PermaplanT:
The planning app implemented in this repository.
map:
The main planning utility for PermaplanT, which contains elements in several layers.
elements (of a map in a layer):
Can be drawn or added to the map via drag and drop.
They have attributes.
garden:
The physical place which is represented by the map.
Can also be balcony or similar.
event:
A day relevant to a user, which occurs on a map, e.g. when elements in the map get added/removed (accuracy: one day) or when a user declares a map ready for review etc.
deletion/creation vs. removal/adding of elements:
deletion/creation (German: löschen/erzeugen):
The plant never existed.
Such elements actually get deleted from the database and can only be restored within the session using undo.
I.e. there are often columns named created_date but there usually is not a deletion date (with exception of maps which do not immediately get deleted).
removal/adding (German: entfernen/hinzufügen):
Removal of elements assume that the element actually was on the map (physically) during some time (between adding and removing).
The database must keep removed elements, they never can be deleted.
rank:
Rank is a level within taxonomy.
Plants within one taxonomic rank share traits with each other.
The levels relevant for PermaplanT are from highest to lowest:
Family
Genus
Species
Variety
Cultivar
below:
We say a plant or rank B is below another rank A if it is at least one rank lower than A.
belong:
We say a plant B is belongs to rank A if it is exactly rank A (and not below).
concrete plant:
Is in an actually existing species, variety and cultivar.
abstract plant:
Representants of ranks, which are not actually existing plants.
family:
A taxonomic rank that consists of multiple genera.
genus:
A taxonomic rank which is part of a family.
Consists of multiple species.
species (German: Art):
A taxonomic rank which is part of a genus.
Can have multiple varieties or cultivars.
variety (German: Varietät):
Has the main characteristics of its species but differs in heritable characteristics.
Can have multiple cultivars.
cultivar (abbreviated from cultivated variety, German: Sorte):
Has the main characteristics of its species or variety but differs in minor heritable characteristics.
These characteristics were cultivated on purpose.
hybrid:
Hybrids are otherwise not relevant for PermaplanT's functionality.
attributes of plants (traits in scientific literature):
A characteristic of a variety, species, genus, subfamily or family.
E.g. height, width, color, etc.
Attributes can be defined on different levels of the hierarchy.
E.g. a variety can have a different height than the species it belongs to.
polyculture (aka companion planting, German: Mischkultur):
Mutually beneficial way of growing plants together.
Relation:
Spatial: Plants are in a non-neutral relation if they either positively (companion) or negatively (antagonist) influence each other's health and growth.
Temporal: Plants are in a non-neutral relation if crop rotation is positive or negative on the later plant's health and growth.
companion (to plant according polyculture):
Plants that should be planted together.
antagonist (to plant according polyculture):
Plants that should be avoided next to each other.
plant database (German: Pflanzen-Datenbank):
PermaplanT's large collection of plant entries with comprehensive data, indexed with a unique name.
inventory (German: Inventar):
A personal collection of plants, e.g., seeds.
Every entry of the inventory links to a plant in the plant database.
Furthermore, they have an additional name and are more precisely describing a plant than the plant database could do.
Only in the inventory you can have plants which are not in the plant database, e.g., of special, new or unknown varieties.
seedproof (German: Samenfest):
From the seeds of a fruit you get again similar fruits.
width (German: Breite):
X-value of plantings and area of plantings (without rotation).
length (German: Länge):
Is the Y-value for area of plantings (without rotation).
Is not used for plantings (because we use width instead).
height:
Currently unused Z-value of plants and plantings.
spacing (Pflanzabstand)
row spacing (Reihenabstand)
life cycle:
is a list containing any combination of its 3 possible values (annual, biennial, perennial)
or just an empty list in case a plant has no life cycle value in the database
enable (a layer):
Changes the canvas in a way that elements in the enabled layer are the ones to be edited, selected and added.
When working together on a map, every user can enable the layer of their choice.
visibility and opacity (of a layer):
The elements in a layer are (not) shown or with a user-selected transparency.
alternative (of a layer):
An alternative (of a layer) is a named clone of a layer.
It is possible to select one alternative of a layer.
Each alternative can be edited independently.
select (a layer):
To choose one alternative of one layer.
E.g. if there are several plants layers, a user can select only one of these alternatives at once.
When working together on a map, every user can select their own layers.
offline availability:
Means that layers can be edited also offline, data gets synced when device is online again.
usability:
The extent to which a system, product or service can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
user interface (UI):
The set of all the components of an interactive system that provide information and controls for the user to accomplish specific tasks with the interactive system.
user experience (UX):
Combination of user's perceptions and responses that result from the use and/or anticipated use of a system, product or service.
offline:
Means the ability to use a feature without Internet connection, i.e., without calling REST APIs.
canvas:
The main and middle part of the screen which provides the planning/drawing functionality.
canvas context:
canvas node elements i.e. HTML representation of rectangle, circle, etc. on the canvas
map context:
layers and their attributes e.g. relation layer and its visibility
reversible deletion vs undo-redo functionality:
reversible deletion: a database entity i.e. a whole map and plant is deleted and can be restored within a certain time
undo-redo functionality: a user can undo and redo changes in the map, but the history is local to the frontend and not stored in the database
lazy loading:
Lazy loading refers to the process of loading data on-demand, rather than loading everything upfront during the initial load of the app.
offloading of the frontend state:
the process of cleaning up the frontend state by deleting data that has already been synchronized with the backend and is no longer needed. This can help to reduce the amount of unnecessary data in the frontend, which can improve the performance and efficiency of the application.
first contentful paint (FCP):
the time it takes for the browser to render the first bit of content on the page.
time to interactive (TTI):
the time it takes for the page to become fully interactive.
Document Object Model (DOM):
the data representation of the objects that comprise the structure and content of a document on the web.
endpoints:
The API endpoints that can be called in the backend.
Their documentation can be viewed using swagger-ui (see here for reference).
entity:
an object or concept of interest (map, user, plant, planting, etc.)
contains all necessary attributes to describe its properties
represented as table in the database
each database row is a specific instance of the entity
keybinding:
The association of a specific action or function with a particular key or key combination.
keyhandling:
A Broader concept of how the software manages and responds to keyboard input. It includes not only the assignment of actions to keys (keybinding) but also the handling of key events, such as detecting key presses, key releases, and processing them accordingly.
unit test:
Used to test parts of our code in isolation.
See test doc for further information.
Example: Test an individual function for specific behavior.
integration test:
Used to test if different parts of the code work together correctly.
See test doc for further information.
Example: Make an HTTP request to the backend and let it run through controller, service and persistence layer requiring a running database.
end to end test (e2e test):
Used to test the whole application from end to end.
Example: Simulate a user clicking a button (e.g. with Selenium) resulting in an HTTP request to the backend. Wait for the response and validate the resulting change in the frontend.
acceptance tests:
Black box system tests of a user story.
Usually performed as regressions tests prior to a release.
They are performed by engineers during the development phase.
system tests:
Tests the whole system towards the requirements definition and specification documents.
This can invole functional and non-functional tests (performance, security, etc.).
They are super set of end-to-end tests which can be done manually and/or automatically.
user acceptance tests:
Black box system tests towards customer requirements.
Usually (subset of) system level tests conducted by the customer/user/domain expert.
These tests makes sure that the solution provided by the system is accepted by the user.
Similar to "Beta testing".