AuxDataStorage

AuxDataStorage collects auxiliary time-series data during an experiment. It accumulates scalar readings from pressure sensors, flow controllers, temperature monitors, and any other hardware that contributes periodic measurements, and serializes them to BC::CSV::auxFile at each time step. Experiment owns an AuxDataStorage instance; unlike the DataStorageBase hierarchy, AuxDataStorage is not a DataStorageBase subclass and its lifecycle is managed directly by the acquisition system.

Keys are declared before acquisition begins by calling registerKey for each hardware object and value combination. The compound key format is "ObjKey.ValueKey", produced by the makeKey static helper using BC::Aux::keyTemplate. During acquisition, hardware objects call addDataPoints to merge fresh readings into the current time point; startNewPoint is called periodically to seal the current point, append it to BC::CSV::auxFile, and advance the timestamp. The savedData accessor returns all sealed points in chronological order.

Two construction paths are provided. The default constructor creates a detached instance with d_number set to -1; no file I/O is performed until a valid experiment number is assigned. The (BlackchirpCSV*, number, path) constructor loads the full time series from an existing BC::CSV::auxFile, making it available immediately through savedData. AuxDataMap is registered with the Qt meta-object system via Q_DECLARE_METATYPE so that instances can be transported through QVariant and signal-slot connections.

For the file layout and delimiter conventions used when reading and writing the auxiliary data file, see BlackchirpCSV.

API Reference

class AuxDataStorage

Collects auxiliary time-series data during an experiment.

Owned directly by Experiment; not a DataStorageBase subclass. Hardware objects register their keys via registerKey, push readings via addDataPoints, and the acquisition system seals each point via startNewPoint, which appends a row to BC::CSV::auxFile.

Public Types

using AuxDataMap = std::map<QString, QVariant, std::less<>>

Map from compound key to scalar value, keyed transparently on QStringView.

Public Functions

inline AuxDataStorage()

Constructs a default instance with no experiment association.

Used when constructing an Experiment that has not yet been assigned a number. No file I/O is performed until startNewPoint is called on a properly initialized instance.

AuxDataStorage(BlackchirpCSV *csv, int number, const QString &path = {})

Constructs an instance by loading saved auxiliary data from disk.

Reads BC::CSV::auxFile from the experiment directory and populates d_savedData with the full time series. The column headers are used to reconstruct the key ordering.

Parameters:

• csv – Pointer to the experiment’s BlackchirpCSV instance, used to tokenize lines with the correct delimiter.

• number – Experiment number.

• path – Optional base path override. When empty, SettingsStorage provides the application data path.

void registerKey(const QString &objKey, const QString &key)

Registers a key as a valid receiver of auxiliary data.

Only keys registered before acquisition begins appear as columns in BC::CSV::auxFile. Calls to addDataPoints that supply unregistered keys are silently ignored.

Parameters:

• objKey – Object key identifying the hardware source.

• key – Value key identifying the individual reading.

void addDataPoints(AuxDataMap &m)

Merges a map of new readings into the current time point.

Called by hardware objects whenever fresh readings are available. Multiple calls between successive startNewPoint calls accumulate additively into the current point.

Parameters:

m – Map of compound keys to new values. Keys absent from the registered set are ignored.

void startNewPoint()

Seals the current time point and appends it to the output file.

On the very first call, writes the column-header row to BC::CSV::auxFile. On subsequent calls, serializes the accumulated readings for the point that was started by the previous call, then advances the current point timestamp to QDateTime::currentDateTime. If d_number is negative or the allowed-key set is empty, no I/O is performed.

inline QDateTime currentPointTime() const

Returns the timestamp of the current (unsealed) time point.

Returns:

QDateTime of the point in progress, or a null QDateTime if no point has been started.

std::vector<std::pair<QDateTime, AuxDataMap>> savedData() const

Returns the full list of sealed time points.

When constructed from a saved experiment, this vector is populated from the file; during live acquisition it grows as each point is sealed.

Returns:

Vector of (timestamp, value map) pairs in chronological order.

Public Members

int d_number = {-1}

Experiment number; -1 for a detached (unsaved) instance.

QString d_path = {""}

Base data path used to locate the experiment directory.

Public Static Functions

static inline QString makeKey(const QString &s1, const QString &s2)

Composes a compound key from an object key and a value key.

Parameters:

• s1 – Object key (typically the hardware object’s settings key).

• s2 – Value key (the individual reading name within that object).

Returns:

Compound key in the form "s1.s2", as defined by BC::Aux::keyTemplate.

Private Members

std::set<QString> d_allowedKeys

TimePointData d_currentPoint

QDateTime d_startTime

std::vector<std::pair<QDateTime, AuxDataMap>> d_savedData

struct TimePointData

A single sealed time point consisting of a timestamp and a map of values.

Public Members

QDateTime dateTime

Timestamp at which this point was sealed.

AuxDataMap map

Values contributed to this point, keyed by compound key.