Merge pull request #139 from tiqi-group/chore/remove_pillow_dependency

removes Pillow dependency, updates Image component

.github/workflows/python-package.yml

@@ -16,15 +16,15 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        python-version: ["3.10", "3.11"]
+        python-version: ["3.10", "3.11", "3.12"]
 
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
     - uses: chartboost/ruff-action@v1
       with:
         src: "./src"
     - name: Set up Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
-      uses: actions/setup-python@v3
+      uses: actions/setup-python@v4
       with:
         python-version: ${{ matrix.python-version }}
     - name: Install dependencies

README.md

@@ -11,12 +11,17 @@
   - [Defining a DataService](#defining-a-dataservice)
   - [Running the Server](#running-the-server)
   - [Accessing the Web Interface](#accessing-the-web-interface)
-  - [Connecting to the Service using rpyc](#connecting-to-the-service-using-rpyc)
+  - [Connecting to the Service via Python Client](#connecting-to-the-service-via-python-client)
+    - [Tab Completion Support](#tab-completion-support)
+    - [Integration within Another Service](#integration-within-another-service)
 - [Understanding the Component System](#understanding-the-component-system)
   - [Built-in Type and Enum Components](#built-in-type-and-enum-components)
   - [Method Components](#method-components)
   - [DataService Instances (Nested Classes)](#dataservice-instances-nested-classes)
   - [Custom Components (`pydase.components`)](#custom-components-pydasecomponents)
+    - [`DeviceConnection`](#deviceconnection)
+      - [Customizing Connection Logic](#customizing-connection-logic)
+      - [Reconnection Interval](#reconnection-interval)
     - [`Image`](#image)
     - [`NumberSlider`](#numberslider)
     - [`ColouredEnum`](#colouredenum)
@@ -25,10 +30,12 @@
   - [Controlling Property State Loading with `@load_state`](#controlling-property-state-loading-with-load_state)
 - [Understanding Tasks in pydase](#understanding-tasks-in-pydase)
 - [Understanding Units in pydase](#understanding-units-in-pydase)
+- [Using `validate_set` to Validate Property Setters](#using-validate_set-to-validate-property-setters)
 - [Configuring pydase via Environment Variables](#configuring-pydase-via-environment-variables)
 - [Customizing the Web Interface](#customizing-the-web-interface)
   - [Enhancing the Web Interface Style with Custom CSS](#enhancing-the-web-interface-style-with-custom-css)
   - [Tailoring Frontend Component Layout](#tailoring-frontend-component-layout)
+  - [Specifying a Custom Frontend Source](#specifying-a-custom-frontend-source)
 - [Logging in pydase](#logging-in-pydase)
   - [Changing the Log Level](#changing-the-log-level)
 - [Documentation](#documentation)
@@ -40,19 +47,20 @@
 <!-- no toc -->
 - [Simple data service definition through class-based interface](#defining-a-dataService)
 - [Integrated web interface for interactive access and control of your data service](#accessing-the-web-interface)
-- [Support for `rpyc` connections, allowing for programmatic control and interaction with your service](#connecting-to-the-service-using-rpyc)
+- [Support for programmatic control and interaction with your service](#connecting-to-the-service-via-python-client)
 - [Component system bridging Python backend with frontend visual representation](#understanding-the-component-system)
 - [Customizable styling for the web interface through user-defined CSS](#customizing-web-interface-style)
 - [Saving and restoring the service state for service persistence](#understanding-service-persistence)
 - [Automated task management with built-in start/stop controls and optional autostart](#understanding-tasks-in-pydase)
 - [Support for units](#understanding-units-in-pydase)
+- [Validating Property Setters](#using-validate_set-to-validate-property-setters)
 <!-- Support for additional servers for specific use-cases -->
 
 ## Installation
 
 <!--installation-start-->
 
-Install pydase using [`poetry`](https://python-poetry.org/):
+Install `pydase` using [`poetry`](https://python-poetry.org/):
 
 ```bash
 poetry add pydase
@@ -70,16 +78,17 @@ pip install pydase
 
 <!--usage-start-->
 
-Using `pydase` involves three main steps: defining a `DataService` subclass, running the server, and then connecting to the service either programmatically using `rpyc` or through the web interface.
+Using `pydase` involves three main steps: defining a `DataService` subclass, running the server, and then connecting to the service either programmatically using `pydase.Client` or through the web interface.
 
 ### Defining a DataService
 
-To use pydase, you'll first need to create a class that inherits from `DataService`. This class represents your custom data service, which will be exposed via RPC (using rpyc) and a web server. Your class can implement class / instance attributes and synchronous and asynchronous tasks.
+To use pydase, you'll first need to create a class that inherits from `DataService`. This class represents your custom data service, which will be exposed via a web server. Your class can implement class / instance attributes and synchronous and asynchronous tasks.
 
 Here's an example:
 
 ```python
 from pydase import DataService, Server
+from pydase.utils.decorators import frontend
 
 
 class Device(DataService):
@@ -117,6 +126,7 @@ class Device(DataService):
         # run code to set power state
         self._power = value
 
+    @frontend
     def reset(self) -> None:
         self.current = 0.0
         self.voltage = 0.0
@@ -153,23 +163,51 @@ Once the server is running, you can access the web interface in a browser:
 
 In this interface, you can interact with the properties of your `Device` service.
 
-### Connecting to the Service using rpyc
+### Connecting to the Service via Python Client
 
-You can also connect to the service using `rpyc`. Here's an example on how to establish a connection and interact with the service:
+You can connect to the service using the `pydase.Client`. Below is an example of how to establish a connection to a service and interact with it:
 
 ```python
-import rpyc
+import pydase
 
-# Connect to the service
-conn = rpyc.connect("<ip_addr>", 18871)
-client = conn.root
+# Replace the hostname and port with the IP address and the port of the machine where 
+# the service is running, respectively
+client_proxy = pydase.Client(hostname="<ip_addr>", port=8001).proxy
 
-# Interact with the service
-client.voltage = 5.0
-print(client.voltage)  # prints 5.0
+# After the connection, interact with the service attributes as if they were local
+client_proxy.voltage = 5.0
+print(client_proxy.voltage)  # Expected output: 5.0
 ```
 
-In this example, replace `<ip_addr>` with the IP address of the machine where the service is running. After establishing a connection, you can interact with the service attributes as if they were local attributes.
+This example demonstrates setting and retrieving the `voltage` attribute through the client proxy.
+The proxy acts as a local representative of the remote service, enabling straightforward interaction.
+
+The proxy class dynamically synchronizes with the server's exposed attributes. This synchronization allows the proxy to be automatically updated with any attributes or methods that the server exposes, essentially mirroring the server's API. This dynamic updating enables users to interact with the remote service as if they were working with a local object.
+
+#### Tab Completion Support
+
+In interactive environments such as Python interpreters and Jupyter notebooks, the proxy class supports tab completion, which allows users to explore available methods and attributes.
+
+#### Integration within Another Service
+
+You can also integrate a client proxy within another service. Here's how you can set it up:
+
+```python
+import pydase
+
+class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+    # Initialize the client without blocking the constructor
+    proxy = pydase.Client(hostname="<ip_addr>", port=8001, block_until_connected=False).proxy
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    service = MyService()
+    # Create a server that exposes this service; adjust the web_port as needed
+    server = pydase.Server(service, web_port=8002). run()
+```
+
+In this setup, the `MyService` class has a `proxy` attribute that connects to a `pydase` service located at `<ip_addr>:8001`.
+The `block_until_connected=False` argument allows the service to start up even if the initial connection attempt fails.
+This configuration is particularly useful in distributed systems where services may start in any order.
 
 <!--usage-end-->
 
@@ -187,14 +225,39 @@ In `pydase`, components are fundamental building blocks that bridge the Python b
 - `int` and `float`: Manifested as the `NumberComponent`.
 - `bool`: Rendered as a `ButtonComponent`.
 - `list`: Each item displayed individually, named after the list attribute and its index.
+- `dict`: Each key-value pair displayed individually, named after the dictionary attribute and its key. **Note** that the dictionary keys must be strings.
 - `enum.Enum`: Presented as an `EnumComponent`, facilitating dropdown selection.
 
 ### Method Components
+Within the `DataService` class of `pydase`, only methods devoid of arguments can be represented in the frontend, classified into two distinct categories
 
-Methods within the `DataService` class have frontend representations:
+1. [**Tasks**](#understanding-tasks-in-pydase): Argument-free asynchronous functions, identified within `pydase` as tasks, are inherently designed for frontend interaction. These tasks are automatically rendered with a start/stop button, allowing users to initiate or halt the task execution directly from the web interface. 
+2. **Synchronous Methods with `@frontend` Decorator**: Synchronous methods without arguments can also be presented in the frontend. For this, they have to be decorated with the `@frontend` decorator.
 
-- Regular Methods: These are rendered as a `MethodComponent` in the frontend, allowing users to execute the method via an "execute" button.
-- Asynchronous Methods: These are manifested as the `AsyncMethodComponent` with "start"/"stop" buttons to manage the execution of [tasks](#understanding-tasks-in-pydase).
+```python
+import pydase
+import pydase.components
+import pydase.units as u
+from pydase.utils.decorators import frontend
+
+
+class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+    @frontend
+    def exposed_method(self) -> None:
+        ...
+
+    async def my_task(self) -> None:
+        while True:
+            # ...
+```
+
+![Method Components](docs/images/method_components.png)
+
+You can still define synchronous tasks with arguments and call them using a python client. However, decorating them with the `@frontend` decorator will raise a `FunctionDefinitionError`. Defining a task with arguments will raise a `TaskDefinitionError`.
+I decided against supporting function arguments for functions rendered in the frontend due to the following reasons:
+
+1. Feature Request Pitfall: supporting function arguments create a bottomless pit of feature requests. As users encounter the limitations of supported types, demands for extending support to more complex types would grow.
+2. Complexity in Supported Argument Types: while simple types like `int`, `float`, `bool` and `str` could be easily supported, more complicated types are not (representation, (de-)serialization).
 
