[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #52988] Variable editor: allow scalars to be shown directly

[Philip Nienhuis]

URL:
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?52988>

                 Summary: Variable editor: allow scalars to be shown directly
                 Project: GNU Octave
            Submitted by: philipnienhuis
            Submitted on: Sat 27 Jan 2018 10:05:52 PM CET
                Category: GUI
                Severity: 3 - Normal
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: Feature Request
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: Philip Nienhuis
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: dev
        Operating System: Any

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Details:

After recent changes to the variable editor, cell array contents are shown
only as a class, not value - see attached vared_b.png

Consider this code:

a = num2cell (rand (3));
a{2, 3} = "text";
a(3, 2) = struct ("b", 5);
a{2, 2} = num2cell (rand (2));
a(2, 1) = rand (2);


... and then open a in the variable editor.

Before those changes, scalar values in cells were shown as such, see attached
vared_a.png, cells (1, :) and (2, 3).
Admittedly that previous behavior was not ideal and needed to be adapted - see
e.g., cell {2, 2} where the contents are shown preceded by "{  [1, 1] = ".  
For that case (nested cell array) I'd prefer to see the class is it is now
after the changes ("2x2 cell"), like in attached vared_b.png.
For numeric arrays the output style is debatable; before the changes Octave
used to show as much values as fitted in the cell;  Matlab does the same BTW.
I think I like Octave's new behavior better.
The other /scalar/ cell contents (scalar doubles, strings) used to be shown
directly as values. That is very helpful behavior while debugging; it avoids
the need to keep clicking tab headers to follow scalar variable value changes
across the cell array.

In summary, IMO it makes the variable editor a lot more usable if scalar
contents of cell arrays can be shown as values rather than class.

FWIW, I've also attached a screenshot of Matlab's variable editor after having
run the same code (r2018a prerelease) (vared_c.png).

JWE attached as he's currently working on the variable editor



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File Attachments:


-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat 27 Jan 2018 10:05:52 PM CET  Name: vared_a.PNG  Size: 11KiB   By:
philipnienhuis

<http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/download.php?file_id=43092>
-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat 27 Jan 2018 10:05:52 PM CET  Name: vared_b.PNG  Size: 15KiB   By:
philipnienhuis

<http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/download.php?file_id=43093>
-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat 27 Jan 2018 10:05:52 PM CET  Name: vared_c.PNG  Size: 9KiB   By:
philipnienhuis

<http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/download.php?file_id=43094>

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