[Ctk-developers] Feedback and questions about DataManagement libraries within CTK

[Steve Pieper]

Hi Jc and all -

I'll be curious to hear what others have to say about this too - but I'd say
my first reaction is to wonder if MIDAS 'common' enough (yet) to be part of
CTK?  I know we want to use MIDAS in slicer and ITK, but I wonder if we
could enumerate other potential users who would benefit from having MIDAS
support in CTK to help guide the discussion?

Regarding the idea of an abstracted layer that would support
xnat/midas/ftp/dicom I would say that is harder in practice than I wish it
were.  Love it or Hate it, I have found that DICOM has a lot of unique
aspects that we need to deal with explicitly if we are to present a usable
interface and correctly interpret the image data and other content.  It was
one of the original goals of CTK to improve the ability of our applications
to be more 'correct' in order to better interoperate with the medical
imaging world at large.  Finding the sweet spot between flexibility and ease
of use is hard enough for DICOM alone without adding additional complexity
IMHO :)   If you have an architecture or plan for an abstraction layer it
would be great to discuss.

-Steve





On Fri, Oct 14, 2011 at 12:19 PM, Jean-Christophe Fillion-Robin <
jchris.fillionr at kitware.com> wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> Three month ago, I already talked about possibly adding a DataManagement
> library into CTK.
>
> The aim of that library would be to provide an abstraction for application
> willing to download / upload / browse data available on remote location.
>
> As expressed earlier, we don't want CTK to become a *"Zoo of libraries
> with inconsistent** 'Look and Feel*'" [1]. This is something we are
> considering carefully. You will find below some background facts and
> questions.
>
> * Zach from Kitware has been working a topic branch where he pushed its
> work: https://github.com/zachmullen/CTK/commits/add-midascpp-library
>
> * The MIDAS team is actively developing an application named "MIDASDesktop"
> [2] that depends on CTK, and by extension, also depends on
> CTKDataManagementMidasClient{Core, Widget} libraries.
>
> * CTKDataManagementMidasClient{Core, Widget} libraries do not depend on
> CTKCore or CTKWidgets
>
> * On medium/long term, I envisioned:
>    - to have an abstracted layer that would provide us with a way to
> download/upload/browse data available on either a DICOM Pacs, a Midas
> server, a XNAT server, a FTP server, etc ...  The user would basically input
> a URI and associated with the appropriate ServerType.
>   - that ServerType would corresponds to a plugin providing a specific
> implementation
>   - that an appropriate level of abstraction could be reached especially
> considering the fact that data are "just blob" with associated meta data.
>   - to possibly move DICOM code into, for example, Libs/DataManagement ?
>
> * This *coming Monday*, within Kitware we will do a *one-day hackfest* to
> consolidate this library. To move in the appropriate direction, I am seeking
> your input to help addressing the following questions:
>
>   1) What are your thought regarding the "medium/long term goal" I
> mentioned above ?
>
>   2) As of today, does it make sens to add a library named
> DataManagement/MidasClient into CTK ?
>
>
> This coming Monday, ...
>
> ... if we agree on including such library into CTK: I will work on
> reviewing the library to make sure it meets our standards and coding style
>
> ... If we do NOT reach consensus:I will create a separate project that
> would be hosted on Midas organization.
>
>
> Thanks for your input,
> Jc
>
> Ps: If you reply to that email, make sure to use "reply to all" so that
> Patrick and Zach stay included in this email thread.
>
>
> [1]
> http://public.kitware.com/pipermail/ctk-developers/2011-June/000615.html
> [2] http://www.kitware.com/midaswiki/index.php/MIDASDesktop
>
> --
> +1 919 869 8849
>
>
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>
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