HAL 1.0 Task List

Backend Tasks

4-week plan (CN)

• (~1d) test target run distribution w/SGE Exec Mgr (may be working already..)
• (~1d) backend support for user-space textual object annotations.
• (~1d) Outstanding import/export backend issues (exec. environments, etc)
• (~3d) job health monitoring (check outstanding jobs e.g. on cluster; detect hangs/problems and alter/cleanup appropriately).
• (~1d) sporadic missing finishtime bug

Unprioritized

• (~3d) pause/resume for meta-algorithms [estimate doesn't include pausing target algorithms mid-run, just halting dispatch of new runs]
• (~1d combined) Plotting:
  • incumbent qual plot - extend to current time
  • different colours/linestyles for the two medians in dual SCD plot
  • show cutoff time in plots (dashed lines)
  • different linestyles / labels?? for vertical lines in overlaid SCD plots
• (~2d) deeply lazy database algorithm run objects (mostly, lazy meta problem instances)

HAL-related tasks not c"> Parallel HAL-related tasks not considered in above lists:

• (???) documentation
• (??? w/Lin) portfolio-based selection (SATzilla)
• (??? w/James) Improved cluster support (incl. Torque)
• (~1w w/Frank) "virtual" target algorithms (based on Matlab models)
• (??? w/Frank) SMBO (Active Configurator)

Frontend tasks

4-week plan (CF)

• (~1d) Landing page run status divs should maintain individual state, not have pieces disappear on refresh, and should not appear under more than one heading (or disappear entirely) when the run status changes.

• (~2d) Algorithm specification screen changes, as per previous HAL meeting.
  • "add output capture" below info for last string added
  • examples for params (call string), output capture

• (~1d) Rearranging meta-algorithm specification pages, as previously discussed.
  • default name
  • ? Submit -> launch
  • after completing exp page, offer choice to
    • launch
    • save as 'ready for launch'
    • ? save as 'in preparation'
  • Single alg analysis: refer to alg as "name + (target algorithm)" in monitor/results page
  • target algorithm -> algorithm to be analysed
  • hide meta-alg slc (since there is only one choice right now)
  • Pairwise analysis: refer to alg 1, alg 2 as "name (algorithm 1/2)" in monitor/results page
  • target algorithm 1/2 -> algorithm 1/2 to be analysed
  • meta-algorithm selected second-but last (just before exec environment)
  • keep options collapsed by default wherever possible

• (~1d) Notes/annotation for 'top-level' objects.
  • Algorithm
  • Instance set
  • Experiment
    • On change from partial run to actual run, need to make sure descriptions get transferred.
  • Execution environment
  • Configuration

• (~1d) Various minor previously-reported monitor page changes.
  • auto-reload of monitor pages, interval configurable in HAL settings - local to client/user
  • report HAL overhead also as percentage of overall running time
  • include percentage complete, predicted completion time for experiment
  • single/pairwise analysis: report # / fraction of time-outs
    • adjustment of param names (r) and value (l); 2 columns? scrollable box?
  • Incumbent Design Information: add time when current incumbent was found
    • name for current incumbent / final result? (how can user specify this?)
  • contrast incumbent param settings with default settings (display latter as well)

• (~0.5d) Sub-run information table in the monitor pages, sortable by column headers, not loaded until requested.

• (~0.5d) Database deletion of HAL top-level objects, from the landing page
  • Algorithm
  • Instance set
  • Experiments
  • Execution environment
  • Configuration

• (~0.5d) Database deletion of HAL top-level objects, from a separate screen
  • Algorithm
  • Instance set
  • Experiments
  • Execution environment
  • Configuration

• (~1.5d) Viewing/editing/copying of HAL top-level objects

• (~0.5d) Graying out and showing alg spec. steps or something so that users can see how much they have left.

Unprioritized

• (~0.5d after backend functionality exists) UI elements for user-specified annotations of HAL objects (eg, descriptions of instance sets, etc.)

• Define New Inst Distr
  • (~0.25d) hide type (until we have > 1 types)

• Define New Alg:
  • (~0.5d) also allow creation of new configs etc. from Create New Alg?
  • ??? easy way to add param domain decl to default (to be copied from there later)
  • ??? alternative ways of specifying param config spaces: text file/text field + parse button?

• ??? number of indep, par runs + auto select best on training. i.e. a new meta-algorithm.

• Alg config results/status:
  • ??? support exporting from inspection pages (for exp, alg, inst sets)

• Export
  • (~0.1d) any -> all?
  • (~0.1d) some labels need to be more intuitive (Filename for Object Export, ...)
  • (~0.1d) size of package should be displayed
  • (0.5d) export instance sets without taking everything in respective directory (checkable option in instance set spec, default = don't take whole dir)

• Import
  • ??? allow user to select within package

• everwhere
  • (mostly covered in 4wk plan) hide (and make expandable) everything that has decent default values most users may not want to touch
  • (~0.25d) capitalisation: do not capitalise 'short words' (yet, not, ...), certain messages ('Not Yet Finished' -> 'not yet finished'), best solution: put all in properties file, let me (hh) edit them.
  • (~0.1d) time & date displays (everywhere): dd-mm-yyyy or yyyy/mm/dd, 24h-times
  • (~0.1d) instance distribution -> instance set
  • (covered mostly in 4wk plan) selection lists with only one choice: make the one choice the default

• (~0.5d) Modify domain transformation interface to accomodate linear transformations / multiple transformations as soon as the backend infrastructure is present.

Old Tasks

-- ChrisFawcett - 04 Nov 2010