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Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[0.3.0] - Unreleased

⚠️ BREAKING CHANGES

  • Exception Class Renaming (Issue #3 from Code Review)
  • ConnectionError renamed to SiglentConnectionError to avoid shadowing Python's built-in ConnectionError
  • TimeoutError renamed to SiglentTimeoutError to avoid shadowing Python's built-in TimeoutError
  • Migration Guide:
    • Update imports: from scpi_control.exceptions import SiglentConnectionError, SiglentTimeoutError
    • Update exception handling: except (SiglentConnectionError, SiglentTimeoutError) as e:
    • Backward compatibility aliases provided for transition period (will be removed in v1.0.0)
    • If you use from scpi_control import ConnectionError, update to from scpi_control import SiglentConnectionError
  • Why: Prevents naming conflicts with Python built-ins, improves code clarity, follows best practices
  • Impact: All code that imports or catches ConnectionError or TimeoutError from scpi_control.exceptions needs updating

Added

  • Waveform Validation System (siglent/gui/utils/validators.py)
  • WaveformValidator class for comprehensive data quality checks
  • Validates waveform data before plotting or processing
  • Catches common issues that cause blank plots:
    • None/missing waveforms
    • Empty voltage or time arrays
    • Mismatched array lengths between time and voltage
    • All-NaN or excessive NaN values (>50%)
    • Invalid voltage ranges (all zeros, infinite values)
    • Suspiciously large voltages (>1000V)
  • validate() method returns (is_valid, list_of_issues)
  • validate_multiple() separates valid from invalid waveforms
  • get_summary() generates diagnostic strings like "CH1: 50,000 samples, range -2.5V to +2.5V"
  • Detailed Error Dialog Widget (siglent/gui/widgets/error_dialog.py)
  • DetailedErrorDialog class for user-friendly error reporting
  • Two-level error display:
    • User-friendly summary for non-technical users
    • Expandable technical details (stack trace, context) for debugging
  • Features:
    • Error icon and timestamp display
    • "Show Details" / "Hide Details" toggle button
    • Read-only text area for stack traces and context
    • "Copy to Clipboard" button for comprehensive error reports
    • Automatic dialog resizing when showing/hiding details
  • Structured error info dictionary format:
    • type: Error type name (e.g., 'TimeoutError')
    • message: User-friendly error message
    • details: Additional error details
    • context: Dictionary of context info (operation, settings, etc.)
    • traceback: Full stack trace string
    • timestamp: Error occurrence time
  • Convenience function show_error_dialog() for quick usage
  • Real-Time Status Updates (LiveViewWorker)
  • New status_update signal (pyqtSignal(str)) for user feedback
  • Status messages during acquisition cycle:
    • "Checking enabled channels..."
    • "Acquiring CH1...", "Acquiring CH2...", etc.
    • "Validating waveforms..."
    • "Live view: CH1, CH2 (50,000, 100,000 samples)"
    • "No enabled channels", "Not connected"
  • Status bar updates reflect worker progress in real-time

Changed

  • LiveViewWorker Error Handling Enhanced
  • Changed error_occurred signal from pyqtSignal(str) → pyqtSignal(dict)
  • Errors now emit structured dictionaries with full context
  • Error info includes:
    • Error type, message, details
    • Operation context (update_interval, operation name)
    • Full traceback for debugging
    • Timestamp for error tracking
  • Integration with WaveformValidator for data quality checks
  • Only emits valid waveforms (invalid ones logged at WARNING level)
  • Enhanced logging: acquisition results logged at INFO/WARNING for visibility
  • WaveformCaptureWorker Validation Integration
  • Validates all captured waveforms before emitting via WaveformValidator.validate_multiple()
  • Logs validation failures at WARNING level (visible to users)
  • Only emits valid waveforms to prevent blank plots
  • Enhanced error messages include validation failure details
  • Progress message updated: "Processing waveforms..." → "Validating waveforms..."
  • WaveformDisplayPG Pre-Plot Validation
  • Validates all waveforms before plotting via WaveformValidator.validate_multiple()
  • Invalid waveforms logged at WARNING level with specific issues
  • Info label shows "Invalid data - check logs" when all waveforms fail validation
  • Enhanced diagnostic logging:
    • Valid waveforms logged at INFO level with summary
    • Runtime validation checks for None and empty arrays
    • Voltage range logging: "[−2.5V to +2.5V]" or "[all NaN]"
  • Only stores and plots valid waveforms
  • Main Window Error Handling Integration
  • Connected to new status_update signal from LiveViewWorker
  • New _on_live_view_status() method updates status bar with worker messages
  • Enhanced _on_live_view_error() method:
    • Accepts structured error dictionary instead of plain string
    • Shows DetailedErrorDialog for rich error information
    • Brief error message in status bar (60 chars max, 5 second timeout)
    • Fallback to QMessageBox for legacy string errors
  • User-friendly error display with expandable technical details

