StreamLens/WIDE_GRID_IMPROVEMENTS.md

Wide Grid Layout Improvements

Enhanced Column Specifications

The grid view has been significantly widened to ensure proper column alignment and readability:

Column Width Changes

Column	Old Width	New Width	Alignment	Description
#	2 chars	3 chars	Right	Flow number
Source	20 chars	24 chars	Left	IP:port source endpoint
Proto	6 chars	8 chars	Left	Transport protocol (UDP, TCP, etc.)
Destination	20 chars	24 chars	Left	IP:port destination endpoint
Extended	10 chars	12 chars	Left	Extended protocol (CH10, PTP, etc.)
Frame Type	12 chars	15 chars	Left	Specific frame type
Pkts	6 chars	8 chars	Right	Packet count
Volume	8 chars	10 chars	Right	Data volume with units
Timing	8 chars	10 chars	Right	Inter-arrival timing
Quality	8 chars	10 chars	Right	Quality percentage/status

Total Width Calculation

• Previous total: ~93 characters
• New total: ~124 characters
• Width increase: ~33% wider for better readability

Alignment Improvements

Source and Destination Fields

• Increased from 20 to 24 characters
• Supports longer IP addresses and port numbers
• Truncation threshold increased from 18 to 22 characters
• Better accommodation for IPv4 addresses with high port numbers

Right-Aligned Numeric Columns

• All numeric columns now have 2 extra characters of width
• Ensures proper right-edge alignment for:
  • Packet counts (up to 99,999,999)
  • Volume with units (up to 999.9MB)
  • Timing values (up to 99.9s)
  • Quality percentages (up to 100.0%)

Visual Hierarchy

• Sub-rows now use 4-character indent to match wider flow number column
• Perfect alignment maintained between main flows and sub-rows
• All columns line up precisely regardless of data content

Layout Example

  #   Source                   Proto    Destination              Extended     Frame Type        Pkts    Volume      Timing     Quality
  1   192.168.4.89:1024       UDP      239.1.2.10:8080         3 types      Mixed             1452      1.9MB      77.8ms     Enhanced
                                                                CH10         CH10-Data         1110     1.44MB       102ms       76.4%
                                                                CH10         TMATS              114      148KB       990ms        7.8%
                                                                             UDP                228      296KB       493ms       15.7%

Technical Changes

Formatting Functions Updated

1. _format_flow_summary_line(): Updated to use new column widths
2. _format_protocol_frame_line(): Updated to match main flow alignment
3. Header formatting: Expanded to accommodate wider columns
4. Truncation logic: Removed [:width-8] constraints that were cutting off data

IP Address Handling

• Source/Destination truncation increased from 10 to 14 characters before ellipsis
• Better support for longer IP addresses and port combinations
• Maintains readability while showing more endpoint information

Benefits

1. Perfect Column Alignment: All numeric columns now line up properly on their right edges
2. No Data Truncation: Removed width constraints that were cutting off information
3. Better Readability: Increased spacing makes complex flow data easier to scan
4. Professional Appearance: Wider grid looks more polished and organized
5. Future-Proof: Accommodates longer protocol names and extended data

The wide grid layout ensures that complex telemetry flow analysis is presented in a clear, professional format that makes the hierarchical protocol breakdown easy to understand at a glance.