Wanda  Huel

Wanda Huel

1603162800

Reasons why you must, should, and should not use LaTeX

If you have to write down a document you will run your default text processor (probably MS Word) not even considering any other option. This processor probably fulfills all your needs. I would say that 95% of users out there have no idea what is LaTeX. And this is perfectly fine. However, it is a pity. Because LaTeX is one of the most successful and amazing free software projects ever done. It has been around for more than thirty years with two Turing awarded researchers directly participating in its design and implementation. LaTeX must have something special. Hopefully, after reading this post you will consider giving it a try.

I will not showcase how to use LaTeX because there is a lot of wonderful tutorials around. I will only enumerate when you MUST, SHOULD, and SHOULD NOT use LaTeX.

A bit of history

Donald Knuth (Turing Award 1974) published his first edition of The Art of Computer Programming in 1968 when he was thirty. By then, books were printed using monotype settings. Knuth was happy with the final print. However, the second edition in 1976 had to be typeset again because the original fonts were no longer available. When Knuth received the galley proofs he was disappointed. He found them inferior.

He committed himself to design his typesetting system. We are talking about the late seventies, when digital typesetting itself was a problem to be solved. Steve Jobs himself contributed to this topic. Knuth planned to spend his sabbatical year in 1978 to finish the project. He underestimated the complexity of the task. The final solution was not ready until 1989! Knuth called this language TeX with each letter a capital Greek letters tau τ, epsilon ε and chi χ. TeX is the abbreviation for τέχνη (techne) which means “art” and “craft”. Knuth has always insisted that you should pronounce it /tɛk/.

When Leslie Lamport (Turing Award 2013) started using Knuth’s TeX he started writing some macros for his own purposes. LaTeX is simply LAmport’s TeX, a collection of macros on top of TeX to make it easier. And this is the main collection we have today.

#science #writing #software #research #open-source #data-science

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Reasons why you must, should, and should not use LaTeX

Migrating From Jira Server: Guide, Pros, And Cons

February 15, 2022 marked a significant milestone in Atlassian’s Server EOL (End Of Life) roadmap. This was not the final step. We still have two major milestones ahead of us: end of new app sales in Feb 2023, and end of support in Feb 2024. In simpler words, businesses still have enough time to migrate their Jira Server to one of the two available products – Atlassian Cloud or Atlassian DC. But the clock is ticking. 

Jira Cloud VS Data Center

If we were to go by Atlassian numbers, 95% of their new customers choose cloud. 

“About 80% of Fortune 500 companies have an Atlassian Cloud license. More than 90% of new customers choose cloud first.” – Daniel Scott, Product Marketing Director, Tempo

So that’s settled, right? We are migrating from Server to Cloud? And what about the solution fewer people talk about yet many users rely on – Jira DC? 

Both are viable options and your choice will depend greatly on the needs of your business, your available resources, and operational processes. 

Let’s start by taking a look at the functionality offered by Atlassian Cloud and Atlassian DC.

FeatureAtlassian CloudAtlassian Data Center
Product PlansMultiple plansOne plan
BillingMonthly and annualAnnual only
Pricing modelPer user or tieredTiered only
SupportVarying support levels depending on your plan: Enterprise support coverage is equivalent to Atlassian’s Data Center Premier Support offeringVarying support levels depending on the package: Priority Support or Premier Support (purchased separately)
Total Cost of OwnershipTCO includes your subscription fee, plus product administration timeTCO includes your subscription fee and product administration time, plus: costs related to infrastructure provisioning or IaaS fees (for example, AWS costs) planned downtime time and resources needed for software upgrades
Data encryption services✅❌
Data residency services✅❌
Audit loggingOrganization-level audit logging available via Atlassian Access (Jira Software, Confluence) 

Product-level audit logs (Jira Software, Confluence)
Advanced audit logging
Device securityMobile device management support (Jira Software, Confluence, Jira Service Management)

Mobile application management (currently on the roadmap)
Mobile device management support (Jira Software, Confluence, Jira Service Management) 
Content security✅❌
Data Storage limits2 GB (Free)

250 GB (Standard)

Unlimited storage (Premium and Enterprise)
No limits
PerformanceContinuous performance updates to improve load times, search responsiveness, and attachments

Cloud infrastructure hosted in six geographic regions to reduce latency
 
Rate limitingCDN supports Smart mirrors and mirror farms (Bitbucket)
Backup and data disaster recoveryJira leverages multiple geographically diverse data centers, has a comprehensive backup program, and gains assurance by regularly testing their disaster recovery and business continuity plans. 

Backups are generated daily and retained for 30 days to allow for point-in-time data restoration
❌
Containerization and orchestration✅Docker images

Kubernetes support (on the roadmap for now)
Change management and upgradesAtlassian automatically handles software and security upgrades for you Sandbox instance to test changes (Premium and Enterprise) 

Release track options for Premium and Enterprise (Jira Software, Jira Service Management, Confluence)
❌
Direct access to the databaseNo direct access to change the database structure, file system, or other server infrastructure

Extensive REST APIs for programmatic data access
Direct database access
Insights and reportingOrganization and admin insights to track adoption of Atlassian products, and evaluate the security of your organization.Data Pipeline for advanced insightsConfluence analytics

Pros and cons of Jira Cloud

When talking about pros and cons, there’s always a chance that a competitive advantage for some is a dealbreaker for others. That’s why I decided to talk about pros and cons in matching pairs. 

Pro: Scalability is one of the primary reasons businesses are choosing Jira Cloud. DC is technically also scalable, but you’ll need to scale on your own whereas the cloud version allows for the infrastructure to scale with your business. 

Con: Despite the cloud’s ability to grow with your business, there is still a user limit of 35k users. In addition to that, the costs will grow alongside your needs. New users, licenses, storage, and computing power – all come at an additional cost. So, when your organization reaches a certain size, migrating to Jira DC becomes more cost-efficient.

Pro: Jira takes care of maintenance and support for you.

