was logged). This would alert the user that a more detailed status is available in the log view. By reading the pending messages, the user can cause the light to be extinguished.