Release 3.0 Overall Goals

There are several motivations for release 3.0 of Cytoscape, but the overriding theme of the release is to refactor/redesign the code so that things become easier. Things in this case has several specific meanings:

Easier interface for plugin writers to understand and use.
Better modularity or layering making it easier for components of Cytoscape can be used in different contexts.
Clean up/refactor the structure of the existing Cytoscape core so that it can be more easily maintained, modified, and extended in the future.
Make backwards compatibility easier to maintain.
Clean up the user interface so that it's easier for users.

Desired Features

2.6. The primary feature for Cytoscape 3.0 is to do everything that 2.6 does. See [http://cytoscape.org Cytoscape].
Layer Cytoscape. Separate Cytoscape functionality into clearly defined layers or modules. The motivation is to allow alternative users of Cytoscape. For more information read: [:CytoscapeLayerRefactor: RFC 46], [:HeadlessModeRFC:RFC 6], [:WebFrontEnd: RFC 55].
Separate the view from the model. The motivation for this is to use Cytoscape in various headless (or alternatively headed) modes. See: [:HeadlessModeRFC:RFC 6], [:WebFrontEnd: RFC 55].
Command layer. In current versions of cytoscape one of the primary impediments to headless mode operation is the problem that the GUI it tightly coupled with almost all actions available to users (load file, save file, etc.). To solve this, Cytoscape needs a command layer that is cleanly separated from the application (not necessarily the view). This command layer should also be extensible so that plugin writers can add their own commands. See: (write an RFC).
Improved Event handling. Cytoscape currently uses a mish-mash of different events to signal system state changes. This is confusing, error prone, and causes performance problems. We need to develop a simple, clean Cytoscape event handling interface that can be used listen for and fire common events. See: [:EventHandling: RFC 52].
Custom graphics. We would like the ability for plugin writers to be able to define their own shapes and edges to be displayed and integrated into Cytoscape. See: [:RichLineTypes:RFC 32], and (write shape RFC).
Improve build process and package structure. We would like to simplify the build process for cytoscape so that all necessary libraries and plugins can easily be found and built with the core. See: [:DependencyManagement:RFC 44].
Local Attributes. Allow for attributes to be specific to networks in addition to maintaining the current global attributes. See: [:LocalAttributes:RFC 31], [:AttributeNamespaces:RFC 37].

Refactoring Strategy

Rather than rewriting Cytoscape from scratch we intend to refactor the existing code base. Since we already have a working version of Cytoscape that suits many people's needs quite well, a central tenet of the refactoring process will be to maintain a working version of Cytoscape. That means that each time a change is made (i.e. code checked into the trunk), all unit tests should pass and Cytoscape's main functionality should still work. This will be an iterative process with many small changes, rather than a few large ones. The hope is that with this process we will not lose functionality as we make changes.

Rough module refactoring plan

The general plan is to begin by cleaning up the existing code base and modularize what we can while changing as little as possible. The goal is to establish the modules that comprise Cytoscape and the dependencies between them. Once we have a coherent structure of existing code, we can begin redesigning modules to suit our new requirements.

Prepare the existing code base for refactoring.

Fix all deprecation warnings and remove unused code.
Begin building software using maven instead of ant.
Separate existing code into modules.
- Networks
- Attributes
- View
- Layouts
- VizMapper
- IO
- Plugins
Write unit tests.

Once the existing code base has been cleaned up, we can begin our redesign efforts for 3.0. The general strategy will be to work from the bottom up. That is to say, begin with the modules at the base of the dependency graph that all other modules depend on. This means work on Networks and Attributes first, followed by the View and on up through the dependency graph.

Discussions

[:Oct2007SeattleMeeting: Seattle Meeting 2007]
[:CytoscapeRetreat2007/HackathonNotes: Amsterdam Hackathon 2007]
[:Cytoscape_3.0/Model: New Model]
[:Cytoscape_3.0/View: View Layer Proposal]
[:Cytoscape_3.0/HyperEdges: Hyperedges]
[:MavenInfo: Some info for using Maven]

Timeline