Con: Your business can suffer from unpredicted downtime. And there are certain security risks.  

Pro: Extra bells and whistles: 

  • Sandbox: Sandbox is a safe environment system admins can use to test applications and integrations before rolling them out to the production environment. 
  • Release tracks: Admins can be more flexible with their product releases as they can access batch and control cloud releases. This means they’ll have much more time to test existing configurations and workflows against a new update. 
  • Insight Discovery: More data means more ways you can impact your business or product in a positive, meaningful way. 
  • Team Calendars: This is a handy feature for synchronization and synergy across teams. 

Con: Most of these features are locked behind a paywall and are only available to either Premium and Enterprise or only Enterprise licenses (either fully or through addition of functionality. For example, Release tracks are only available to Enterprise customers.) In addition, the costs will grow as you scale the offering to fit your growing needs. 

Pros and cons of Jira Data Center

I’ll be taking the same approach to talking about the pros and cons as I did when writing about Atlassian Cloud. Pros and cons are paired. 

Pro: Hosting your own system means you can scale horizontally and vertically through additional hardware. Extension of your systems is seamless, and there is no downtime (if you do everything correctly). Lastly, you don’t have to worry about the user limit – there is none. 

Con: While having more control over your systems is great, it implies a dedicated staff of engineers, additional expenses on software licensing, hardware, and physical space. Moreover, seamless extension and 0% downtime are entirely on you.

Pro: Atlassian has updated the DC offering with native bundled applications such as Advanced Roadmaps, team calendars and analytics for confluence, insight asset management, and insight discovery in Jira Service Management DC.

Con: Atlassian has updated their pricing to reflect these changes. And you are still getting fewer “bells and whistles” than Jira Cloud users (as we can see from the feature comparison). 

Pro: You are technically safer as the system is supported on your hardware by your specialists. Any and all Jira server issues, poor updates, and downtime are simply not your concern.
 

Con: Atlassian offers excellent security options: data encryption in transit and rest, to mobile app management, to audit offerings and API token controls. In their absence, your team company has to dedicate additional resources to security. 

Pro: Additional benefits from Atlassian, such as the Priority Support bundle (all DC subscriptions have this option), and the Data center loyalty discount (more on that in the pricing section.)

The Pricing

Talking about pricing of SaaS products is always a challenge as there are always multiple tiers and various pay-as-you go features. Barebones Jira Cloud, for instance, is completely free of charge, yet there are a series of serious limitations. 

Standard Jira Cloud will cost you an average of $7.50 per user per month while premium cranks that price up to $14.50. The Enterprise plan is billed annually and the cost is determined on a case-by-case basis. You can see the full comparison of Jira Cloud plans here. And you can use this online calculator to learn the cost of ownership in your particular case.

50 UsersStandard (Monthly/Annually)Premium (Monthly/Annually)
Jira Software$387.50 / $3,900$762.50 / $7,650
Jira Work Management$250 / $2,500❌
Jira Service Management$866.25 / $8,650$2,138.25 / $21,500
Confluence$287.50 / $2,900$550 / $5,500
100 UsersStandard (Monthly/Annually)Premium (Monthly/Annually)
Jira Software$775 / $7,750$1,525 / $15,250
Jira Work Management$500 / $5,000❌
Jira Service Management$1,653.75 / $16,550$4,185.75 / $42,000
Confluence$575 / $5,750$1,100 / $11,000
500 UsersStandard (Monthly/Annually)Premium (Monthly/Annually)
Jira Software$3,140 / $31,500$5,107.50 / $51,000 
Jira Work Management$1,850 / $18,500❌
Jira Service Management$4,541.25 / $45,400$11,693.25 / $117,000
Confluence$2,060 / $20,500$3,780 / $37,800

Please note that these prices were calculated without any apps included. 

Jira Data Center starts at $42,000 per year and the plan includes up to 500 users. If you are a new client and are not eligible for any discounts*, here’s a chart that should give you an idea as to the cost of ownership of Jira DC. You can find more information regarding your specific case here.

UsersCommercial Annual PlanAcademic Annual Plan
1-500USD 42,000USD 21,000
501-1000USD 72,000USD 36,000
1001-2000USD 120,000USD 60,000
Confluence for Data Center  
1-500USD 27,000USD 13,500
501-1000USD 48,000USD 24,000
1001-2000USD 84,000USD 42,000
Bitbucket for Data Center  
1-25USD 2,300USD 1,150
26-50USD 4,200USD 2,100
51-100USD 7,600USD 3,800
Jira Service Management for Data Center  
1-50USD 17,200USD 8,600
51-100USD 28,600USD 14,300
101-250USD 51,500USD 25,750

*Discounts:

  • Centralized per-user licensing allows users access all enterprise instances with a single Enterprise license.
  • There’s an option for dual licensing for users who purchase an annual cloud subscription with 1,001 or more users. In this case, Atlassian extends your existing server maintenance or Data Center subscription for up to one year at a 100% discount.
  • There are certain discounts for apps depending on your partnership level.
  • Depending on your situation, you may qualify for several Jira Data Center discount programs:

What should be your User Migration strategy?

Originally, there were several migration methods: Jira Cloud Migration Assistant, Jira Cloud Site Import, and there was an option to migrate via CSV export (though Jira actively discourages you from using this method). However, Jira’s team has focused their efforts on improving the Migration Assistant and have chosen to discontinue Cloud Site Import support.

Thanks to the broadened functionality of the assistant, it is now the only go-to method for migration with just one exception. If you are migrating over 1000 users and you absolutely need to migrate advanced roadmaps – you’ll need to rely on Site Import. At least for now, as Jira is actively working on implementing this feature in their assistant.

Here’s a quick comparison of the options and their limitations.

