Protobi defines each element as a set of parameters written in JSON syntax. An example is below:
{
"key": "Q2",
"displayKey": "Question 2. Opinions",
"title": "Do you agree with the following statements?",
"children": ["Q2a", "Q2b", "Q2c", "Q2d","Q2e"],
"format": {
"1": "Extremely favorable",
"2": "Somewhat favorable",
"3": "Somewhat unfavorable",
"4": "Extremely unfavorable",
"5": "Don't know / no opinion"
},
"type": "number",
"showBasis": true,
"showStats": [4,5],
"chartType": "Pie",
"filter": {
"Q1": 2
},
"roundby": null
}This syntax may look foreign at first, but has the advantage of being both easily readable by computers in almost any language, and also readable by humans (at least with a little bit of introduction).
The basic idea is that an element is defined as a "hash" or "object" that defines attribute-value pairs. In the example above, "title" is one such key and "Do you agree with the following statements?" is its corresponding value.
Attributes are always strings. Values can be numbers (e.g. 10), strings (e.g. "Q2"), arrays of values (e.g. [4,5]) or other objects (e.g. see format above).
Each element is uniquely identified by an attribute "key". No two attributes in a Protobi project can have the same value of "key". And the value of "key" alone is enough to define the element, a lot of things can be assumed from its value, principally what data column to associate with the element.
Below is a partial list of attributes recognized by Protobi with their allowable values and a brief description:
| Attribute | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
key |
string | "s1" | Unique identifier for element. Required and immutable. |
displayKey |
string | "S1" | Override key for display. |
title |
string | "Primary specialty" | Additional description text. |
field |
string | "s1x" | Specify another data column as data source (default is "key") |
element |
key | "s1x" | Specify another element as data source, a |
children |
array | ["s1a","s1b","s1c"] | List child elements. If not null, element is a group. |
format |
hash | {"1":"PCP","2":"Neuro"} | Format values for display after analysis. |
reformat |
object | {"99":"", "7":0} | Recode values prior to analysis. |
color |
string | "gold"|"#FA0" | CSS color for element. |
colors |
object | {"1":"red","2":"yellow"} | CSS colors for values. Can be "ascending" or "descending". |
type |
string | "string"|"number"|"empty" | Whether element values are numbers, string, or not applicable. |
compactto |
value or array | 1 | One or more summary values for top/bottom box percentages. |
roundby |
value or name | 0|10|"auto"|"log" | Bin range for numeric values. |
transform |
name | "squish"|"sum"|"mean"|(fn) | Specify standard transform function or code a custom function |
split |
string | "," | Split values at delimiter into a multiple response value |
weight |
number or key | "ptwt"|1000 | Weight frequencies by value of a data column or constant. |
scale |
number or key | "s4"|100 | Multiply values by a data column or constant. |
denominator |
number or key | "s3"|100 | Divide values by a data column or constant. |
display |
name | null|"checkbox"|"compact" | Specify how to display element as expanded, compact or group |
hidden |
boolean | TRUE | Hide element from tab |
hideChildren |
boolean | TRUE | Hide children (useful for groups with transform specified) |
showBody |
boolean | FALSE | Hide distribution (useful to show just summary stats) |
heritable |
boolean | FALSE | Whether changes to heritable properties propagate to children |
showMissing |
boolean | FALSE | Whether to include NA values in distribution percentages |
chartType |
name | "VennDiagram" | Specify alternative chart type (default is "BaselineBarChart") |
chartOptions |
boolean | {"width":"480px"} | Specify options specific to selected chartType |
showStats |
array of values or objects | [[1,2],{label:"net",value:[6,7]} | Additional custom statistics to show |
follow |
hash | {"q1":["chartOptions.width"} | Specify which elements and which attributes of them to follow |