Alyx paths relative to root dir

[k1o0]

Problem:
Different computers use different protocols and mount points to access data repositories. The fields in alyx are not general enough to allow users to easily construct an absolute file path for accessing a specific data record.

Suggested solution:
Changing the current fields so that there are 'base paths' for different protocols, e.g. http, smb. These should assume the user mounts or otherwise accesses the data from the root directory so that when combined with the relative path a complete path can be constructed.

@kdharris101 suggested perhaps having a different data repository type, however this would be a many-to-many relationship.

@nsteinme may also have an opinion on this.

[nsteinme]

Is that really the main problem? I thought it's more like just that some part of the path is left out entirely. The folder name "Subjects" is just not represented anywhere. That's separate from the smb drive and mount (\zubjects.cortexlab.net\data) and separate from the relative path (\mouseName...) but you can't get the full path without it.

[kdharris101]

Can we discuss on Thursday’s IBL data group call? From: Nick Steinmetz <[email protected]> Sent: 07 October 2019 17:39 To: cortex-lab/alyx <[email protected]> Cc: Harris, Kenneth <[email protected]>; Mention <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [cortex-lab/alyx] Alyx paths relative to root dir (#600) Is that really the main problem? I thought it's more like just that some part of the path is left out entirely. The folder name "Subjects" is just not represented anywhere. That's separate from the smb drive and mount (\zubjects.cortexlab.net\data) and separate from the relative path (\mouseName...) but you can't get the full path without it. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#600?email_source=notifications&email_token=AA7MVFNCIA3G5WYA6FK53NDQNNQ3HA5CNFSM4I6GZKB2YY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGOEARAGXY#issuecomment-539099999>, or mute the thread<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AA7MVFNN3CVCDATUXED7O2DQNNQ3HANCNFSM4I6GZKBQ>.

[k1o0]

Is that really the main problem? I thought it's more like just that some part of the path is left out entirely.

It was suggested that by simply mounting/mapping the data repo at the subject folder level we wouldn't need to provide any other parts of the path. I think this is only part of the problem: there could also be a better way of representing the scheme/syntax of the protocol. That is, I don't want to hard-code a regular expression to replace /mnt/ with \\, which I recall was a suggestion, particularly as currently there is no indication on alyx of whether the data repository is accessible by SMB.

It would be nice if there was complete information so that a naive user could look at alyx and see exactly how to access the data.

[oliche]

Scheme change: in the data repository scheme, rename Globus_path by mount_point or server_path which shows the path on the server.

[nsteinme]

Sounds good!

…

On Thu, Oct 10, 2019 at 7:05 AM Olivier Winter ***@***.***> wrote: Scheme change: in the data repository scheme, rename Globus_path by mount_point or server_path which shows the path on the server. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#600?email_source=notifications&email_token=ABZ5IP7ELRUNXA6SDN73N2DQN4ZCTA5CNFSM4I6GZKB2YY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGOEA4PCRA#issuecomment-540602692>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABZ5IP4KYUCTUHFRAPLDP6TQN4ZCTANCNFSM4I6GZKBQ> .

[oliche]

This needs a synchronized release of client code and alyx code or alias the rest serializer temprarily

[k1o0]

Yes let's coordinate this with the nessessary Rigbox changes