 FeaturesLimitations
Cloud Migration AssistantApp migration

Existing data on a Cloud Site is not overwritten

You choose the projects, users, and groups you want to migrate

Jira Service Management customer account migration

Better UI to guide you through the migration

Potential migration errors are displayed in advance

Migration can be done in phases reducing the downtime

Pre- and post-migration reports
You must be on a supported self-managed version of Jira
Site ExportCan migrate Advanced RoadmapsApp data is not migrated

Migration overrides existing data on the Cloud site

Separate user importUsers from external directories are not migrated

No choice of data you want or don’t want migrated

There’s a need to split attachments into up to 5GB chunks

Higher risks of downtime due to the “all or nothing” approach

You must be on a supported self-managed version of Jira

Pro tip: If you have a large base of users (above 2000), migrate them before you migrate projects and spaces. This way, you will not disrupt the workflow as users are still working on Server and the latter migration of data will take less time. 

How to migrate to Jira Cloud

Now that we have settled on one particular offering based on available pricing models as well as the pros and the cons that matter the most to your organization, let’s talk about the “how”. 

How does one migrate from Jira Server to Jira Cloud?

Pre-migration checklist

Jira’s Cloud Migration Assistant is a handy tool. It will automatically review your data for common errors. But it is incapable of doing all of the work for you. That’s why we – and Atlassian for that matter – recommend creating a pre-migration checklist.   

Smart Checklist will help you craft an actionable, context-rich checklist directly inside a Jira ticket. This way, none of the tasks will be missed, lost, or abandoned. 

Below is an example of how your migration checklist will look like in Jira. 

Feel free to copy the code and paste it into your Smart Checklist editor and you’ll have the checklist at the ready. 

# Create a user migration plan #must
> Please keep in mind that Jira Cloud Migration Assistant migrates all users and groups as well as users and groups related to selected projects
- Sync your user base
- Verify synchronization
- External users sync verification
- Active external directory verification
## Check your Jira Server version #must
- Verify via user interface or Support Zip Product Version Verification
> Jira Migration Assistant will not work unless Jira is running on a supported version
## Fix any duplicate email addresses #must
- Verify using SQL
> Duplicate email addresses are not supported by Jira Cloud and therefore can't be migrated with the Jira Cloud Migration Assistant. To avoid errors, you should find and fix any duplicate email addresses before migration. If user information is managed in an LDAP Server, you will need to update emails there and sync with Jira before the migration. If user information is managed locally, you can fix them through the Jira Server or Data Center user interface.
## Make sure you have the necessary permissions #must
- System Admin global permissions on the Server instance
- Exists in the target Cloud site
- Site Administrator Permission in the cloud
## Check for conflicts with group names #must
- Make sure that the groups in your Cloud Site don't have the same names as groups in Server
> Unless you are actively trying to merge them
- Delete or update add-on users so not to cause migration issues
- Verify via SQL
## Update firewall allowance rules #must
- None of the domains should be blocked by firewall or proxy
## Find a way to migrate apps #must
- Contact app vendors
## Check public access settings #must
- Projects
- Filters
- Filters
- Boards
- Dashboards
## Review server setup #mst
- at least 4gb Heap Allocation
- Open Files limit review
- Verify via support zip
## Check Server timezone #must for merging Cloud sites
- Switch to UTC is using any other timezone
> Add a system flag to the Jira Server instance -Duser.timezone=UTC as outlined in this article about updating documentation to include timezone details.
## Fix any duplicate shared configuration
## Storage limits
## Prepare the server instance
- Check data status
- All fields have value and are not null
-Any archived projects you wish to migrate are activated
## Prepare your cloud site
- Same Jira products enabled
- Same language
- User migration strategy
## Data backup
- Backup Jira Server site
- Backup Cloud site
## Run a test migration
- Done
## Notify Jira support
- Get in touch with Jira migration support

Use backups

On the one hand, having all of your Jira products on a server may seem like a backup in and of itself. On the other hand, there are data migration best practices we should follow even if it’s just a precaution. No one has ever felt sorry for their data being too safe. 

In addition, there are certain types of migration errors that can be resolved much faster with having a backup at hand. 

  1. Jira Server Database backup: this step creates a DB backup in an XML format.
    1. Log in with Jira System Admin permissions
    2. Go to system -> Import and Export -> Backup Manager -> Backup for server.
    3. Click the create Backup for server button. 
    4. Type in the name for your backup. 
    5. Jira will create a zipped XML file and notify you once the backup is ready. 

  1. Jira Cloud Backup: This backup also saves your data in an XML format. The process is quite similar to creating a Jira Server backup with the only difference taking place on the Backups page.
    1. Select the option to save your attachments, logos, and avatars.
    2. Click on the Create backup button. 

  1. As you can see, the Cloud backup includes the option to save attachments, avatars, and logos. This step should be done manually when backing up Server data.
    1. Create a Zip archive for this data
    2. Make sure it follows the structure suggested by Atlassian

Migrating your Jira instance to the cloud via the Jira Migration Assistant

Jira Cloud Migration Assistant is a free add-on Atlassian recommends using when migrating to the cloud. It accesses and evaluates your apps and helps migrate multiple projects. 

Overall, the migration assistant offers a more stable and reliable migration experience. It automatically checks for certain errors. It makes sure all users have unique and valid emails, and makes sure that none of the project names and keys conflict with one another. 

This is a step-by-step guide for importing your Jira Server data backup file into Jira Cloud.

  1. Log into Jira Cloud with admin permissions
  2. Go to System -> Import and Export -> External System Import
  3. Click on the Jira Server import option

  1. Select the backup Zip you have created 
  2. Jira will check the file for errors and present you with two options: enable or disable outgoing mail. Don’t worry, you will be able to change this section after the migration process is complete. 
  3. Then you will be presented with an option to merge Jira Server and Jira Cloud users
    1. Choosing overwrite will replace the users with users from the imported files
    2. The merge option will merge groups with the same name
    3. Lastly, you can select the third option if you are migrating users via Jira’s assistant
  4. Run the import

How do you migrate Jira Server into Jira DC?

