Hi Don,
> Some of our user data comes in tagged with human readable names (eg.,
> with spaces) which we'd like to maintain as is, but which causes
> problems for RealType/ScalarType objects when they hit validateName().
> I guess the question is why are there "reserved" characters for the
> RealType/ScalarType name String's, or alternatively, what would break if
> a name were just any String?
>
> Would this work and are there hidden effects???
This wouldn't work: it would break the code that parses more
general MathType expressions like:
(time -> ((x, y, z) -> (t, p)))
I recommend using underscore "_" in place of spaces in RealType
names. I really dislike the use of spaces in Windows file names,
because of all the trouble they cause with programs that need
file names as arguments.
I believe VisAD includes methods that let you alias RealType
names to other strings that do include special characters.
Perhaps someone who uses these methods can fill you in.
Bill
> /**
> * Throw a <CODE>TypeException</CODE> if the name is invalid.
> *
> * @param name Name to check.
> * @param type Type used in exception message.
> *
> * @exception TypeException If there is a problem with the name.
> */
> public static synchronized void validateName(String name, String type)
> throws TypeException
> {
> if (name == null) {
> throw new TypeException("ScalarType: " + type + " cannot be
> null");
> }
> // if (name.indexOf(".") > -1 ||
> // name.indexOf(" ") > -1 ||
> // name.indexOf("(") > -1 ||
> // name.indexOf(")") > -1) {
> // throw new TypeException("ScalarType: " + type + " cannot contain
> " +
> // "space . ( or ) " + name);
> // }
> if (getScalarTypeByName(name) != null) {
> throw new TypeException("ScalarType: " + type + " already used");
> }
> if (Translations.containsKey(name)) {
> throw new TypeException("ScalarType: " + type + " already used" +
> " as an alias");
> }
> }
>
> thanks... dlf
>
