diff --git a/screening/source/java/OpenBISScreeningML.java b/screening/source/java/OpenBISScreeningML.java index e79d12fd7c707cec0ca73e1bb01298932b951f81..1713ceb4efe2cc701e52808de77c70d4db6a6aa8 100644 --- a/screening/source/java/OpenBISScreeningML.java +++ b/screening/source/java/OpenBISScreeningML.java @@ -80,6 +80,20 @@ import ch.systemsx.cisd.openbis.plugin.screening.shared.api.v1.dto.WellPosition; * <i>Note: using this login your password will end up in the Matlab command history. An alternative * that avoids this is to call the {@link ch.systemsx.cisd.openbis.generic.client.cli.Login} class. * Logging in on the console will grant this class access to the openBIS server.</i> + * <p> + * To learn the API one needs to understand three basic notions: code, augmented code and perm id. + * Space, project, experiment, plate and well have their own <b>code</b>, which is unique only in + * the context of the parent.<br> + * That's why one needs <b>augmented code</b> to point e.g. to one experiment, because two different + * projects can have experiments with the same code.<br> + * Such an augmented code for experiment has a form of "/space-code/project-code/experiment-code".<br> + * For plate it has a form of "/space-code/plate-code" (note that plate code is unique on the space + * level). <br> + * The drawback of an augmented code is that it's not persistent. If someone e.g. moves the + * experiment from one space to the other augmented code of the experiment becomes invalid. That is + * why experiments, plates and datasets have <b>perm id</b> (permament identifier) which never + * change and allow to refer to them with one "magic" identifier, e.g. 20110516124520378-737166. + * </p> * * @author Bernd Rinn */ @@ -318,7 +332,7 @@ public class OpenBISScreeningML * permids = exps(:,2) * </pre> * - * @return Each row contains information about one plate: + * @return Each row contains information about one experiment: * <p> * <code>{ experiment augmented code, experiment perm id, experiment space code, * experiment project code, experiment code }</code>