 ### DataService Instances (Nested Classes)
 
@@ -208,9 +271,9 @@ from pydase import DataService, Server
 
 class Channel(DataService):
     def __init__(self, channel_id: int) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
         self._channel_id = channel_id
         self._current = 0.0
-        super().__init__()
 
     @property
     def current(self) -> float:
@@ -226,9 +289,8 @@ class Channel(DataService):
 
 class Device(DataService):
     def __init__(self) -> None:
-        self.channels = [Channel(i) for i in range(2)]
-
         super().__init__()
+        self.channels = [Channel(i) for i in range(2)]
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
@@ -249,6 +311,89 @@ The custom components in `pydase` have two main parts:
 
 Below are the components available in the `pydase.components` module, accompanied by their Python usage:
 
+#### `DeviceConnection`
+
+The `DeviceConnection` component acts as a base class within the `pydase` framework for managing device connections. It provides a structured approach to handle connections by offering a customizable `connect` method and a `connected` property. This setup facilitates the implementation of automatic reconnection logic, which periodically attempts reconnection whenever the connection is lost.
+
+In the frontend, this class abstracts away the direct interaction with the `connect` method and the `connected` property. Instead, it showcases user-defined attributes, methods, and properties. When the `connected` status is `False`, the frontend displays an overlay that prompts manual reconnection through the `connect()` method. Successful reconnection removes the overlay.
+
+```python
+import pydase.components
+import pydase.units as u
+
+
+class Device(pydase.components.DeviceConnection):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self._voltage = 10 * u.units.V
+
+    def connect(self) -> None:
+        if not self._connected:
+            self._connected = True
+
+    @property
+    def voltage(self) -> float:
+        return self._voltage
+
+
+class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self.device = Device()
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    service_instance = MyService()
+    pydase.Server(service_instance).run()
+```
+
+![DeviceConnection Component](docs/images/DeviceConnection_component.png)
+
+##### Customizing Connection Logic
+
+Users are encouraged to primarily override the `connect` method to tailor the connection process to their specific device. This method should adjust the `self._connected` attribute based on the outcome of the connection attempt:
+
+```python
+import pydase.components
+
+
+class MyDeviceConnection(pydase.components.DeviceConnection):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        # Add any necessary initialization code here
+
+    def connect(self) -> None:
+        # Implement device-specific connection logic here
+        # Update self._connected to `True` if the connection is successful,
+        # or `False` if unsuccessful
+        ...
+```
+
+Moreover, if the connection status requires additional logic, users can override the `connected` property:
+
+```python
+import pydase.components
+
+class MyDeviceConnection(pydase.components.DeviceConnection):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        # Add any necessary initialization code here
+
+    def connect(self) -> None:
+        # Implement device-specific connection logic here
+        # Ensure self._connected reflects the connection status accurately
+        ...
+
+    @property
+    def connected(self) -> bool:
+        # Implement custom logic to accurately report connection status
+        return self._connected
+```
+
+##### Reconnection Interval
+
+The `DeviceConnection` component automatically executes a task that checks for device availability at a default interval of 10 seconds. This interval is adjustable by modifying the `_reconnection_wait_time` attribute on the class instance.
+
 #### `Image`
 
 This component provides a versatile interface for displaying images within the application. Users can update and manage images from various sources, including local paths, URLs, and even matplotlib figures.
@@ -258,7 +403,6 @@ The component offers methods to load images seamlessly, ensuring that visual con
 ```python
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 import numpy as np
-
 import pydase
 from pydase.components.image import Image
 
@@ -336,12 +480,14 @@ class MySlider(pydase.components.NumberSlider):
 
     @property
     def value(self) -> float:
+        """Slider value."""
         return self._value
 
     @value.setter
     def value(self, value: float) -> None:
         if value < self._min or value > self._max:
             raise ValueError("Value is either below allowed min or above max value.")
+
         self._value = value
 
 
@@ -417,7 +563,7 @@ In this example, `MySlider` overrides the `min`, `max`, `step_size`, and `value`
 
 - Incorporating units in `NumberSlider`
 
-  The `NumberSlider` is capable of displaying units alongside values, enhancing its usability in contexts where unit representation is crucial. When utilizing `pydase.units`, you can specify units for the slider's value, allowing the component to reflect these units in the frontend.
+  The `NumberSlider` is capable of [displaying units](#understanding-units-in-pydase) alongside values, enhancing its usability in contexts where unit representation is crucial. When utilizing `pydase.units`, you can specify units for the slider's value, allowing the component to reflect these units in the frontend.
 
   Here's how to implement a `NumberSlider` with unit display:
 
@@ -495,6 +641,9 @@ my_service.status = MyStatus.FAILED
 
 ![ColouredEnum Component](docs/images/ColouredEnum_component.png)
 
+**Note** that each enumeration name and value must be unique.
+This means that you should use different colour formats when you want to use a colour multiple times.
+
 #### Extending with New Components
 
 Users can also extend the library by creating custom components. This involves defining the behavior on the Python backend and the visual representation on the frontend. For those looking to introduce new components, the [guide on adding components](https://pydase.readthedocs.io/en/latest/dev-guide/Adding_Components/) provides detailed steps on achieving this.
@@ -552,9 +701,9 @@ Note: If the service class structure has changed since the last time its state w
 
 ## Understanding Tasks in pydase
 
-In `pydase`, a task is defined as an asynchronous function contained in a class that inherits from `DataService`. These tasks usually contain a while loop and are designed to carry out periodic functions.
+In `pydase`, a task is defined as an asynchronous function without arguments contained in a class that inherits from `DataService`. These tasks usually contain a while loop and are designed to carry out periodic functions.
 
-For example, a task might be used to periodically read sensor data, update a database, or perform any other recurring job. The core feature of `pydase` is its ability to automatically generate start and stop functions for these tasks. This allows you to control task execution via both the frontend and an `rpyc` client, giving you flexible and powerful control over your service's operation.
+For example, a task might be used to periodically read sensor data, update a database, or perform any other recurring job. One core feature of `pydase` is its ability to automatically generate start and stop functions for these tasks. This allows you to control task execution via both the frontend and python clients, giving you flexible and powerful control over your service's operation.
 
 Another powerful feature of `pydase` is its ability to automatically start tasks upon initialization of the service. By specifying the tasks and their arguments in the `_autostart_tasks` dictionary in your service class's `__init__` method, `pydase` will automatically start these tasks when the server is started. Here's an example:
 
@@ -563,9 +712,9 @@ from pydase import DataService, Server
 
 class SensorService(DataService):
     def __init__(self):
-        self.readout_frequency = 1.0
-        self._autostart_tasks = {"read_sensor_data": ()}  # args passed to the function go there
         super().__init__()
+        self.readout_frequency = 1.0
+        self._autostart_tasks["read_sensor_data"] = ()
 
     def _process_data(self, data: ...) -> None:
         ...
@@ -585,22 +734,22 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
     Server(service).run()
 ```
 
-In this example, `read_sensor_data` is a task that continuously reads data from a sensor. The readout frequency can be updated using the `readout_frequency` attribute.
-By listing it in the `_autostart_tasks` dictionary, it will automatically start running when `Server(service).run()` is executed.
-As with all tasks, `pydase` will also generate `start_read_sensor_data` and `stop_read_sensor_data` methods, which can be called to manually start and stop the data reading task.
+In this example, `read_sensor_data` is a task that continuously reads data from a sensor. By adding it to the `_autostart_tasks` dictionary, it will automatically start running when `Server(service).run()` is executed.
+As with all tasks, `pydase` will generate `start_read_sensor_data` and `stop_read_sensor_data` methods, which can be called to manually start and stop the data reading task. The readout frequency can be updated using the `readout_frequency` attribute.
 
 ## Understanding Units in pydase
 
 `pydase` integrates with the [`pint`](https://pint.readthedocs.io/en/stable/) package to allow you to work with physical quantities within your service. This enables you to define attributes with units, making your service more expressive and ensuring consistency in the handling of physical quantities.
 
-You can define quantities in your `DataService` subclass using `pydase`'s `units` functionality. These quantities can be set and accessed like regular attributes, and `pydase` will automatically handle the conversion between floats and quantities with units.
+You can define quantities in your `DataService` subclass using `pydase`'s `units` functionality.
 
 Here's an example:
 
 ```python
 from typing import Any
-from pydase import DataService, Server
+
 import pydase.units as u
+from pydase import DataService, Server
 
 
 class ServiceClass(DataService):
@@ -612,17 +761,15 @@ class ServiceClass(DataService):
         return self._current
 
     @current.setter
-    def current(self, value: Any) -> None:
+    def current(self, value: u.Quantity) -> None:
         self._current = value
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     service = ServiceClass()
 
-    # You can just set floats to the Quantity objects. The DataService __setattr__ will
-    # automatically convert this
-    service.voltage = 10.0
-    service.current = 1.5
+    service.voltage = 10.0 * u.units.V
+    service.current = 1.5 * u.units.mA
 
     Server(service).run()
 ```
@@ -655,6 +802,45 @@ if __name__ == "__main__":
 
 For more information about what you can do with the units, please consult the documentation of [`pint`](https://pint.readthedocs.io/en/stable/).
 
+## Using `validate_set` to Validate Property Setters
+
+The `validate_set` decorator ensures that a property setter reads back the set value using the property getter and checks it against the desired value.
+This decorator can be used to validate that a parameter has been correctly set on a device within a specified precision and timeout.
+
+The decorator takes two keyword arguments: `timeout` and `precision`. The `timeout` argument specifies the maximum time (in seconds) to wait for the value to be within the precision boundary.
+If the value is not within the precision boundary after this time, an exception is raised.
+The `precision` argument defines the acceptable deviation from the desired value.
+If `precision` is `None`, the value must be exact.
+For example, if `precision` is set to `1e-5`, the value read from the device must be within ±0.00001 of the desired value.
+
+Here’s how to use the `validate_set` decorator in a `DataService` class:
+
+```python
+import pydase
+from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.decorators import validate_set
+
+
+class Service(pydase.DataService):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self._device = RemoteDevice()  # dummy class
+
+    @property
+    def value(self) -> float:
+        # Implement how to get the value from the remote device...
+        return self._device.value
+
+    @value.setter
+    @validate_set(timeout=1.0, precision=1e-5)
+    def value(self, value: float) -> None:
+        # Implement how to set the value on the remote device...
+        self._device.value = value
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    pydase.Server(Service()).run()
+```
+
 ## Configuring pydase via Environment Variables
 
 Configuring `pydase` through environment variables enhances flexibility, security, and reusability. This approach allows for easy adaptation of services across different environments without code changes, promoting scalability and maintainability. With that, it simplifies deployment processes and facilitates centralized configuration management. Moreover, environment variables enable separation of configuration from code, aiding in secure and collaborative development.
@@ -723,10 +909,33 @@ Please ensure that the CSS file path is accessible from the server's running loc
 `pydase` enables users to customize the frontend layout via the `web_settings.json` file. Each key in the file corresponds to the full access path of public attributes, properties, and methods of the exposed service, using dot-notation.
 
