Re: PCP design and implementations

Hi,

On 2016-12-12 10:33, Nathan Scott wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
>> [...]
>> In the 90s pmview certainly made sense but, quite frankly, I'd rather
>> hope nobody invests time in OS dependent,
> 
> FWIW it works for all platforms PCP works on.  We see many people in the
> Red Hat customer support environment (for example) using pmchart, as it
> far outstrips the functionality of the web tools, is lightweight, and is
> easier to use.  pmview is in a similar boat - for some users, very useful.

I think it's important to keep in mind that the admin/developer/user
laptop / workstation is often completely separate from the platform PCP
runs on and that the world's most popular operating systems are Android,
iOS/OS X, and Windows so if the aim is to make PCP collected data
visualization available to wider audience, tools not available for those
operating systems are not going to be that helpful (although I'm pretty
sure people in Red Hat support use some variant of Linux which allows
them to run pmchart just fine :)

>> non-web based visualization
>> alternatives in 2010s - downloading, installing, and configuring them is
>> cumbersome and may not even be possible in certain environments. Also,
> 
> Sure - but its viable in many environments with very little effort, and
> there is no web alternative today.  *shrug*

Yes, that's the main issue.

>> if the visualization tool doesn't work with mobile / handheld devices
>> then it's completely out of the question for many organizations. And
> 
> Yep, but that's not really the target user base here, with an existing
> tool that is not far from fully functional.

I don't see a reason why to limit the target user base interested in
visualization to the platforms where PCP collects metrics.

> However, the one does not preclude the other.  Some people like to hack on
> non-browser-based code, like python, C or C++ - for those folk, its a nice
> little project that will certainly see some use.  No need to be negative
> toward such people, we can encourage both groups involvement.

Perhaps the other Marko who raised the issue could clarify a bit his
main concerns with visualization but from what I've seen, visualization
on non-Linux platforms among larger teams is the number one issue
preventing PCP's further adoption. If there are no shortage of developer
cycles on this front then it's of course perfectly fine to develop both
but as a project I think PCP should today emphasize web based
visualization tools.

> So I encourage you to jump in and hack on your preferred browser solution,
> but don't discourage people who might want to take the small step towards
> a working pmview as well.  We need folk with these skills to maintain the
> core of PCP, which funnily enough, is platform-dependent code that doesn't
> run in a browser.

See above.

Cheers,

-- 
Marko Myllynen

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
pcp mailing list
[email protected]
https://groups.io/g/pcp/messages
-=-=-
Groups.io Links:

You receive all messages sent to this group.

View/Reply Online (#14888): https://groups.io/g/pcp/message/14888
View All Messages In Topic (9): https://groups.io/g/pcp/topic/3287116
Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/3287116?uid=174580
New Topic: https://groups.io/g/pcp/post

Change Your Subscription: https://groups.io/g/pcp/editsub?uid=174580

Group Home: https://groups.io/g/pcp
Contact Group Owner: [email protected]

Terms of Service: https://groups.io/static/tos

Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/pcp/leave/354243/563757577/xyzzy
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-