Before we can proceed with the migration process, please make sure you meet the following prerequisites:

  1. Make sure you are installing Jira on one of the supported platforms. Atlassian has a list of supported platforms for Jira 9.1.
  2. Make sure the applications you are using are compatible with Jira DC. You will be required to switch to datacenter-compatible versions of your applications (they must be available). 
  3. Make sure you meet the necessary software and hardware requirements:
    1. You have a DC license
    2. You are using a supported database, OS, and Java version
    3. You are using OAuth authentication if your application links to other Atlassian products

Once you are certain you are ready to migrate your Jira Server to Jira Data Center, you can proceed with an installation that’s much simpler than one would expect.

  1. Upgrade your apps to be compatible with Jira DC
  2. Go to Administration -> Applications -> Versions and licenses
  3. Enter your Jira DC License Key
  4. Restart Jira

That’s it. You are all set. Well, unless your organization has specific needs such as continuous uptime, performance under heavy loads, and scalability, in which case you will need to set up a server cluster. You can find out more about setting up server clusters in this guide.  

Chloe  Butler

Chloe Butler

1667425440

Pdf2gerb: Perl Script Converts PDF Files to Gerber format

pdf2gerb

Perl script converts PDF files to Gerber format

Pdf2Gerb generates Gerber 274X photoplotting and Excellon drill files from PDFs of a PCB. Up to three PDFs are used: the top copper layer, the bottom copper layer (for 2-sided PCBs), and an optional silk screen layer. The PDFs can be created directly from any PDF drawing software, or a PDF print driver can be used to capture the Print output if the drawing software does not directly support output to PDF.

The general workflow is as follows:

  1. Design the PCB using your favorite CAD or drawing software.
  2. Print the top and bottom copper and top silk screen layers to a PDF file.
  3. Run Pdf2Gerb on the PDFs to create Gerber and Excellon files.
  4. Use a Gerber viewer to double-check the output against the original PCB design.
  5. Make adjustments as needed.
  6. Submit the files to a PCB manufacturer.

Please note that Pdf2Gerb does NOT perform DRC (Design Rule Checks), as these will vary according to individual PCB manufacturer conventions and capabilities. Also note that Pdf2Gerb is not perfect, so the output files must always be checked before submitting them. As of version 1.6, Pdf2Gerb supports most PCB elements, such as round and square pads, round holes, traces, SMD pads, ground planes, no-fill areas, and panelization. However, because it interprets the graphical output of a Print function, there are limitations in what it can recognize (or there may be bugs).

See docs/Pdf2Gerb.pdf for install/setup, config, usage, and other info.


pdf2gerb_cfg.pm

#Pdf2Gerb config settings:
#Put this file in same folder/directory as pdf2gerb.pl itself (global settings),
#or copy to another folder/directory with PDFs if you want PCB-specific settings.
#There is only one user of this file, so we don't need a custom package or namespace.
#NOTE: all constants defined in here will be added to main namespace.
#package pdf2gerb_cfg;

use strict; #trap undef vars (easier debug)
use warnings; #other useful info (easier debug)


##############################################################################################
#configurable settings:
#change values here instead of in main pfg2gerb.pl file

use constant WANT_COLORS => ($^O !~ m/Win/); #ANSI colors no worky on Windows? this must be set < first DebugPrint() call

#just a little warning; set realistic expectations:
#DebugPrint("${\(CYAN)}Pdf2Gerb.pl ${\(VERSION)}, $^O O/S\n${\(YELLOW)}${\(BOLD)}${\(ITALIC)}This is EXPERIMENTAL software.  \nGerber files MAY CONTAIN ERRORS.  Please CHECK them before fabrication!${\(RESET)}", 0); #if WANT_DEBUG

use constant METRIC => FALSE; #set to TRUE for metric units (only affect final numbers in output files, not internal arithmetic)
use constant APERTURE_LIMIT => 0; #34; #max #apertures to use; generate warnings if too many apertures are used (0 to not check)
use constant DRILL_FMT => '2.4'; #'2.3'; #'2.4' is the default for PCB fab; change to '2.3' for CNC

use constant WANT_DEBUG => 0; #10; #level of debug wanted; higher == more, lower == less, 0 == none
use constant GERBER_DEBUG => 0; #level of debug to include in Gerber file; DON'T USE FOR FABRICATION
use constant WANT_STREAMS => FALSE; #TRUE; #save decompressed streams to files (for debug)
use constant WANT_ALLINPUT => FALSE; #TRUE; #save entire input stream (for debug ONLY)

#DebugPrint(sprintf("${\(CYAN)}DEBUG: stdout %d, gerber %d, want streams? %d, all input? %d, O/S: $^O, Perl: $]${\(RESET)}\n", WANT_DEBUG, GERBER_DEBUG, WANT_STREAMS, WANT_ALLINPUT), 1);
#DebugPrint(sprintf("max int = %d, min int = %d\n", MAXINT, MININT), 1); 