 - **Custom Display Names**: Modify the `"displayName"` value in the file to change how each component appears in the frontend.
-<!-- - **Adjustable Component Order**: The `"index"` values determine the order of components. Alter these values to rearrange the components as desired. -->
+- **Control Component Visibility**: Utilize the `"display"` key-value pair to control whether a component is rendered in the frontend. Set the value to `true` to make the component visible or `false` to hide it.
+<!-- - **Adjustable Component Order**: The `"displayOrder"` values determine the order of components. Alter these values to rearrange the components as desired. -->
 
 The `web_settings.json` file will be stored in the directory specified by `SERVICE_CONFIG_DIR`. You can generate a `web_settings.json` file by setting the `GENERATE_WEB_SETTINGS` to `True`. For more information, see the [configuration section](#configuring-pydase-via-environment-variables).
 
+### Specifying a Custom Frontend Source
+
+To further personalize your web interface, you can provide `pydase` with a custom frontend GUI. To do so, you can use the `frontend_src` keyword in the `pydase.Server`:
+
+```python
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pydase
+
+
+class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+    # Service definition
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    service = MyService()
+    pydase.Server(
+        service,
+        frontend_src=Path("path/to/your/frontend/directory"),
+    ).run()
+```
+
 ## Logging in pydase
 
 The `pydase` library organizes its loggers on a per-module basis, mirroring the Python package hierarchy. This structured approach allows for granular control over logging levels and behaviour across different parts of the library.

docs/dev-guide/Adding_Components.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ For example, for a `Image` component, create a file named `image.py`.
 
 ### Step 2: Define the Backend Class
 
-Within the newly created file, define a Python class representing the component. This class should inherit from `DataService` and contains the attributes that the frontend needs to render the component. Every public attribute defined in this class will synchronise across the clients. It can also contain methods which can be used to interact with the component from the backend.
+Within the newly created file, define a Python class representing the component. This class should inherit from `DataService` and contains the attributes that the frontend needs to render the component. Every public attribute defined in this class will synchronise across the clients. It can also contain (public) methods which you can provide for the user to interact with the component from the backend (or python clients).
 
 For the `Image` component, the class may look like this:
 
@@ -31,21 +31,25 @@ from pydase.data_service.data_service import DataService
 class Image(DataService):
     def __init__(
         self,
-        image_representation: bytes = b"",
     ) -> None:
-        self.image_representation = image_representation
         super().__init__()
+        self._value: str = ""
+        self._format: str = ""
 
-    # need to decode the bytes
-    def __setattr__(self, __name: str, __value: Any) -> None:
-        if __name == "value":
-            if isinstance(__value, bytes):
-                __value = __value.decode()
-        return super().__setattr__(__name, __value)
+    @property
+    def value(self) -> str:
+        return self._value
 
+    @property
+    def format(self) -> str:
+        return self._format
+
+    def load_from_path(self, path: Path | str) -> None:
+        # changing self._value and self._format
+        ...
 ```
 
-So, changing the `image_representation` will push the updated value to the browsers connected to the service.
+So, calling `load_from_path` will push the updated value and format to the browsers clients connected to the service.
 
 ### Step 3: Register the Backend Class
 
@@ -85,10 +89,11 @@ def test_Image(capsys: CaptureFixture) -> None:
     class ServiceClass(DataService):
         image = Image()
 
-    service = ServiceClass()
-    # ...
-```
+    service_instance = ServiceClass()
 
+    service_instance.image.load_from_path("<path/to/image>.png")
+    assert service_instance.image.format == "PNG"
+```
 
 ## Adding a Frontend Component to `pydase`
 
@@ -107,43 +112,41 @@ Write the React component code, following the structure and patterns used in exi
 For example, for the `Image` component, a template could look like this:
 
 ```tsx
-import { setAttribute, runMethod } from '../socket';  // use this when your component should sets values of attributes
-                                                      // or runs a method, respectively
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
 import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
 import { Card, Collapse, Image } from 'react-bootstrap';
 import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
 import { ChevronDown, ChevronRight } from 'react-bootstrap-icons';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
 import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
 
 type ImageComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath?: string;
-  readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  name: string;  // needed to create the fullAccessPath
+  parentPath: string;  // needed to create the fullAccessPath
+  readOnly: boolean;  // component changable through frontend?
+  docString: string;  // contains docstring of your component
+  displayName: string;  // name defined in the web_settings.json
+  id: string;  // unique identifier - created from fullAccessPath
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-  // Define your component specific props here
+  changeCallback?: (  // function used to communicate changes to the backend
+    value: unknown,
+    attributeName?: string,
+    prefix?: string,
+    callback?: (ack: unknown) => void
+  ) => void;
+  // component-specific properties 
   value: string;
   format: string;
-}
+};
 
 export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, value, docString, format, addNotification } = props;
+  const { value, docString, format, addNotification, displayName, id } = props;
 
   const renderCount = useRef(0);
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(true);  // add this if you want to expand/collapse your component
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
+  const fullAccessPath = [props.parentPath, props.name]
+    .filter((element) => element)
+    .join('.');
 
-  // Web settings contain the user-defined display name of the components (and possibly more later)
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
+  // Your component logic here
 
   useEffect(() => {
     renderCount.current++;
@@ -151,13 +154,11 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
 
   // This will trigger a notification if notifications are enabled.
   useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${value}.`);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed.`);
   }, [props.value]);
 
-  // Your component logic here
-
   return (
-    <div className={'imageComponent'} id={id}>
+    <div className="component imageComponent" id={id}>
       {/* Add the Card and Collapse components here if you want to be able to expand and
        collapse your component.  */}
       <Card>
@@ -185,57 +186,98 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
 
 ### Step 3: Emitting Updates to the Backend
 
-React components in the frontend often need to send updates to the backend, particularly when user interactions modify the component's state or data. In `pydase`, we use `socketio` for smooth communication of these changes. To handle updates, we primarily use two events: `setAttribute` for updating attributes, and `runMethod` for executing backend methods. Below is a detailed guide on how to emit these events from your frontend component:
+React components in the frontend often need to send updates to the backend, particularly when user interactions modify the component's state or data. In `pydase`, we use `socketio` for communicating these changes.<br>
+There are two different events a component might want to trigger: updating an attribute or triggering a method. Below is a guide on how to emit these events from your frontend component:
 
-1. **Setup for emitting events**:
-    First, ensure you've imported the necessary functions from the `socket` module for both updating attributes and executing methods:
+1. **Updating Attributes**
 
-    ```tsx
-    import { setAttribute, runMethod } from '../socket';
-    ```
+    Updating the value of an attribute or property in the backend is a very common requirement. However, we want to define components in a reusable way, i.e. they can be linked to the backend but also be used without emitting change events.<br>
+    This is why we pass a `changeCallback` function as a prop to the component which it can use to communicate changes. If no function is passed, the component can be used in forms, for example.
 
-2. **Event Parameters**:
+    The `changeCallback` function takes the following arguments:
 
-    - When using **`setAttribute`**, we send three main pieces of data:
-        - `name`: The name of the attribute within the `DataService` instance to update.
-        - `parentPath`: The access path for the parent object of the attribute to be updated.
-        - `value`: The new value for the attribute, which must match the backend attribute type.
-    - For **`runMethod`**, the parameters are slightly different:
-        - `name`: The name of the method to be executed in the backend.
-        - `parentPath`: Similar to `setAttribute`, it's the access path to the object containing the method.
-        - `kwargs`: A dictionary of keyword arguments that the method requires.
-
-3. **Implementation**:
-
-    For illustation, take the `ButtonComponent`. When the button state changes, we want to send this update to the backend:
-
-    ```tsx
-    import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-    // ... (other imports)
+    - `value`: the new value for the attribute, which must match the backend attribute type.
+    - `attributeName`: the name of the attribute within the `DataService` instance to update. Defaults to the `name` prop of the component.
+    - `prefix`: the access path for the parent object of the attribute to be updated. Defaults to the `parentPath` prop of the component.
+    - `callback`: the function that will be called when the server sends an acknowledgement. Defaults to `undefined`
     
+    For illustration, take the `ButtonComponent`. When the button state changes, we want to send this update to the backend:
+
+    ```tsx
+    // file: frontend/src/components/ButtonComponent.tsx
+    // ... (import statements)
+    
+    type ButtonComponentProps = {
+      // ...
+      changeCallback?: (
+        value: unknown,
+        attributeName?: string,
+        prefix?: string,
+        callback?: (ack: unknown) => void
+      ) => void;
+    };
+
     export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
-      // ... 
-      const { name, parentPath, value } = props;
-      let displayName = ...  // to access the user-defined display name
+      const {
+        // ...
+        changeCallback = () => {},
+      } = props;
 
       const setChecked = (checked: boolean) => {
-        setAttribute(name, parentPath, checked);
+        changeCallback(checked);
       };
 
       return (
         <ToggleButton
-          checked={value}
-          value={parentPath}
           // ... other props
           onChange={(e) => setChecked(e.currentTarget.checked)}>
-          {displayName}
+          {/* component TSX */}
         </ToggleButton>
       );
     });
     ```
 
-    In this example, whenever the button's checked state changes (`onChange` event), we invoke the `setChecked` method, which in turn emits the new state to the backend using `setAttribute`.
+    In this example, whenever the button's checked state changes (`onChange` event), we invoke the `setChecked` method, which in turn emits the new state to the backend using `changeCallback`.
 
