What's New in the User Interface

This section documents the changes in the Graphical User Interface.

Version 0.6.2

Fix when updating properties. When Java bean properties were created their child properties were not updated correctly in the properties view.

Version 0.6.1

Nothing visible. This version only contains internal fixes.

Version 0.6.0

Project Navigator. Evolvica now has its own project navigator. It provides an overview over existing algorithms and operators. Note that Copy and Paste is not yet working.
Drag & Drop from Project Navigator The new Project Navigator is now used for dragging operators to the algorithm editor.
Algorithm Outline. A small outline of an algorithm is shown in the outline view. Not useful at the moment - this is reserved for future use.
Attributes View removed The Attributes View has been removed. All properties of an algorithm or an operator are now shown directly in the Properties View of Eclipse.
Delete command removes selected objects. The delete command in the algorithm editor now removes all selected objects instead of only the first one.
Coloring of operators. The background color of operator images can now be set.
Description of attributes as tooltips. The short descriptions of operator properties are now shown as tooltips in the Attributes view.
Algorithm Validation. A menu item "Validate Algorithm" has been added. This checks for missing operators that are necessary as well as for open inputs and outputs.
Setting Input & Output Size. Setting the input and output size of operators, which support that now finally works.

Version 0.5.3

Serious Fix Version 0.5.2 had a serious bug that caused trouble when creating algorithms under Linux. This should be fixed now.

Version 0.5.2

New Operator Editor The old Java and descriptor editors have been replaced by a new operator editor that allows to edit the source code and the descriptor information of an operator concurrently. The editor should be used by default automatically. If not, choose "Open with > Operator Editor" from the context menu of a Java or descriptor file. The old version of the descriptor editor is still available, but should not be used any longer and will be removed in the future.

Version 0.5.1

New Attributes View A attributes view has been added as a replacement for the original properties view. The view will be opened automatically when closing and reopening the Evolvica perspective or can be manually opened by choosing Window > Show View > Other > Evolvica > Attributes. The attributes view now (finally!!) supports array editing (even arrays of arrays re supported). Make sure you read the appropriate chapter in this manual.
Save format for algorithms has changed. The XML format in which algorithms are saved has been changed to be able to handle arrays (and arrays of arrays) properly. Old files can be opened just like before, but will be saved in the new format.

Version 0.5.0

Descriptor information stored in separate files Additional information (like datatype and number of inputs and outputs) about operators is now held in separate files. Descriptors can be saved to XML files, so there's no need to attach descriptor information to the operator via the constructor.
Graphical editor for descriptors The descriptors mentioned above can be edited via a separate editor. See the section about creating operators for information on how to do this.
Properties of type directory To differentiate between files and directories as properties there's a new class called Directory. When editing such a property an editor is raised that only allows the selection of directories in the file system.
Reset of properties Non-trivial properties can now be set to NULL. For doing this just press "Restore Default Value" in the properties sheet. Please note that this works only for object properties, not for primitives.
Array properties Arrays of primitives can now be entered directly in the property sheet. For instance use the form {0,4,3,2,3} for entering an array of integers as the value for an int[] property.
Important Fixes & Improvements
  • In case of an occured exception in an algorithm, it is now possible to jump to the appropriate line in the source code by clicking the exception trace line in the console. Please note that existing projects need to be recreated to activate this feature.
  • Detection of custom operators now works more reliable.
  • Required libraries are now added to the classpath of a project automatically.
  • Palette entry "Connect" disappeared when updating the palette.

Version 0.4.0

General In the first public version 0.4.0 everything's new!