Ingence cheat sheet

Ingence

Ingence is a read-only indexing and inference engine and local Dashboard for exploring scientific filesystems: it surveys what is there, and proposes how files relate using a Dictionary and a Rulebook you can read and edit.

The four commands

ingence init P --root /data

Declare what to read.Writes only the project folder P. Add --domain microscopy for a science's words.

ingence index -p P

The census.Every file's name, size, times and links. No file is opened. Names are read into parts.

ingence dive -p P --budget 900

Open files within a time budget.Headers, instrument clocks, text, tables. The limit is time, not a count of files.

ingence infer -p P

Run the rules and publish.Each conclusion carries its rule, version and evidence. A rule that cannot decide says why.

Then ingence see -p P opens the Dashboard on this machine only. ingence see with no project runs all of the above from one page.

Answering

An answer is written to the Record under your name and never overwrites an earlier one. Nothing takes effect until you press Re-run; its badge counts what waits. Export carries the questions to a colleague; Import records each answer as its author's.

What the Dashboard's colors mean

Raw data, as it came off the instrument. A later stage: processed, analyzed, a figure. Doubt: two readings disagree, said in words beside it. Hatched: unknown, or no raw data was found. Dotted border: not yet looked at (outside the budget). A red border or dot, with a word: a problem, such as analysis found without its raw data. Magenta: a person said so. A name, an answer, a renamed line.

Blue marks the selection and the links. Every state also has a word; color never carries a meaning alone.

Three ways of not knowing

Unknown (examined, no evidence), not yet looked at (outside the time budget) and in conflict (two readings disagree) are kept apart, and never collapsed into one.

Where to get help

Documentation: ingence.org In the Dashboard: ? lists the keys; every control is named. Diagnose a project: ingence fix -p P Questions and problems: [email protected]