+2. **Triggering Methods**
+
+    To trigger method through your component, you can either use the `MethodComponent` (which will render a button in the frontend), or use the low-level `runMethod` function. Its parameters are slightly different to the `changeCallback` function:
+
+    - `name`: the name of the method to be executed in the backend.
+    - `parentPath`: the access path to the object containing the method.
+    - `kwargs`: a dictionary of keyword arguments that the method requires.
+
+    To see how to use the `MethodComponent` in your component, have a look at the `DeviceConnection.tsx` file. Here is an example that demonstrates the usage of the `runMethod` function (also, have a look at the `MethodComponent.tsx` file):
+
+    ```tsx
+    import { runMethod } from '../socket';
+    // ... (other imports)
+
+    type ComponentProps = {
+      name: string;
+      parentPath: string;
+      // ...
+    };
+
+    export const Component = React.memo((props: ComponentProps) => {
+      const {
+        name,
+        parentPath,
+        // ...
+      } = props;
+
+      // ...
+
+      const someFunction = () => {
+        // ...
+        runMethod(name, parentPath, {});
+      };
+
+      return (
+        {/* component TSX */}
+      );
+    });
+    ```
 
 ### Step 4: Add the New Component to the GenericComponent
 
@@ -282,15 +324,17 @@ Inside the `GenericComponent` function, add a new conditional branch to render t
     <ImageComponent
       name={name}
       parentPath={parentPath}
-      readOnly={attribute.readonly}
-      docString={attribute.doc}
+      docString={attribute.value['value'].doc}
+      displayName={displayName}
+      id={id}
       addNotification={addNotification}
+      changeCallback={changeCallback}
       // Add any other specific props for the ImageComponent here
       value={attribute.value['value']['value'] as string}
       format={attribute.value['format']['value'] as string}
     />
   );
-} else {
+} else if (...) {
   // other code
 ```
 
@@ -305,12 +349,14 @@ For example, updating an `Image` component corresponds to setting a very long st
 To create a custom notification message, you can update the message passed to the `addNotification` method in the `useEffect` hook in the component file file. For the `ImageComponent`, this could look like this:
 
