Shannon Parker's blog

Whoa this week went by tooo fast. This week I found out that the MatLab JA Builder does not allow you to deploy GUIs in a web application so now I will convert my GUI into a standalone application using the MatLab Compiler. I also implemented another feature into my application: a way to keep track of the flags you set by saving the image to the user's computer. After this my GUI was looking pretty good and it was on to testing it out....the scariest part!

Goodness! It seems as if these weeks are going by like days...Well anywho, this week I started to finish up my interface. I made some changes to my GUI: Change 1: Instead of updating the database by the number of data points flagged, I update the database once per "boxed" flag. Change 2: I am now using the variables min and max as well as the time frame to zoom in on the rows that were flagged in the GUI to serve as a placemark in the database. Change 3: I separated the extraction of data and its graph.

This summer is definitely flying by!! Week 7 already! This week I worked at WetLabs with my senior mentor, Andrew. This was a good opportunity to update him and inform the company's software team of my project and ponder some possible suggests for improving my interface. So far my GUI's main functionality is complete. It can connect to the database, allow the user to graph some variables and flag the data, and updates the database including the qc flags. One of the things Andrew wanted my interface to include was an automatic flagging for some of the variables.

Wow, I can't believe how fast this summer is going! This week I really got into my application. Charles created an account for me in the CMOP database that included quality control columns. This allowed me to connect my application to the database and alter and update the values in the database. The dataset component of my program list the stations and variables associated. There is also an input area to choose the time range. When the graph button is clicked, the data is graphed and ready to be flagged.

This week has been a little off given the fact that my computer caught a virus. Luckily, I saved my work, but I still haven't really progressed since last week. While my computer was getting fixed I wrote a bunch of pseudo code, outlined my mid-term presentation, and re-evaluated the data. The code I wrote validates the user's input for the time range of the data. I also wrote code for the flagging method.

This week I put together the basic components of my GUI. These components include a graphing axes, pop-up menus for the user to select variables given a time range and station, options for selecting and flagging data, and push buttons to allow the user to submit the criteria to the database. Once I had the graphical components together, I worked on the background coding to allow the input to interact with other components to provide the desired output.

This week was full of CMOP events as well. On Tuesday I had the opportunity to witness the LOBO being deployed to a new location. It was pretty cool to see the instrument that is giving all this data that I am working with. On Wednesday in the Furse class, we watched a series of interviews of tribal leaders. Friday we took a trip to Multnomah Falls and toured the Bonneville Dam. With all of these activities going on, I felt as if I hadn't had much time to work on my project. However, I started working on the GUI...or at least how to create them in MATLAB.

Well, well, well, this week has been full of events! Monday was a Big deal for everyone here at CMOP. It was the annual site visit by the National Science Foundation (they fund CMOP!). This day was literally the longest day ever! It was packed-full of presentations, information-sessions...etc,etc. However it gave us (interns) an opportunity to witness what really goes into having a science organization and how important it is to have a road map when you are being funded by a large foundation.

The first week has been fantastic! With the guidance of my frontline mentor, Charles Seaton, my project will control the quality of data from the LOBO (Land/Ocean Biogeochemistry Observatory). This week I learned about the LOBO, how it generally works, as well as the types of data it monitors. To my surprise, this instrument monitors A LOT of different types of data ranging from Salinity, Fluorescence, to Oxygen, Nitrate, as well a list of other characteristics of the Columbia River Estuary.