Fixed

  • Blank Plot Issue from Invalid Waveforms
  • Root cause: Invalid waveforms (None, empty arrays, all NaN) were being plotted
  • Solution: Comprehensive validation before plotting in all code paths
  • Workers now validate data before emitting to GUI
  • Display widget validates again before rendering as safety check
  • Cryptic Error Messages
  • Users previously saw raw exception strings in status bar
  • Now see structured error dialogs with context and debugging info
  • Technical details hidden by default but available on demand
  • Missing Waveform Quality Diagnostics
  • Added comprehensive validation with specific issue reporting
  • Users now see exactly why waveforms failed (e.g., "CH1: All voltage values are NaN")
  • Validation results logged at WARNING level for visibility
  • Bare Exception Handling in Vector Graphics (Issue #2 from Code Review)
  • Replaced bare except: clauses with specific exception types in vector_graphics.py
  • Now catches CommandError, SiglentConnectionError, SiglentTimeoutError explicitly
  • Prevents catching system exceptions like KeyboardInterrupt and SystemExit
  • Improves debugging and error handling clarity
  • Socket Read Race Condition (Issue #5 from Code Review)
  • Added timeout protection in socket.py read loop
  • Prevents infinite loop if oscilloscope doesn't send newline-terminated responses
  • Raises SiglentTimeoutError with detailed message showing bytes received
  • Improves reliability and error diagnostics
  • Version Mismatch (Issue #1 from Code Review)
  • Fixed version inconsistency between __init__.py (0.1.0) and pyproject.toml (0.2.6)
  • Both now correctly report version 0.2.6 (will be bumped to 0.3.0 for this release)

Technical Improvements

  • Input Validation for SCPI Commands (Issue #4 from Code Review)
  • Added ASCII validation before encoding commands in socket.py
  • Raises CommandError with clear message if non-ASCII characters detected
  • Prevents UnicodeEncodeError exceptions during command transmission
  • Example: CommandError: SCPI command contains non-ASCII characters: "C1:VDIV 1.0V\u2013"
  • Magic Number Constants (Issue #6 from Code Review)
  • Added named constants for waveform conversion in waveform.py:
    • WAVEFORM_CODE_PER_DIV_8BIT = 25.0 (codes per division for 8-bit ADC)
    • WAVEFORM_CODE_PER_DIV_16BIT = 6400.0 (codes per division for 16-bit ADC)
    • WAVEFORM_CODE_CENTER = 0 (center code for signed integer data)
  • Improved code documentation with conversion formula from SCPI manual
  • Makes waveform parsing logic easier to understand and maintain
  • Centralized waveform validation logic in reusable WaveformValidator class
  • Structured error reporting enables better debugging and user support
  • Separation of user-facing messages from technical diagnostics
  • Thread-safe error propagation from workers to main GUI thread
  • Validation happens at multiple checkpoints (capture → emit → display)
  • All docstrings updated to reference new exception names
  • Backward compatibility aliases ensure gradual migration path

[0.2.6] - 2025-12-31

See full changelog on GitHub for detailed version history.

Previous releases include:

  • v0.2.6: Background waveform capture, progress dialogs, intelligent downsampling, modern graph styling
  • v0.2.5: Comprehensive test suite (490+ tests), Codecov integration, professional badges
  • v0.2.4: Vector graphics/XY mode, GUI integration, shape generators
  • v0.2.3: Version numbering fix
  • v0.2.2: Workflow updates
  • v0.2.1: Project structure reorganization
  • v0.2.0: High-performance live view with PyQtGraph, visual measurement system
  • v0.1.0: Initial release with basic SCPI control and GUI

View full changelog