 ```tsx
+const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
+
 useEffect(() => {
-  addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed.`);
+  addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed.`);
 }, [props.value]);
 ```
 
-However, you might want to use the `addNotification` at different places. For an example, see the [MethodComponent](../../frontend/src/components/MethodComponent.tsx).
+However, you might want to use the `addNotification` at different places. For an example, see the `MethodComponent`.
 **Note**: you can specify the notification level by passing a string of type `LevelName` (one of 'CRITICAL', 'ERROR', 'WARNING', 'INFO', 'DEBUG'). The default value is 'DEBUG'.
 
 ### Step 6: Write Tests for the Component (TODO)

frontend/.eslintrc

@@ -1,16 +0,0 @@
-{
-    "root": true,
-    "parser": "@typescript-eslint/parser",
-    "plugins": [
-        "@typescript-eslint",
-        "prettier"
-    ],
-    "extends": [
-        "eslint:recommended",
-        "plugin:@typescript-eslint/recommended",
-        "prettier"
-    ],
-    "rules": {
-        "prettier/prettier": "error"
-    }
-}

frontend/.gitignore

@@ -1,20 +1,24 @@
-# See https://help.github.com/articles/ignoring-files/ for more about ignoring files.
-
-# dependencies
-/node_modules
-/.pnp
-.pnp.js
-
-# testing
-/coverage
-
-# misc
-.DS_Store
-.env.local
-.env.development.local
-.env.test.local
-.env.production.local
-
+# Logs
+logs
+*.log
 npm-debug.log*
 yarn-debug.log*
 yarn-error.log*
+pnpm-debug.log*
+lerna-debug.log*
+
+node_modules
+dist
+dist-ssr
+*.local
+
+# Editor directories and files
+.vscode/*
+!.vscode/extensions.json
+.idea
+.DS_Store
+*.suo
+*.ntvs*
+*.njsproj
+*.sln
+*.sw?

frontend/.prettierrc

@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 {
-  "arrowParens": "always",
-  "bracketSameLine": true,
-  "endOfLine": "auto",
-  "semi": true,
-  "singleQuote": true,
-  "tabWidth": 2,
-  "vueIndentScriptAndStyle": true,
-  "printWidth": 88,
-  "trailingComma": "none"
+    "arrowParens": "always",
+    "bracketSameLine": true,
+    "endOfLine": "auto",
+    "semi": true,
+    "singleQuote": false,
+    "tabWidth": 2,
+    "printWidth": 88
 }

frontend/README.md

@@ -1,70 +1,30 @@
-# Getting Started with Create React App
+# React + TypeScript + Vite
 
-This project was bootstrapped with [Create React App](https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app).
+This template provides a minimal setup to get React working in Vite with HMR and some ESLint rules.
 
-## Available Scripts
+Currently, two official plugins are available:
 
-In the project directory, you can run:
+- [@vitejs/plugin-react](https://github.com/vitejs/vite-plugin-react/blob/main/packages/plugin-react/README.md) uses [Babel](https://babeljs.io/) for Fast Refresh
+- [@vitejs/plugin-react-swc](https://github.com/vitejs/vite-plugin-react-swc) uses [SWC](https://swc.rs/) for Fast Refresh
 
-### `npm start`
+## Expanding the ESLint configuration
 
-Runs the app in the development mode.\
-Open [http://localhost:3000](http://localhost:3000) to view it in your browser.
+If you are developing a production application, we recommend updating the configuration to enable type aware lint rules:
 
-The page will reload when you make changes.\
-You may also see any lint errors in the console.
+- Configure the top-level `parserOptions` property like this:
 
-### `npm test`
+```js
+export default {
+  // other rules...
+  parserOptions: {
+    ecmaVersion: 'latest',
+    sourceType: 'module',
+    project: ['./tsconfig.json', './tsconfig.node.json'],
+    tsconfigRootDir: __dirname,
+  },
+}
+```
 
-Launches the test runner in the interactive watch mode.\
-See the section about [running tests](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/running-tests) for more information.
-
-### `npm run build`
-
-Builds the app for production to the `build` folder.\
-It correctly bundles React in production mode and optimizes the build for the best performance.
-
-The build is minified and the filenames include the hashes.\
-Your app is ready to be deployed!
-
-See the section about [deployment](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/deployment) for more information.
-
-### `npm run eject`
-
-**Note: this is a one-way operation. Once you `eject`, you can't go back!**
-
-If you aren't satisfied with the build tool and configuration choices, you can `eject` at any time. This command will remove the single build dependency from your project.
-
-Instead, it will copy all the configuration files and the transitive dependencies (webpack, Babel, ESLint, etc) right into your project so you have full control over them. All of the commands except `eject` will still work, but they will point to the copied scripts so you can tweak them. At this point you're on your own.
-
-You don't have to ever use `eject`. The curated feature set is suitable for small and middle deployments, and you shouldn't feel obligated to use this feature. However we understand that this tool wouldn't be useful if you couldn't customize it when you are ready for it.
-
-## Learn More
-
-You can learn more in the [Create React App documentation](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/getting-started).
-
-To learn React, check out the [React documentation](https://reactjs.org/).
-
-### Code Splitting
-
-This section has moved here: [https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/code-splitting](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/code-splitting)
-
-### Analyzing the Bundle Size
-
-This section has moved here: [https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/analyzing-the-bundle-size](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/analyzing-the-bundle-size)
-
-### Making a Progressive Web App
-
-This section has moved here: [https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/making-a-progressive-web-app](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/making-a-progressive-web-app)
-
-### Advanced Configuration
-
-This section has moved here: [https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/advanced-configuration](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/advanced-configuration)
-
-### Deployment
-
-This section has moved here: [https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/deployment](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/deployment)
-
-### `npm run build` fails to minify
-
-This section has moved here: [https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/troubleshooting#npm-run-build-fails-to-minify](https://facebook.github.io/create-react-app/docs/troubleshooting#npm-run-build-fails-to-minify)
+- Replace `plugin:@typescript-eslint/recommended` to `plugin:@typescript-eslint/recommended-type-checked` or `plugin:@typescript-eslint/strict-type-checked`
+- Optionally add `plugin:@typescript-eslint/stylistic-type-checked`
+- Install [eslint-plugin-react](https://github.com/jsx-eslint/eslint-plugin-react) and add `plugin:react/recommended` & `plugin:react/jsx-runtime` to the `extends` list

frontend/eslint.config.js

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import eslint from "@eslint/js";
+import tseslint from "typescript-eslint";
+import eslintPluginPrettierRecommended from "eslint-plugin-prettier/recommended";
+import reactRecommended from "eslint-plugin-react/configs/recommended.js";
+
+export default tseslint.config(
+  eslint.configs.recommended,
+  ...tseslint.configs.recommended,
+  ...tseslint.configs.stylistic,
+  {
+    files: ["**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}"],
+    ...reactRecommended,
+    languageOptions: {
+      parser: tseslint.parser,
+    },
+    rules: {
+      "prettier/prettier": "error",
+      "react/react-in-jsx-scope": "off",
+      "react/prop-types": "off",
+      "@typescript-eslint/no-empty-function": "off",
+    },
+  },
+  eslintPluginPrettierRecommended,
+);

frontend/index.html

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+    <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000" />
+    <meta name="description" content="Web site displaying a pydase UI." />
+</head>
+
+<body>
+    <noscript>You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.</noscript>
+    <div id="root"></div>
+    <script type="module" src="/src/index.tsx"></script>
+</body>
+
+</html>

frontend/package.json

@@ -1,58 +1,40 @@
 {
-  "name": "pydase",
-  "version": "0.1.0",
-  "private": true,
-  "dependencies": {
-    "@emotion/react": "^11.11.1",
-    "@emotion/styled": "^11.11.0",
-    "@fsouza/prettierd": "^0.25.1",
-    "@mui/material": "^5.14.1",
-    "@testing-library/jest-dom": "^5.16.5",
-    "@testing-library/react": "^13.4.0",
-    "@testing-library/user-event": "^13.5.0",
-    "bootstrap": "^5.3.0",
-    "react": "^18.2.0",
-    "react-bootstrap": "^2.8.0",
-    "react-bootstrap-icons": "^1.10.3",
-    "react-dom": "^18.2.0",
-    "react-scripts": "5.0.1",
-    "socket.io-client": "^4.7.1",
-    "web-vitals": "^3.4.0"
-  },
-  "scripts": {
-    "start": "NODE_ENV=development react-scripts start",
-    "build": "BUILD_PATH='../src/pydase/frontend' react-scripts build",
-    "test": "react-scripts test",
-    "eject": "react-scripts eject"
-  },
-  "eslintConfig": {
-    "extends": [
-      "react-app",
-      "react-app/jest"
-    ]
-  },
-  "browserslist": {
-    "production": [
-      ">0.2%",
-      "not dead",
-      "not op_mini all"
-    ],
-    "development": [
-      "last 1 chrome version",
-      "last 1 firefox version",
-      "last 1 safari version"
-    ]
-  },
-  "devDependencies": {
-    "@types/node": "^20.0.0",
-    "@types/react": "^18.0.0",
-    "@types/react-dom": "^18.0.0",
-    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^6.11.0",
-    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^6.9.0",
-    "eslint": "^8.52.0",
-    "eslint-config-prettier": "^9.0.0",
-    "eslint-plugin-prettier": "^5.0.1",
-    "prettier": "^3.0.3",
-    "typescript": "^4.9.0"
-  }
+    "name": "pydase",
+    "private": true,
+    "version": "0.1.0",
+    "type": "module",
+    "scripts": {
+        "dev": "vite",
+        "build": "tsc -b && vite build --emptyOutDir",
+        "lint": "eslint . --report-unused-disable-directives --max-warnings 0",
+        "preview": "vite preview"
+    },
+    "dependencies": {
+        "@emotion/styled": "^11.11.0",
+        "@mui/material": "^5.14.1",
+        "bootstrap": "^5.3.3",
+        "deep-equal": "^2.2.3",
+        "react": "^18.3.1",
+        "react-bootstrap": "^2.10.0",
+        "react-bootstrap-icons": "^1.11.4",
+        "socket.io-client": "^4.7.1"
+    },
+    "devDependencies": {
+        "@eslint/js": "^9.6.0",
+        "@types/deep-equal": "^1.0.4",
+        "@types/eslint__js": "^8.42.3",
+        "@types/node": "^20.14.10",
+        "@types/react": "^18.3.3",
+        "@types/react-dom": "^18.3.0",
+        "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^7.15.0",
+        "@vitejs/plugin-react-swc": "^3.5.0",
+        "eslint": "^8.57.0",
+        "eslint-config-prettier": "^9.1.0",
+        "eslint-plugin-prettier": "^5.1.3",
+        "eslint-plugin-react": "^7.34.3",
+        "prettier": "3.3.2",
+        "typescript": "^5.5.3",
+        "typescript-eslint": "^7.15.0",
+        "vite": "^5.3.1"
+    }
 }

frontend/public/index.html

@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html>
-<html lang="en">
-  <head>
-    <meta charset="utf-8" />
-    <link rel="icon" href="%PUBLIC_URL%/favicon.ico" />
-    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
-    <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000" />
-    <meta
-      name="description"
-      content="Web site displaying a pydase UI."
-    />
-    <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="%PUBLIC_URL%/logo192.png" />
-    <!--
-      manifest.json provides metadata used when your web app is installed on a
-      user's mobile device or desktop. See https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/web-app-manifest/
-    -->
-    <link rel="manifest" href="%PUBLIC_URL%/manifest.json" />
-    <!--
-      Notice the use of %PUBLIC_URL% in the tags above.
-      It will be replaced with the URL of the `public` folder during the build.
-      Only files inside the `public` folder can be referenced from the HTML.
-
-      Unlike "/favicon.ico" or "favicon.ico", "%PUBLIC_URL%/favicon.ico" will
-      work correctly both with client-side routing and a non-root public URL.
-      Learn how to configure a non-root public URL by running `npm run build`.
-    -->
-    <title>pydase App</title>
-  </head>
-  <body>
-    <noscript>You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.</noscript>
-    <div id="root"></div>
-    <!--
-      This HTML file is a template.
-      If you open it directly in the browser, you will see an empty page.
-
-      You can add webfonts, meta tags, or analytics to this file.
-      The build step will place the bundled scripts into the <body> tag.
-
-      To begin the development, run `npm start` or `yarn start`.
-      To create a production bundle, use `npm run build` or `yarn build`.
-    -->
-  </body>
-</html>

frontend/public/manifest.json

@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "short_name": "React App",
-  "name": "Create React App Sample",
-  "icons": [
-    {
-      "src": "favicon.ico",
-      "sizes": "64x64 32x32 24x24 16x16",
-      "type": "image/x-icon"
-    },
-    {
-      "src": "logo192.png",
-      "type": "image/png",
-      "sizes": "192x192"
-    },
-    {
-      "src": "logo512.png",
-      "type": "image/png",
-      "sizes": "512x512"
-    }
-  ],
-  "start_url": ".",
-  "display": "standalone",
-  "theme_color": "#000000",
-  "background_color": "#ffffff"
-}

frontend/public/robots.txt

@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# https://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html
-User-agent: *
-Disallow:

frontend/src/App.css

@@ -5,11 +5,6 @@ body {
 input.instantUpdate {
   background-color: rgba(255, 0, 0, 0.1);
 }
-
-.numberComponentButton {
-  padding: 0.15em 6px !important;
-  font-size: 0.70rem !important;
-}
 .navbarOffset {
   padding-top: 60px !important;
 }
@@ -17,26 +12,41 @@ input.instantUpdate {
   position: fixed !important;
   padding: 5px;
 }
-.debugToast, .infoToast {
+.debugToast,
+.infoToast {
   background-color: rgba(114, 214, 253, 0.5) !important;
 }
 .warningToast {
   background-color: rgba(255, 181, 44, 0.603) !important;
 }
-.errorToast, .criticalToast {
+.errorToast,
+.criticalToast {
   background-color: rgba(216, 41, 18, 0.678) !important;
 }
-.buttonComponent {
+.component {
+  position: relative;
   float: left !important;
-  margin-right: 10px !important;
+  padding: 5px !important;
+  z-index: 1;
 }
-.stringComponent {
+.dataServiceComponent {
+  width: 100%;
+}
+.deviceConnectionComponent {
+  position: relative;
   float: left !important;
-  margin-right: 10px !important;
+  width: 100%;
+  z-index: 1;
 }
-.numberComponent {
-    float: left !important;
-    margin-right: 10px !important;
-    width: 270px !important;
+.overlayContent {
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 5px; /* (see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/inset) */
+  background: rgba(155, 155, 155, 0.75);
+  z-index: 2;
+  display: flex;
+  justify-content: center;
+  align-items: center;
+  flex-direction: column; /* Stack children vertically */
+  border-radius: var(--bs-border-radius);
+  border: var(--bs-border-width) solid var(--bs-border-color-translucent)
 }
-

frontend/src/App.tsx

@@ -1,40 +1,48 @@
-import { useCallback, useEffect, useReducer, useState } from 'react';
-import { Navbar, Form, Offcanvas, Container } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { hostname, port, socket } from './socket';
-import './App.css';
+import { useCallback, useEffect, useReducer, useState } from "react";
+import { Navbar, Form, Offcanvas, Container } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { hostname, port, socket } from "./socket";
+import "./App.css";
 import {
   Notifications,
   Notification,
-  LevelName
-} from './components/NotificationsComponent';
-import { ConnectionToast } from './components/ConnectionToast';
-import { SerializedValue, setNestedValueByPath, State } from './utils/stateUtils';
-import { WebSettingsContext, WebSetting } from './WebSettings';
-import { Attribute, GenericComponent } from './components/GenericComponent';
+  LevelName,
+} from "./components/NotificationsComponent";
+import { ConnectionToast } from "./components/ConnectionToast";
+import { setNestedValueByPath, State } from "./utils/stateUtils";
+import { WebSettingsContext, WebSetting } from "./WebSettings";
+import { GenericComponent } from "./components/GenericComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "./types/SerializedObject";
 
 type Action =
-  | { type: 'SET_DATA'; data: State }
+  | { type: "SET_DATA"; data: State }
   | {
-      type: 'UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE';
+      type: "UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE";
       fullAccessPath: string;
-      newValue: SerializedValue;
+      newValue: SerializedObject;
     };
-type UpdateMessage = {
-  data: { full_access_path: string; value: SerializedValue };
-};
-type LogMessage = {
+interface UpdateMessage {
+  data: { full_access_path: string; value: SerializedObject };
+}
+interface LogMessage {
   levelname: LevelName;
   message: string;
-};
+}
 
-const reducer = (state: State, action: Action): State => {
+const reducer = (state: State | null, action: Action): State | null => {
   switch (action.type) {
-    case 'SET_DATA':
+    case "SET_DATA":
       return action.data;
-    case 'UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE': {
+    case "UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE": {
+      if (state === null) {
+        return null;
+      }
       return {
         ...state,
-        value: setNestedValueByPath(state.value, action.fullAccessPath, action.newValue)
+        value: setNestedValueByPath(
+          state.value as Record<string, SerializedObject>,
+          action.fullAccessPath,
+          action.newValue,
+        ),
       };
     }
     default:
@@ -43,12 +51,19 @@ const reducer = (state: State, action: Action): State => {
 };
 const App = () => {
   const [state, dispatch] = useReducer(reducer, null);
+  const [serviceName, setServiceName] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [webSettings, setWebSettings] = useState<Record<string, WebSetting>>({});
-  const [isInstantUpdate, setIsInstantUpdate] = useState(false);
+  const [isInstantUpdate, setIsInstantUpdate] = useState(() => {
+    const saved = localStorage.getItem("isInstantUpdate");
+    return saved !== null ? JSON.parse(saved) : false;
+  });
   const [showSettings, setShowSettings] = useState(false);
-  const [showNotification, setShowNotification] = useState(false);
+  const [showNotification, setShowNotification] = useState(() => {
+    const saved = localStorage.getItem("showNotification");
+    return saved !== null ? JSON.parse(saved) : false;
+  });
   const [notifications, setNotifications] = useState<Notification[]>([]);
-  const [connectionStatus, setConnectionStatus] = useState('connecting');
+  const [connectionStatus, setConnectionStatus] = useState("connecting");
 
   useEffect(() => {
     // Allow the user to add a custom css file
@@ -56,49 +71,62 @@ const App = () => {
       .then((response) => {
         if (response.ok) {
           // If the file exists, create a link element for the custom CSS
-          const link = document.createElement('link');
+          const link = document.createElement("link");
           link.href = `http://${hostname}:${port}/custom.css`;
-          link.type = 'text/css';
-          link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+          link.type = "text/css";
+          link.rel = "stylesheet";
           document.head.appendChild(link);
         }
       })
       .catch(console.error); // Handle the error appropriately
 
-    socket.on('connect', () => {
+    socket.on("connect", () => {
       // Fetch data from the API when the client connects
       fetch(`http://${hostname}:${port}/service-properties`)
         .then((response) => response.json())
-        .then((data: State) => dispatch({ type: 'SET_DATA', data }));
+        .then((data: State) => {
+          dispatch({ type: "SET_DATA", data });
+          setServiceName(data.name);
+
+          document.title = data.name; // Setting browser tab title
+        });
       fetch(`http://${hostname}:${port}/web-settings`)
         .then((response) => response.json())
         .then((data: Record<string, WebSetting>) => setWebSettings(data));
-      setConnectionStatus('connected');
+      setConnectionStatus("connected");
     });
-    socket.on('disconnect', () => {
-      setConnectionStatus('disconnected');
+    socket.on("disconnect", () => {
+      setConnectionStatus("disconnected");
       setTimeout(() => {
         // Only set "reconnecting" is the state is still "disconnected"
         // E.g. when the client has already reconnected
         setConnectionStatus((currentState) =>
-          currentState === 'disconnected' ? 'reconnecting' : currentState
+          currentState === "disconnected" ? "reconnecting" : currentState,
         );
       }, 2000);
     });
 
-    socket.on('notify', onNotify);
-    socket.on('log', onLogMessage);
+    socket.on("notify", onNotify);
+    socket.on("log", onLogMessage);
 
     return () => {
-      socket.off('notify', onNotify);
-      socket.off('log', onLogMessage);
+      socket.off("notify", onNotify);
+      socket.off("log", onLogMessage);
     };
   }, []);
 
+  // Persist isInstantUpdate and showNotification state changes to localStorage
+  useEffect(() => {
+    localStorage.setItem("isInstantUpdate", JSON.stringify(isInstantUpdate));
+  }, [isInstantUpdate]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    localStorage.setItem("showNotification", JSON.stringify(showNotification));
+  }, [showNotification]);
   // Adding useCallback to prevent notify to change causing a re-render of all
   // components
   const addNotification = useCallback(
-    (message: string, levelname: LevelName = 'DEBUG') => {
+    (message: string, levelname: LevelName = "DEBUG") => {
       // Getting the current time in the required format
       const timeStamp = new Date().toISOString().substring(11, 19);
       // Adding an id to the notification to provide a way of removing it
@@ -107,15 +135,15 @@ const App = () => {
       // Custom logic for notifications
       setNotifications((prevNotifications) => [
         { levelname, id, message, timeStamp },
-        ...prevNotifications
+        ...prevNotifications,
       ]);
     },
-    []
+    [],
   );
 
   const removeNotificationById = (id: number) => {
     setNotifications((prevNotifications) =>
-      prevNotifications.filter((n) => n.id !== id)
+      prevNotifications.filter((n) => n.id !== id),
     );
   };
 
@@ -128,9 +156,9 @@ const App = () => {
 
     // Dispatching the update to the reducer
     dispatch({
-      type: 'UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE',
+      type: "UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE",
       fullAccessPath,
-      newValue
+      newValue,
     });
   }
 
@@ -146,7 +174,7 @@ const App = () => {
     <>
       <Navbar expand={false} bg="primary" variant="dark" fixed="top">
         <Container fluid>
-          <Navbar.Brand>Data Service App</Navbar.Brand>
+          <Navbar.Brand>{serviceName}</Navbar.Brand>
           <Navbar.Toggle aria-controls="offcanvasNavbar" onClick={handleShowSettings} />
         </Container>
       </Navbar>
@@ -185,9 +213,7 @@ const App = () => {
       <div className="App navbarOffset">
         <WebSettingsContext.Provider value={webSettings}>
           <GenericComponent
-            name=""
-            parentPath=""
-            attribute={state as Attribute}
+            attribute={state as SerializedObject}
             isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
             addNotification={addNotification}
           />

frontend/src/WebSettings.tsx

@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-import { createContext } from 'react';
+import { createContext } from "react";
 
 export const WebSettingsContext = createContext<Record<string, WebSetting>>({});
 
-export type WebSetting = {
+export interface WebSetting {
   displayName: string;
+  display: boolean;
   index: number;
-};
+}

frontend/src/components/AsyncMethodComponent.tsx

@@ -1,115 +1,91 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { runMethod } from '../socket';
-import { InputGroup, Form, Button } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
+import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { runMethod } from "../socket";
+import { Form, Button, InputGroup, Spinner } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
-type AsyncMethodProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath: string;
-  parameters: Record<string, string>;
-  value: Record<string, string>;
-  docString?: string;
+interface AsyncMethodProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
+  value: "RUNNING" | null;
+  docString: string | null;
   hideOutput?: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+  render: boolean;
+}
 
 export const AsyncMethodComponent = React.memo((props: AsyncMethodProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, docString, value: runningTask, addNotification } = props;
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-  const formRef = useRef(null);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
+  const {
+    fullAccessPath,
+    docString,
+    value: runningTask,
+    addNotification,
+    displayName,
+    id,
+  } = props;
 
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
+  // Conditional rendering based on the 'render' prop.
+  if (!props.render) {
+    return null;
   }
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-
-    // updates the value of each form control that has a matching name in the
-    // runningTask object
-    if (runningTask) {
-      const formElement = formRef.current;
-      if (formElement) {
-        Object.entries(runningTask).forEach(([name, value]) => {
-          const inputElement = formElement.elements.namedItem(name);
-          if (inputElement) {
-            inputElement.value = value;
-          }
-        });
-      }
-    }
-  }, [runningTask]);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
+  const formRef = useRef(null);
+  const [spinning, setSpinning] = useState(false);
+  const name = fullAccessPath.split(".").at(-1)!;
+  const parentPath = fullAccessPath.slice(0, -(name.length + 1));
 
   useEffect(() => {
     let message: string;
 
     if (runningTask === null) {
-      message = `${parentPath}.${name} task was stopped.`;
+      message = `${fullAccessPath} task was stopped.`;
     } else {
-      const runningTaskEntries = Object.entries(runningTask)
-        .map(([key, value]) => `${key}: "${value}"`)
-        .join(', ');
-
-      message = `${parentPath}.${name} was started with parameters { ${runningTaskEntries} }.`;
+      message = `${fullAccessPath} was started.`;
     }
     addNotification(message);
+    setSpinning(false);
   }, [props.value]);
 
   const execute = async (event: React.FormEvent) => {
     event.preventDefault();
     let method_name: string;
-    const kwargs: Record<string, unknown> = {};
 
     if (runningTask !== undefined && runningTask !== null) {
       method_name = `stop_${name}`;
     } else {
-      Object.keys(props.parameters).forEach(
-        (name) => (kwargs[name] = event.target[name].value)
-      );
       method_name = `start_${name}`;
     }
 
-    runMethod(method_name, parentPath, kwargs);
+    const accessPath = [parentPath, method_name].filter((element) => element).join(".");
+    setSpinning(true);
+    runMethod(accessPath);
   };
 
-  const args = Object.entries(props.parameters).map(([name, type], index) => {
-    const form_name = `${name} (${type})`;
-    const value = runningTask && runningTask[name];
-    const isRunning = value !== undefined && value !== null;
-
-    return (
-      <InputGroup key={index}>
-        <InputGroup.Text className="component-label">{form_name}</InputGroup.Text>
-        <Form.Control
-          type="text"
-          name={name}
-          defaultValue={isRunning ? value : ''}
-          disabled={isRunning}
-        />
-      </InputGroup>
-    );
-  });
-
   return (
-    <div className="align-items-center asyncMethodComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
-      <h5>Function: {displayName}</h5>
+    <div className="component asyncMethodComponent" id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <Form onSubmit={execute} ref={formRef}>
-        {args}
-        <Button id={`button-${id}`} name={name} value={parentPath} type="submit">
-          {runningTask ? 'Stop ' : 'Start '}
-          <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
-        </Button>
+        <InputGroup>
+          <InputGroup.Text>
+            {displayName}
+            <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
+          </InputGroup.Text>
+          <Button id={`button-${id}`} type="submit">
+            {spinning ? (
+              <Spinner size="sm" role="status" aria-hidden="true" />
+            ) : runningTask === "RUNNING" ? (
+              "Stop "
+            ) : (
+              "Start "
+            )}
+          </Button>
+        </InputGroup>
       </Form>
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+AsyncMethodComponent.displayName = "AsyncMethodComponent";

frontend/src/components/ButtonComponent.tsx

@@ -1,59 +1,61 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { ToggleButton } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useEffect } from "react";
+import { ToggleButton } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
-type ButtonComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath?: string;
+interface ButtonComponentProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
   value: boolean;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   mapping?: [string, string]; // Enforce a tuple of two strings
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+}
 
 export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, value, readOnly, docString, addNotification } = props;
+  const {
+    value,
+    fullAccessPath,
+    readOnly,
+    docString,
+    addNotification,
+    changeCallback = () => {},
+    displayName,
+    id,
+  } = props;
   // const buttonName = props.mapping ? (value ? props.mapping[0] : props.mapping[1]) : name;
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
 
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
-
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${value}.`);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${value}.`);
   }, [props.value]);
 
   const setChecked = (checked: boolean) => {
-    setAttribute(name, parentPath, checked);
+    changeCallback({
+      type: "bool",
+      value: checked,
+      full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+      readonly: readOnly,
+      doc: docString,
+    });
   };
 
   return (
-    <div className={'buttonComponent'} id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+    <div className={"component buttonComponent"} id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
 
       <ToggleButton