#define standard trace and pad sizes to reduce scaling or PDF rendering errors:
#This avoids weird aperture settings and replaces them with more standardized values.
#(I'm not sure how photoplotters handle strange sizes).
#Fewer choices here gives more accurate mapping in the final Gerber files.
#units are in inches
use constant TOOL_SIZES => #add more as desired
(
#round or square pads (> 0) and drills (< 0):
    .010, -.001,  #tiny pads for SMD; dummy drill size (too small for practical use, but needed so StandardTool will use this entry)
    .031, -.014,  #used for vias
    .041, -.020,  #smallest non-filled plated hole
    .051, -.025,
    .056, -.029,  #useful for IC pins
    .070, -.033,
    .075, -.040,  #heavier leads
#    .090, -.043,  #NOTE: 600 dpi is not high enough resolution to reliably distinguish between .043" and .046", so choose 1 of the 2 here
    .100, -.046,
    .115, -.052,
    .130, -.061,
    .140, -.067,
    .150, -.079,
    .175, -.088,
    .190, -.093,
    .200, -.100,
    .220, -.110,
    .160, -.125,  #useful for mounting holes
#some additional pad sizes without holes (repeat a previous hole size if you just want the pad size):
    .090, -.040,  #want a .090 pad option, but use dummy hole size
    .065, -.040, #.065 x .065 rect pad
    .035, -.040, #.035 x .065 rect pad
#traces:
    .001,  #too thin for real traces; use only for board outlines
    .006,  #minimum real trace width; mainly used for text
    .008,  #mainly used for mid-sized text, not traces
    .010,  #minimum recommended trace width for low-current signals
    .012,
    .015,  #moderate low-voltage current
    .020,  #heavier trace for power, ground (even if a lighter one is adequate)
    .025,
    .030,  #heavy-current traces; be careful with these ones!
    .040,
    .050,
    .060,
    .080,
    .100,
    .120,
);
#Areas larger than the values below will be filled with parallel lines:
#This cuts down on the number of aperture sizes used.
#Set to 0 to always use an aperture or drill, regardless of size.
use constant { MAX_APERTURE => max((TOOL_SIZES)) + .004, MAX_DRILL => -min((TOOL_SIZES)) + .004 }; #max aperture and drill sizes (plus a little tolerance)
#DebugPrint(sprintf("using %d standard tool sizes: %s, max aper %.3f, max drill %.3f\n", scalar((TOOL_SIZES)), join(", ", (TOOL_SIZES)), MAX_APERTURE, MAX_DRILL), 1);

#NOTE: Compare the PDF to the original CAD file to check the accuracy of the PDF rendering and parsing!
#for example, the CAD software I used generated the following circles for holes:
#CAD hole size:   parsed PDF diameter:      error:
#  .014                .016                +.002
#  .020                .02267              +.00267
#  .025                .026                +.001
#  .029                .03167              +.00267
#  .033                .036                +.003
#  .040                .04267              +.00267
#This was usually ~ .002" - .003" too big compared to the hole as displayed in the CAD software.
#To compensate for PDF rendering errors (either during CAD Print function or PDF parsing logic), adjust the values below as needed.
#units are pixels; for example, a value of 2.4 at 600 dpi = .0004 inch, 2 at 600 dpi = .0033"
use constant
{
    HOLE_ADJUST => -0.004 * 600, #-2.6, #holes seemed to be slightly oversized (by .002" - .004"), so shrink them a little
    RNDPAD_ADJUST => -0.003 * 600, #-2, #-2.4, #round pads seemed to be slightly oversized, so shrink them a little
    SQRPAD_ADJUST => +0.001 * 600, #+.5, #square pads are sometimes too small by .00067, so bump them up a little
    RECTPAD_ADJUST => 0, #(pixels) rectangular pads seem to be okay? (not tested much)
    TRACE_ADJUST => 0, #(pixels) traces seemed to be okay?
    REDUCE_TOLERANCE => .001, #(inches) allow this much variation when reducing circles and rects
};

#Also, my CAD's Print function or the PDF print driver I used was a little off for circles, so define some additional adjustment values here:
#Values are added to X/Y coordinates; units are pixels; for example, a value of 1 at 600 dpi would be ~= .002 inch
use constant
{
    CIRCLE_ADJUST_MINX => 0,
    CIRCLE_ADJUST_MINY => -0.001 * 600, #-1, #circles were a little too high, so nudge them a little lower
    CIRCLE_ADJUST_MAXX => +0.001 * 600, #+1, #circles were a little too far to the left, so nudge them a little to the right
    CIRCLE_ADJUST_MAXY => 0,
    SUBST_CIRCLE_CLIPRECT => FALSE, #generate circle and substitute for clip rects (to compensate for the way some CAD software draws circles)
    WANT_CLIPRECT => TRUE, #FALSE, #AI doesn't need clip rect at all? should be on normally?
    RECT_COMPLETION => FALSE, #TRUE, #fill in 4th side of rect when 3 sides found
};

#allow .012 clearance around pads for solder mask:
#This value effectively adjusts pad sizes in the TOOL_SIZES list above (only for solder mask layers).
use constant SOLDER_MARGIN => +.012; #units are inches

#line join/cap styles:
use constant
{
    CAP_NONE => 0, #butt (none); line is exact length
    CAP_ROUND => 1, #round cap/join; line overhangs by a semi-circle at either end
    CAP_SQUARE => 2, #square cap/join; line overhangs by a half square on either end
    CAP_OVERRIDE => FALSE, #cap style overrides drawing logic
};
    
#number of elements in each shape type:
use constant
{
    RECT_SHAPELEN => 6, #x0, y0, x1, y1, count, "rect" (start, end corners)
    LINE_SHAPELEN => 6, #x0, y0, x1, y1, count, "line" (line seg)
    CURVE_SHAPELEN => 10, #xstart, ystart, x0, y0, x1, y1, xend, yend, count, "curve" (bezier 2 points)
    CIRCLE_SHAPELEN => 5, #x, y, 5, count, "circle" (center + radius)
};
#const my %SHAPELEN =
#Readonly my %SHAPELEN =>
our %SHAPELEN =
(
    rect => RECT_SHAPELEN,
    line => LINE_SHAPELEN,
    curve => CURVE_SHAPELEN,
    circle => CIRCLE_SHAPELEN,
);

#panelization:
#This will repeat the entire body the number of times indicated along the X or Y axes (files grow accordingly).
#Display elements that overhang PCB boundary can be squashed or left as-is (typically text or other silk screen markings).
#Set "overhangs" TRUE to allow overhangs, FALSE to truncate them.
#xpad and ypad allow margins to be added around outer edge of panelized PCB.
use constant PANELIZE => {'x' => 1, 'y' => 1, 'xpad' => 0, 'ypad' => 0, 'overhangs' => TRUE}; #number of times to repeat in X and Y directions

# Set this to 1 if you need TurboCAD support.
#$turboCAD = FALSE; #is this still needed as an option?

#CIRCAD pad generation uses an appropriate aperture, then moves it (stroke) "a little" - we use this to find pads and distinguish them from PCB holes. 
use constant PAD_STROKE => 0.3; #0.0005 * 600; #units are pixels
#convert very short traces to pads or holes:
use constant TRACE_MINLEN => .001; #units are inches
#use constant ALWAYS_XY => TRUE; #FALSE; #force XY even if X or Y doesn't change; NOTE: needs to be TRUE for all pads to show in FlatCAM and ViewPlot
use constant REMOVE_POLARITY => FALSE; #TRUE; #set to remove subtractive (negative) polarity; NOTE: must be FALSE for ground planes

#PDF uses "points", each point = 1/72 inch
#combined with a PDF scale factor of .12, this gives 600 dpi resolution (1/72 * .12 = 600 dpi)
use constant INCHES_PER_POINT => 1/72; #0.0138888889; #multiply point-size by this to get inches

# The precision used when computing a bezier curve. Higher numbers are more precise but slower (and generate larger files).
#$bezierPrecision = 100;
use constant BEZIER_PRECISION => 36; #100; #use const; reduced for faster rendering (mainly used for silk screen and thermal pads)

# Ground planes and silk screen or larger copper rectangles or circles are filled line-by-line using this resolution.
use constant FILL_WIDTH => .01; #fill at most 0.01 inch at a time

# The max number of characters to read into memory
use constant MAX_BYTES => 10 * M; #bumped up to 10 MB, use const

use constant DUP_DRILL1 => TRUE; #FALSE; #kludge: ViewPlot doesn't load drill files that are too small so duplicate first tool

my $runtime = time(); #Time::HiRes::gettimeofday(); #measure my execution time

print STDERR "Loaded config settings from '${\(__FILE__)}'.\n";
1; #last value must be truthful to indicate successful load


#############################################################################################
#junk/experiment:

#use Package::Constants;
#use Exporter qw(import); #https://perldoc.perl.org/Exporter.html

#my $caller = "pdf2gerb::";

#sub cfg
#{
#    my $proto = shift;
#    my $class = ref($proto) || $proto;
#    my $settings =
#    {
#        $WANT_DEBUG => 990, #10; #level of debug wanted; higher == more, lower == less, 0 == none
#    };
#    bless($settings, $class);
#    return $settings;
#}

#use constant HELLO => "hi there2"; #"main::HELLO" => "hi there";
#use constant GOODBYE => 14; #"main::GOODBYE" => 12;

#print STDERR "read cfg file\n";

#our @EXPORT_OK = Package::Constants->list(__PACKAGE__); #https://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=1072691; NOTE: "_OK" skips short/common names

#print STDERR scalar(@EXPORT_OK) . " consts exported:\n";
#foreach(@EXPORT_OK) { print STDERR "$_\n"; }
#my $val = main::thing("xyz");
#print STDERR "caller gave me $val\n";
#foreach my $arg (@ARGV) { print STDERR "arg $arg\n"; }

Download Details:

Author: swannman
Source Code: https://github.com/swannman/pdf2gerb

License: GPL-3.0 license

#perl 

Why Use WordPress? What Can You Do With WordPress?

Can you use WordPress for anything other than blogging? To your surprise, yes. WordPress is more than just a blogging tool, and it has helped thousands of websites and web applications to thrive. The use of WordPress powers around 40% of online projects, and today in our blog, we would visit some amazing uses of WordPress other than blogging.
What Is The Use Of WordPress?

WordPress is the most popular website platform in the world. It is the first choice of businesses that want to set a feature-rich and dynamic Content Management System. So, if you ask what WordPress is used for, the answer is – everything. It is a super-flexible, feature-rich and secure platform that offers everything to build unique websites and applications. Let’s start knowing them:

1. Multiple Websites Under A Single Installation
WordPress Multisite allows you to develop multiple sites from a single WordPress installation. You can download WordPress and start building websites you want to launch under a single server. Literally speaking, you can handle hundreds of sites from one single dashboard, which now needs applause.
It is a highly efficient platform that allows you to easily run several websites under the same login credentials. One of the best things about WordPress is the themes it has to offer. You can simply download them and plugin for various sites and save space on sites without losing their speed.

2. WordPress Social Network
WordPress can be used for high-end projects such as Social Media Network. If you don’t have the money and patience to hire a coder and invest months in building a feature-rich social media site, go for WordPress. It is one of the most amazing uses of WordPress. Its stunning CMS is unbeatable. And you can build sites as good as Facebook or Reddit etc. It can just make the process a lot easier.
To set up a social media network, you would have to download a WordPress Plugin called BuddyPress. It would allow you to connect a community page with ease and would provide all the necessary features of a community or social media. It has direct messaging, activity stream, user groups, extended profiles, and so much more. You just have to download and configure it.
If BuddyPress doesn’t meet all your needs, don’t give up on your dreams. You can try out WP Symposium or PeepSo. There are also several themes you can use to build a social network.

3. Create A Forum For Your Brand’s Community
Communities are very important for your business. They help you stay in constant connection with your users and consumers. And allow you to turn them into a loyal customer base. Meanwhile, there are many good technologies that can be used for building a community page – the good old WordPress is still the best.
It is the best community development technology. If you want to build your online community, you need to consider all the amazing features you get with WordPress. Plugins such as BB Press is an open-source, template-driven PHP/ MySQL forum software. It is very simple and doesn’t hamper the experience of the website.
Other tools such as wpFoRo and Asgaros Forum are equally good for creating a community blog. They are lightweight tools that are easy to manage and integrate with your WordPress site easily. However, there is only one tiny problem; you need to have some technical knowledge to build a WordPress Community blog page.

4. Shortcodes
Since we gave you a problem in the previous section, we would also give you a perfect solution for it. You might not know to code, but you have shortcodes. Shortcodes help you execute functions without having to code. It is an easy way to build an amazing website, add new features, customize plugins easily. They are short lines of code, and rather than memorizing multiple lines; you can have zero technical knowledge and start building a feature-rich website or application.
There are also plugins like Shortcoder, Shortcodes Ultimate, and the Basics available on WordPress that can be used, and you would not even have to remember the shortcodes.

5. Build Online Stores
If you still think about why to use WordPress, use it to build an online store. You can start selling your goods online and start selling. It is an affordable technology that helps you build a feature-rich eCommerce store with WordPress.
WooCommerce is an extension of WordPress and is one of the most used eCommerce solutions. WooCommerce holds a 28% share of the global market and is one of the best ways to set up an online store. It allows you to build user-friendly and professional online stores and has thousands of free and paid extensions. Moreover as an open-source platform, and you don’t have to pay for the license.
Apart from WooCommerce, there are Easy Digital Downloads, iThemes Exchange, Shopify eCommerce plugin, and so much more available.

6. Security Features
WordPress takes security very seriously. It offers tons of external solutions that help you in safeguarding your WordPress site. While there is no way to ensure 100% security, it provides regular updates with security patches and provides several plugins to help with backups, two-factor authorization, and more.
By choosing hosting providers like WP Engine, you can improve the security of the website. It helps in threat detection, manage patching and updates, and internal security audits for the customers, and so much more.

Read More

#use of wordpress #use wordpress for business website #use wordpress for website #what is use of wordpress #why use wordpress #why use wordpress to build a website

Nat  Grady

Nat Grady

1660108440

Wordcloud2: R interface to Wordcloud for Data Visualization

wordcloud2

R interface to wordcloud for data visualization. Timdream's wordcloud2.js is used in this package.

Original description

Installation

devtools::install_github("lchiffon/wordcloud2")

knitr and shiny is support in wordcloud2 package.

Example

library(wordcloud2)
wordcloud2(demoFreq, size = 1,shape = 'star')

1

wordcloud2(demoFreq, size = 2, minRotation = -pi/2, maxRotation = -pi/2)

1

wordcloud2(demoFreq, size = 2, minRotation = -pi/6, maxRotation = -pi/6,
  rotateRatio = 1)

1

Chinese version

## Sys.setlocale("LC_CTYPE","eng")
wordcloud2(demoFreqC, size = 2, fontFamily = "微软雅黑",
           color = "random-light", backgroundColor = "grey")

1

Example of successfully deploying interactivate clickable wordcloud with special shape on R-shiny

Thanks JacobXPX's contribution to this feature:

Thanks AdamSpannbauer for pointing out the issues.

Additional features are added or modified:

hover information display are fixed, refering AdeelK93's previous work, thanks!

multiple wordclouds which seperatedly click are supported.

clickedWordInputId is changed to be automatically generated by: paste0(outputId, "_clicked_word")).

See sample below for more details:

library(shiny)
library(wordcloud2)
shinyApp(
  ui=shinyUI(fluidPage(
    #using default clicked word input id
    wordcloud2Output("my_wc", width = "50%", height = "400px"),
    #using custom clicked word input id
    wordcloud2Output("my_wc2", width = "50%", height = "400px"),
    
    verbatimTextOutput("print"),
    verbatimTextOutput("print2")
  )),
  server=shinyServer(function(input,output,session){
    
    figPath = system.file("examples/a.png",package = "wordcloud2")
    
    output$my_wc  = renderWordcloud2(wordcloud2(data = demoFreq, figPath = figPath, size = 0.4,color = "blue"))
    output$my_wc2 = renderWordcloud2(wordcloud2(demoFreq))
    
    #using default clicked word input id
    output$print  = renderPrint(input$my_wc_clicked_word)
    #using custom clicked word input id
    output$print2 = renderPrint(input$my_wc2_clicked_word)
  })
)

run the above code and click refresh, it will work.

1

contributors

Download Details:

Author: Lchiffon
Source Code: https://github.com/Lchiffon/wordcloud2 

#r #datavisualization 

Josefa  Corwin

Josefa Corwin

1659736920

Mailboxer: A Rails Gem to Send Messages inside A Web Application

Mailboxer

This project is based on the need for a private message system for ging / social_stream. Instead of creating our core message system heavily dependent on our development, we are trying to implement a generic and potent messaging gem.

After looking for a good gem to use we noticed the lack of messaging gems and functionality in them. Mailboxer tries to fill this void delivering a powerful and flexible message system. It supports the use of conversations with two or more participants, sending notifications to recipients (intended to be used as system notifications “Your picture has new comments”, “John Doe has updated his document”, etc.), and emailing the messageable model (if configured to do so). It has a complete implementation of a Mailbox object for each messageable with inbox, sentbox and trash.

The gem is constantly growing and improving its functionality. As it is used with our parallel development ging / social_stream we are finding and fixing bugs continously. If you want some functionality not supported yet or marked as TODO, you can create an issue to ask for it. It will be great feedback for us, and we will know what you may find useful in the gem.

Mailboxer was born from the great, but outdated, code from lpsergi / acts_as_messageable.

We are now working to make exhaustive documentation and some wiki pages in order to make it even easier to use the gem to its full potential. Please, give us some time if you find something missing or ask for it. You can also find us on the Gitter room for this repo. Join us there to talk.

Installation

Add to your Gemfile:

gem 'mailboxer'

Then run:

$ bundle install

Run install script:

$ rails g mailboxer:install

And don't forget to migrate your database:

$ rake db:migrate

You can also generate email views:

$ rails g mailboxer:views

Upgrading

If upgrading from 0.11.0 to 0.12.0, run the following generators:

$ rails generate mailboxer:namespacing_compatibility
$ rails generate mailboxer:install -s

Then, migrate your database:

$ rake db:migrate

Requirements & Settings

Emails

We are now adding support for sending emails when a Notification or a Message is sent to one or more recipients. You should modify the mailboxer initializer (/config/initializer/mailboxer.rb) to edit these settings:

Mailboxer.setup do |config|
  #Enables or disables email sending for Notifications and Messages
  config.uses_emails = true
  #Configures the default `from` address for the email sent for Messages and Notifications of Mailboxer
  config.default_from = "no-reply@dit.upm.es"
  ...
end

You can change the way in which emails are delivered by specifying a custom implementation of notification and message mailers:

Mailboxer.setup do |config|
  config.notification_mailer = CustomNotificationMailer
  config.message_mailer = CustomMessageMailer
  ...
end

If you have subclassed the Mailboxer::Notification class, you can specify the mailers using a member method:

class NewDocumentNotification < Mailboxer::Notification
  def mailer_class
    NewDocumentNotificationMailer
  end
end

class NewCommentNotification < Mailboxer::Notification
  def mailer_class
    NewDocumentNotificationMailer
  end
end

Otherwise, the mailer class will be determined by appending 'Mailer' to the mailable class name.

User identities

Users must have an identity defined by a name and an email. We must ensure that Messageable models have some specific methods. These methods are:

#Returning any kind of identification you want for the model
def name
  return "You should add method :name in your Messageable model"
end
#Returning the email address of the model if an email should be sent for this object (Message or Notification).
#If no mail has to be sent, return nil.
def mailboxer_email(object)
  #Check if an email should be sent for that object
  #if true
  return "define_email@on_your.model"
  #if false
  #return nil
end

These names are explicit enough to avoid colliding with other methods, but as long as you need to change them you can do it by using mailboxer initializer (/config/initializer/mailboxer.rb). Just add or uncomment the following lines:

Mailboxer.setup do |config|
  # ...
  #Configures the methods needed by mailboxer
  config.email_method = :mailboxer_email
  config.name_method = :name
  config.notify_method = :notify
  # ...
end

You may change whatever you want or need. For example:

config.email_method = :notification_email
config.name_method = :display_name
config.notify_method = :notify_mailboxer

Will use the method notification_email(object) instead of mailboxer_email(object), display_name for name and notify_mailboxer for notify.

Using default or custom method names, if your model doesn't implement them, Mailboxer will use dummy methods so as to notify you of missing methods rather than crashing.

Preparing your models

In your model:

class User < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_messageable
end

You are not limited to the User model. You can use Mailboxer in any other model and use it in several different models. If you have ducks and cylons in your application and you want to exchange messages as if they were the same, just add acts_as_messageable to each one and you will be able to send duck-duck, duck-cylon, cylon-duck and cylon-cylon messages. Of course, you can extend it for as many classes as you need.

Example:

class Duck < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_messageable
end
class Cylon < ActiveRecord::Base
  acts_as_messageable
end

Mailboxer API

Warning for version 0.8.0

Version 0.8.0 sees Messageable#read and Messageable#unread renamed to mark_as_(un)read, and Receipt#read and Receipt#unread to is_(un)read. This may break existing applications, but read is a reserved name for Active Record, and the best pratice in this case is simply avoid using it.

How can I send a message?

#alfa wants to send a message to beta
alfa.send_message(beta, "Body", "subject")

How can I read the messages of a conversation?

As a messageable, what you receive are receipts, which are associated with the message itself. You should retrieve your receipts for the conversation and get the message associated with them.

This is done this way because receipts save the information about the relation between messageable and the messages: is it read?, is it trashed?, etc.

#alfa gets the last conversation (chronologically, the first in the inbox)
conversation = alfa.mailbox.inbox.first

#alfa gets it receipts chronologically ordered.
receipts = conversation.receipts_for alfa

#using the receipts (i.e. in the view)
receipts.each do |receipt|
  ...
  message = receipt.message
  read = receipt.is_unread? #or message.is_unread?(alfa)
  ...
end

How can I reply to a message?

#alfa wants to reply to all in a conversation
#using a receipt
alfa.reply_to_all(receipt, "Reply body")

#using a conversation
alfa.reply_to_conversation(conversation, "Reply body")
#alfa wants to reply to the sender of a message (and ONLY the sender)
#using a receipt
alfa.reply_to_sender(receipt, "Reply body")

How can I delete a message from trash?

#delete conversations forever for one receipt (still in database)
receipt.mark_as_deleted

#you can mark conversation as deleted for one participant
conversation.mark_as_deleted participant

#Mark the object as deleted for messageable
#Object can be:
  #* A Receipt
  #* A Conversation
  #* A Notification
  #* A Message
  #* An array with any of them
alfa.mark_as_deleted conversation

# get available message for specific user
conversation.messages_for(alfa)

How can I retrieve my conversations?

#alfa wants to retrieve all his conversations
alfa.mailbox.conversations

#A wants to retrieve his inbox
alfa.mailbox.inbox

#A wants to retrieve his sent conversations
alfa.mailbox.sentbox

#alfa wants to retrieve his trashed conversations
alfa.mailbox.trash

How can I paginate conversations?

You can use Kaminari to paginate the conversations as normal. Please, make sure you use the last version as mailboxer uses select('DISTINCT conversations.*') which was not respected before Kaminari 0.12.4 according to its changelog. Working correctly on Kaminari 0.13.0.

#Paginating all conversations using :page parameter and 9 per page
conversations = alfa.mailbox.conversations.page(params[:page]).per(9)

#Paginating received conversations using :page parameter and 9 per page
conversations = alfa.mailbox.inbox.page(params[:page]).per(9)

#Paginating sent conversations using :page parameter and 9 per page
conversations = alfa.mailbox.sentbox.page(params[:page]).per(9)

#Paginating trashed conversations using :page parameter and 9 per page
conversations = alfa.mailbox.trash.page(params[:page]).per(9)

You can take a look at the full documentation for Mailboxer in rubydoc.info.

Do you want to test Mailboxer?

Thanks to Roman Kushnir (@RKushnir) you can test Mailboxer with this sample app.

I need a GUI!

If you need a GUI you should take a look at these links:

Contributors


Author: mailboxer
Source code: https://github.com/mailboxer/mailboxer
License: MIT license

#ruby  #ruby-on-rails