Still playing with DJango I have been able to use the web interface to add and modify objects to the database.  Once the server is started, I can log in and add, view and make changes to existing objects.  In the dJango tutorial they use a Poll object as an example, as in a poll survey poll with questions and possible choices to choose  from.  In this example, the Poll and Choice objects are defined ahead of time using classes in python.  Once that is done, you can manipulate these objects using the dJango API or the web interface.  I’ve experimented using both approaches, but typically if an admin is going to make changes they will probably be using the web interface.  You can also very easily add features like a search field, options for sorting and filtering results that make the user experience of viewing the web interface a pleasant one.  The way you add these features are all done through modifications to a python file, admin.py, which stores all of the information about how your custom web interface should look to the user.

Here is a video we created yesterday for a presentation. It shows the printing of the list node shown in the last post.

Linked List Node Print

Recently, we’ve implemented a crucial feature to our program that will allow for better usability for blind students. Users can now create Braille labels to be embedded into their 3D objects. These labels can be placed anywhere within the image via our editor GUI.

The previous implementation of hemispheres came in very handy during this process. Braille letters consist of a 2 x 3 grid and the selection of spots in the grid that are filled with a hemisphere determines the letter it represents. Therefore, we only needed to figure out which locations would represent a spot on the grid and place a hemisphere at each of the necessary locations for each letter.

In the GUI, a user can select a sprinkle that they would like to represent the top left corner of the label and fill in the text box in the label dialog. Here is an image of a Braille label that we made and printed:

It is especially interesting to note the size of the hemispheres created. We needed to be sure that the hemispheres were big enough so that they could be distinguishable, yet small enough so that they don’t take up too much space. In the future, we plan to make the “font” size of the Braille lettering configurable.

Also, here is a picture of a linked list node that we recently designed in our GUI and printed: