GSoC/2020/StatusReports/NikitaSirgienko
Extend the usability and feature set of Cantor
Cantor is a KDE application providing a graphical interface to different open-source computer algebra systems and programming languages, like Octave, Maxima, Julia, Python etc. The main idea of this application is to provide one single, common and user-friendly interface for different systems instead of providing different GUIs for different systems. The details specific to the different languages are transparent to the end-user and are handled internally in the language specific parts of Cantor’s code.
Though the code base of Cantor is already in quite good shape, there is still room for improvements with respect to the missing features, user experience and functional issues. Given the existence of similar open-source applications like wxMaxima, Jupyter, Octave GUI but also commercial like Mathematica, it is important to address all issues and to add missing features to become competitive with other applications or even be ahead of them.
The idea of this project is not to implement one single and big "killer feature" but to address several smaller and bigger open and outstanding topics in Cantor.
Project mentor: Alexander Semke
Summary
Done
Features
- Improved the handling of external packages in plot2d and plot3d extensions (T9475 on phabricator).
- Added tooltip notes in settings for better UX (T12492 on phabricator)
- Collapse/uncollapse all entries (T12843 on phabricator) and remove all entries results.
- Comment/uncomment (from execution) cells (T12843 on phabricator).
- Possibility for adding horizontal line entry
- Improve Cantor’s panels performance and usability.
- Zoom bar (for more easy zoom changing).
- Adding a new panel for file browsing.
Bug fixes
- Fixed tabulation behaviour in Command Entry (bug №418358).
- Fixing problems with portability Image Entry
In Progress
Features
- Possibility to organize worksheet structure (T12844 on phabricator).
- Copy/paste image into entries (for example, markdown entry) or as entries (for example, pasting image as ImageEntry).
Bug fixes
- Fixing wrong highlighting in R backend: the backend doesn’t distinguish system functions and system constants.
- Fixing Julia interrupt code: it shouldn’t work as backend restart.
- Fixing color problems on print, when using a theme with non-default colours
- Fixing strange problems with plots in Octave backend (bug №408335).
- Better information from variable manager (bug 409137).