         id={`toggle-check-${id}`}
         type="checkbox"
-        variant={value ? 'success' : 'secondary'}
+        variant={value ? "success" : "secondary"}
         checked={value}
-        value={parentPath}
+        value={displayName}
         disabled={readOnly}
         onChange={(e) => setChecked(e.currentTarget.checked)}>
         {displayName}
@@ -62,3 +64,5 @@ export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+ButtonComponent.displayName = "ButtonComponent";

frontend/src/components/ColouredEnumComponent.tsx

@@ -1,87 +0,0 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { InputGroup, Form, Row, Col } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-
-type ColouredEnumComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath: string;
-  value: string;
-  docString?: string;
-  readOnly: boolean;
-  enumDict: Record<string, string>;
-  addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
-
-export const ColouredEnumComponent = React.memo((props: ColouredEnumComponentProps) => {
-  const {
-    name,
-    parentPath: parentPath,
-    value,
-    docString,
-    enumDict,
-    readOnly,
-    addNotification
-  } = props;
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${value}.`);
-  }, [props.value]);
-
-  const handleValueChange = (newValue: string) => {
-    setAttribute(name, parentPath, newValue);
-  };
-
-  return (
-    <div className={'enumComponent'} id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
-      <Row>
-        <Col className="d-flex align-items-center">
-          <InputGroup.Text>
-            {displayName}
-            <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
-          </InputGroup.Text>
-          {readOnly ? (
-            // Display the Form.Control when readOnly is true
-            <Form.Control
-              value={value}
-              disabled={true}
-              style={{ backgroundColor: enumDict[value] }}
-            />
-          ) : (
-            // Display the Form.Select when readOnly is false
-            <Form.Select
-              aria-label="coloured-enum-select"
-              value={value}
-              style={{ backgroundColor: enumDict[value] }}
-              onChange={(event) => handleValueChange(event.target.value)}>
-              {Object.entries(enumDict).map(([key]) => (
-                <option key={key} value={key}>
-                  {key}
-                </option>
-              ))}
-            </Form.Select>
-          )}
-        </Col>
-      </Row>
-    </div>
-  );
-});

frontend/src/components/ConnectionToast.tsx

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
-import { Toast, Button, ToastContainer } from 'react-bootstrap';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { Toast, Button, ToastContainer } from "react-bootstrap";
 
-type ConnectionToastProps = {
+interface ConnectionToastProps {
   connectionStatus: string;
-};
+}
 
 /**
  * ConnectionToast Component
@@ -36,31 +36,31 @@ export const ConnectionToast = React.memo(
       delay: number | undefined;
     } => {
       switch (connectionStatus) {
-        case 'connecting':
+        case "connecting":
           return {
-            message: 'Connecting...',
-            bg: 'info',
-            delay: undefined
+            message: "Connecting...",
+            bg: "info",
+            delay: undefined,
           };
-        case 'connected':
-          return { message: 'Connected', bg: 'success', delay: 1000 };
-        case 'disconnected':
+        case "connected":
+          return { message: "Connected", bg: "success", delay: 1000 };
+        case "disconnected":
           return {
-            message: 'Disconnected',
-            bg: 'danger',
-            delay: undefined
+            message: "Disconnected",
+            bg: "danger",
+            delay: undefined,
           };
-        case 'reconnecting':
+        case "reconnecting":
           return {
-            message: 'Reconnecting...',
-            bg: 'info',
-            delay: undefined
+            message: "Reconnecting...",
+            bg: "info",
+            delay: undefined,
           };
         default:
           return {
-            message: '',
-            bg: 'info',
-            delay: undefined
+            message: "",
+            bg: "info",
+            delay: undefined,
           };
       }
     };
@@ -82,5 +82,7 @@ export const ConnectionToast = React.memo(
         </Toast>
       </ToastContainer>
     );
-  }
+  },
 );
+
+ConnectionToast.displayName = "ConnectionToast";

frontend/src/components/DataServiceComponent.tsx

@@ -1,71 +1,71 @@
-import { useContext, useState } from 'react';
-import React from 'react';
-import { Card, Collapse } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { ChevronDown, ChevronRight } from 'react-bootstrap-icons';
-import { Attribute, GenericComponent } from './GenericComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import React from "react";
+import { Card, Collapse } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { ChevronDown, ChevronRight } from "react-bootstrap-icons";
+import { GenericComponent } from "./GenericComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
 
-type DataServiceProps = {
-  name: string;
+interface DataServiceProps {
   props: DataServiceJSON;
-  parentPath?: string;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+}
 
-export type DataServiceJSON = Record<string, Attribute>;
+export type DataServiceJSON = Record<string, SerializedObject>;
 
 export const DataServiceComponent = React.memo(
-  ({
-    name,
-    props,
-    parentPath = '',
-    isInstantUpdate,
-    addNotification
-  }: DataServiceProps) => {
-    const [open, setOpen] = useState(true);
-    let fullAccessPath = parentPath;
-    if (name) {
-      fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-    }
-    const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
+  ({ props, isInstantUpdate, addNotification, displayName, id }: DataServiceProps) => {
+    // Retrieve the initial state from localStorage, default to true if not found
+    const [open, setOpen] = useState(() => {
+      const savedState = localStorage.getItem(`dataServiceComponent-${id}-open`);
+      return savedState !== null ? JSON.parse(savedState) : true;
+    });
 
-    const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-    let displayName = fullAccessPath;
+    // Update localStorage whenever the state changes
+    useEffect(() => {
+      localStorage.setItem(`dataServiceComponent-${id}-open`, JSON.stringify(open));
+    }, [open]);
 
-    if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-      displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-    }
-
-    return (
-      <div className="dataServiceComponent" id={id}>
-        <Card className="mb-3">
-          <Card.Header
-            onClick={() => setOpen(!open)}
-            style={{ cursor: 'pointer' }} // Change cursor style on hover
-          >
-            {displayName} {open ? <ChevronDown /> : <ChevronRight />}
-          </Card.Header>
-          <Collapse in={open}>
-            <Card.Body>
-              {Object.entries(props).map(([key, value]) => {
-                return (
+    if (displayName !== "") {
+      return (
+        <div className="component dataServiceComponent" id={id}>
+          <Card>
+            <Card.Header onClick={() => setOpen(!open)} style={{ cursor: "pointer" }}>
+              {displayName} {open ? <ChevronDown /> : <ChevronRight />}
+            </Card.Header>
+            <Collapse in={open}>
+              <Card.Body>
+                {Object.entries(props).map(([key, value]) => (
                   <GenericComponent
                     key={key}
                     attribute={value}
-                    name={key}
-                    parentPath={fullAccessPath}
                     isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
                     addNotification={addNotification}
                   />
-                );
-              })}
-            </Card.Body>
-          </Collapse>
-        </Card>
-      </div>
-    );
-  }
+                ))}
+              </Card.Body>
+            </Collapse>
+          </Card>
+        </div>
+      );
+    } else {
+      return (
+        <div className="component dataServiceComponent" id={id}>
+          {Object.entries(props).map(([key, value]) => (
+            <GenericComponent
+              key={key}
+              attribute={value}
+              isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
+              addNotification={addNotification}
+            />
+          ))}
+        </div>
+      );
+    }
+  },
 );
+
+DataServiceComponent.displayName = "DataServiceComponent";

frontend/src/components/DeviceConnection.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import React from "react";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { DataServiceComponent, DataServiceJSON } from "./DataServiceComponent";
+import { MethodComponent } from "./MethodComponent";
+
+interface DeviceConnectionProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
+  props: DataServiceJSON;
+  isInstantUpdate: boolean;
+  addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+}
+
+export const DeviceConnectionComponent = React.memo(
+  ({
+    fullAccessPath,
+    props,
+    isInstantUpdate,
+    addNotification,
+    displayName,
+    id,
+  }: DeviceConnectionProps) => {
+    const { connected, connect, ...updatedProps } = props;
+    const connectedVal = connected.value;
+
+    return (
+      <div className="deviceConnectionComponent" id={id}>
+        {!connectedVal && (
+          <div className="overlayContent">
+            <div>
+              {displayName != "" ? displayName : "Device"} is currently not available!
+            </div>
+            <MethodComponent
+              fullAccessPath={`${fullAccessPath}.connect`}
+              docString={connect.doc}
+              addNotification={addNotification}
+              displayName={"reconnect"}
+              id={id + "-connect"}
+              render={true}
+            />
+          </div>
+        )}
+        <DataServiceComponent
+          props={updatedProps}
+          isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
+          addNotification={addNotification}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
+        />
+      </div>
+    );
+  },
+);
+
+DeviceConnectionComponent.displayName = "DeviceConnectionComponent";

frontend/src/components/DictComponent.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+import React from "react";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { GenericComponent } from "./GenericComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
+
+interface DictComponentProps {
+  value: Record<string, SerializedObject>;
+  docString: string | null;
+  isInstantUpdate: boolean;
+  addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
+  id: string;
+}
+
+export const DictComponent = React.memo((props: DictComponentProps) => {
+  const { value, docString, isInstantUpdate, addNotification, id } = props;
+
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
+  const valueArray = Object.values(value);
+
+  return (
+    <div className={"listComponent"} id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
+      <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
+      {valueArray.map((item) => {
+        return (
+          <GenericComponent
+            key={item.full_access_path}
+            attribute={item}
+            isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
+            addNotification={addNotification}
+          />
+        );
+      })}
+    </div>
+  );
+});
+
+DictComponent.displayName = "DictComponent";

frontend/src/components/DocStringComponent.tsx

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import { Badge, Tooltip, OverlayTrigger } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import React from 'react';
+import { Badge, Tooltip, OverlayTrigger } from "react-bootstrap";
+import React from "react";
 
-type DocStringProps = {
-  docString?: string;
-};
+interface DocStringProps {
+  docString?: string | null;
+}
 
 export const DocStringComponent = React.memo((props: DocStringProps) => {
   const { docString } = props;
@@ -21,3 +21,5 @@ export const DocStringComponent = React.memo((props: DocStringProps) => {
     </OverlayTrigger>
   );
 });
+
+DocStringComponent.displayName = "DocStringComponent";

frontend/src/components/EnumComponent.tsx

@@ -1,75 +1,88 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { InputGroup, Form, Row, Col } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useEffect } from "react";
+import { InputGroup, Form, Row, Col } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject, SerializedEnum } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { propsAreEqual } from "../utils/propsAreEqual";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
-type EnumComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath: string;
-  value: string;
-  docString?: string;
-  enumDict: Record<string, string>;
+interface EnumComponentProps extends SerializedEnum {
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+  changeCallback: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+}
 
 export const EnumComponent = React.memo((props: EnumComponentProps) => {
   const {
-    name,
-    parentPath: parentPath,
+    addNotification,
+    displayName,
+    id,
     value,
-    docString,
-    enumDict,
-    addNotification
+    full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+    enum: enumDict,
+    doc: docString,
+    readonly: readOnly,
+    changeCallback,
   } = props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${value}.`);
-  }, [props.value]);
-
-  const handleValueChange = (newValue: string) => {
-    setAttribute(name, parentPath, newValue);
-  };
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${value}.`);
+  }, [value]);
 
   return (
-    <div className={'enumComponent'} id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+    <div className={"component enumComponent"} id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <Row>
         <Col className="d-flex align-items-center">
           <InputGroup.Text>
             {displayName}
             <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
           </InputGroup.Text>
-          <Form.Select
-            aria-label="Default select example"
-            value={value}
-            onChange={(event) => handleValueChange(event.target.value)}>
-            {Object.entries(enumDict).map(([key, val]) => (
-              <option key={key} value={key}>
-                {key} - {val}
-              </option>
-            ))}
-          </Form.Select>
+
+          {readOnly ? (
+            // Display the Form.Control when readOnly is true
+            <Form.Control
+              style={
+                props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? { backgroundColor: enumDict[value] } : {}
+              }
+              value={props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? value : enumDict[value]}
+              name={fullAccessPath}
+              disabled={true}
+            />
+          ) : (
+            // Display the Form.Select when readOnly is false
+            <Form.Select
+              aria-label="example-select"
+              value={value}
+              name={fullAccessPath}
+              style={
+                props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? { backgroundColor: enumDict[value] } : {}
+              }
+              onChange={(event) =>
+                changeCallback({
+                  type: props.type,
+                  name: props.name,
+                  enum: enumDict,
+                  value: event.target.value,
+                  full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+                  readonly: props.readonly,
+                  doc: props.doc,
+                })
+              }>
+              {Object.entries(enumDict).map(([key, val]) => (
+                <option key={key} value={key}>
+                  {props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? key : val}
+                </option>
+              ))}
+            </Form.Select>
+          )}
         </Col>
       </Row>
     </div>
   );
-});
+}, propsAreEqual);
+
+EnumComponent.displayName = "EnumComponent";

frontend/src/components/GenericComponent.tsx

@@ -1,204 +1,244 @@
-import React from 'react';
-import { ButtonComponent } from './ButtonComponent';
-import { NumberComponent } from './NumberComponent';
-import { SliderComponent } from './SliderComponent';
-import { EnumComponent } from './EnumComponent';
-import { MethodComponent } from './MethodComponent';
-import { AsyncMethodComponent } from './AsyncMethodComponent';
-import { StringComponent } from './StringComponent';
-import { ListComponent } from './ListComponent';
-import { DataServiceComponent, DataServiceJSON } from './DataServiceComponent';
-import { ImageComponent } from './ImageComponent';
-import { ColouredEnumComponent } from './ColouredEnumComponent';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useContext } from "react";
+import { ButtonComponent } from "./ButtonComponent";
+import { NumberComponent, NumberObject } from "./NumberComponent";
+import { SliderComponent } from "./SliderComponent";
+import { EnumComponent } from "./EnumComponent";
+import { MethodComponent } from "./MethodComponent";
+import { AsyncMethodComponent } from "./AsyncMethodComponent";
+import { StringComponent } from "./StringComponent";
+import { ListComponent } from "./ListComponent";
+import { DataServiceComponent, DataServiceJSON } from "./DataServiceComponent";
+import { DeviceConnectionComponent } from "./DeviceConnection";
+import { ImageComponent } from "./ImageComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from "../utils/stringUtils";
+import { WebSettingsContext } from "../WebSettings";
+import { updateValue } from "../socket";
+import { DictComponent } from "./DictComponent";
+import { parseFullAccessPath } from "../utils/stateUtils";
+import { SerializedEnum, SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
 
-type AttributeType =
-  | 'str'
-  | 'bool'
-  | 'float'
-  | 'int'
-  | 'Quantity'
-  | 'list'
-  | 'method'
-  | 'DataService'
-  | 'Enum'
-  | 'NumberSlider'
-  | 'Image'
-  | 'ColouredEnum';
-
-type ValueType = boolean | string | number | object;
-export type Attribute = {
-  type: AttributeType;
-  value?: ValueType | ValueType[];
-  readonly: boolean;
-  doc?: string | null;
-  parameters?: Record<string, string>;
-  async?: boolean;
-  enum?: Record<string, string>;
-};
-type GenericComponentProps = {
-  attribute: Attribute;
-  name: string;
-  parentPath: string;
+interface GenericComponentProps {
+  attribute: SerializedObject;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
+}
+
+const getPathFromPathParts = (pathParts: string[]): string => {
+  let path = "";
+  for (const pathPart of pathParts) {
+    if (!pathPart.startsWith("[") && path !== "") {
+      path += ".";
+    }
+    path += pathPart;
+  }
+  return path;
 };
 
+const createDisplayNameFromAccessPath = (fullAccessPath: string): string => {
+  const displayNameParts = [];
+  const parsedFullAccessPath = parseFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
+  for (let i = parsedFullAccessPath.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+    const item = parsedFullAccessPath[i];
+    displayNameParts.unshift(item);
+    if (!item.startsWith("[")) {
+      break;
+    }
+  }
+  return getPathFromPathParts(displayNameParts);
+};
+
+function changeCallback(
+  value: SerializedObject,
+  callback: (ack: unknown) => void = () => {},
+) {
+  updateValue(value, callback);
+}
+
 export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
-  ({
-    attribute,
-    name,
-    parentPath,
-    isInstantUpdate,
-    addNotification
-  }: GenericComponentProps) => {
-    if (attribute.type === 'bool') {
+  ({ attribute, isInstantUpdate, addNotification }: GenericComponentProps) => {
+    const { full_access_path: fullAccessPath } = attribute;
+    const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
+    const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
+
+    let displayName = createDisplayNameFromAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
+
+    if (webSettings[fullAccessPath]) {
+      if (webSettings[fullAccessPath].display === false) {
+        return null;
+      }
+      if (webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
+        displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
+      }
+    }
+
+    if (attribute.type === "bool") {
       return (
         <ButtonComponent
-          name={name}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
           docString={attribute.doc}
           readOnly={attribute.readonly}
           value={Boolean(attribute.value)}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          changeCallback={changeCallback}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'float' || attribute.type === 'int') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "float" || attribute.type === "int") {
       return (
         <NumberComponent
-          name={name}
           type={attribute.type}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
           docString={attribute.doc}
           readOnly={attribute.readonly}
           value={Number(attribute.value)}
           isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          changeCallback={changeCallback}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'Quantity') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "Quantity") {
       return (
         <NumberComponent
-          name={name}
-          type="float"
-          parentPath={parentPath}
+          type="Quantity"
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
           docString={attribute.doc}
           readOnly={attribute.readonly}
-          value={Number(attribute.value['magnitude'])}
-          unit={attribute.value['unit']}
+          value={Number(attribute.value["magnitude"])}
+          unit={attribute.value["unit"]}
           isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          changeCallback={changeCallback}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'NumberSlider') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "NumberSlider") {
       return (
         <SliderComponent
-          name={name}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
-          docString={attribute.value['value'].doc}
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
+          docString={attribute.value["value"].doc}
           readOnly={attribute.readonly}
-          value={attribute.value['value']}
-          min={attribute.value['min']}
-          max={attribute.value['max']}
-          stepSize={attribute.value['step_size']}
+          value={attribute.value["value"] as NumberObject}
+          min={attribute.value["min"] as NumberObject}
+          max={attribute.value["max"] as NumberObject}
+          stepSize={attribute.value["step_size"] as NumberObject}
           isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          changeCallback={changeCallback}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'Enum') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "Enum" || attribute.type === "ColouredEnum") {
       return (
         <EnumComponent
-          name={name}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
-          docString={attribute.doc}
-          value={String(attribute.value)}
-          enumDict={attribute.enum}
+          {...(attribute as SerializedEnum)}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          changeCallback={changeCallback}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'method') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "method") {
       if (!attribute.async) {
         return (
           <MethodComponent
-            name={name}
-            parentPath={parentPath}
+            fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
             docString={attribute.doc}
-            parameters={attribute.parameters}
             addNotification={addNotification}
+            displayName={displayName}
+            id={id}
+            render={attribute.frontend_render}
           />
         );
       } else {
         return (
           <AsyncMethodComponent
-            name={name}
-            parentPath={parentPath}
+            fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
             docString={attribute.doc}
-            parameters={attribute.parameters}
-            value={attribute.value as Record<string, string>}
+            value={attribute.value as "RUNNING" | null}
             addNotification={addNotification}
+            displayName={displayName}
+            id={id}
+            render={attribute.frontend_render}
           />
         );
       }
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'str') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "str") {
       return (
         <StringComponent
-          name={name}
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
           value={attribute.value as string}
           readOnly={attribute.readonly}
           docString={attribute.doc}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
           isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          changeCallback={changeCallback}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'DataService') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "DataService") {
       return (
         <DataServiceComponent
-          name={name}
           props={attribute.value as DataServiceJSON}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
           isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'list') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "DeviceConnection") {
+      return (
+        <DeviceConnectionComponent
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
+          props={attribute.value as DataServiceJSON}
+          isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
+          addNotification={addNotification}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
+        />
+      );
+    } else if (attribute.type === "list") {
       return (
         <ListComponent
-          name={name}
-          value={attribute.value as Attribute[]}
+          value={attribute.value}
           docString={attribute.doc}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
           isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'Image') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "dict") {
+      return (
+        <DictComponent
+          value={attribute.value}
+          docString={attribute.doc}
+          isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
+          addNotification={addNotification}
+          id={id}
+        />
+      );
+    } else if (attribute.type === "Image") {
       return (
         <ImageComponent
-          name={name}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
-          value={attribute.value['value']['value'] as string}
-          readOnly={attribute.readonly}
-          docString={attribute.value['value'].doc}
-          // Add any other specific props for the ImageComponent here
-          format={attribute.value['format']['value'] as string}
-          addNotification={addNotification}
-        />
-      );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'ColouredEnum') {
-      return (
-        <ColouredEnumComponent
-          name={name}
-          parentPath={parentPath}
-          docString={attribute.doc}
-          value={String(attribute.value)}
-          readOnly={attribute.readonly}
-          enumDict={attribute.enum}
+          fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
+          docString={attribute.value["value"].doc}
+          displayName={displayName}
+          id={id}
           addNotification={addNotification}
+          value={attribute.value["value"]["value"] as string}
+          format={attribute.value["format"]["value"] as string}
         />
       );
     } else {
-      return <div key={name}>{name}</div>;
+      return <div key={fullAccessPath}>{fullAccessPath}</div>;
     }
-  }
+  },
 );
+
+GenericComponent.displayName = "GenericComponent";

frontend/src/components/ImageComponent.tsx

@@ -1,52 +1,37 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { Card, Collapse, Image } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { ChevronDown, ChevronRight } from 'react-bootstrap-icons';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { Card, Collapse, Image } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { ChevronDown, ChevronRight } from "react-bootstrap-icons";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
-type ImageComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath: string;
+interface ImageComponentProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
   value: string;
-  readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   format: string;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+}
 
 export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, value, docString, format, addNotification } = props;
+  const { fullAccessPath, value, docString, format, addNotification, displayName, id } =
+    props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(true);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed.`);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed.`);
   }, [props.value]);
 
   return (
-    <div className={'imageComponent'} id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+    <div className="component imageComponent" id={id}>
       <Card>
         <Card.Header
           onClick={() => setOpen(!open)}
-          style={{ cursor: 'pointer' }} // Change cursor style on hover
+          style={{ cursor: "pointer" }} // Change cursor style on hover
         >
           {displayName}
           <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
@@ -54,11 +39,10 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
         </Card.Header>
         <Collapse in={open}>
           <Card.Body>
-            {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-              <p>Render count: {renderCount.current}</p>
+            {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && (
+              <p>Render count: {renderCount}</p>
             )}
-            {/* Your component JSX here */}
-            {format === '' && value === '' ? (
+            {format === "" && value === "" ? (
               <p>No image set in the backend.</p>
             ) : (
               <Image src={`data:image/${format.toLowerCase()};base64,${value}`}></Image>
@@ -69,3 +53,5 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+ImageComponent.displayName = "ImageComponent";

frontend/src/components/ListComponent.tsx

@@ -1,43 +1,32 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { Attribute, GenericComponent } from './GenericComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React from "react";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { GenericComponent } from "./GenericComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
-type ListComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath?: string;
-  value: Attribute[];
-  docString: string;
+interface ListComponentProps {
+  value: SerializedObject[];
+  docString: string | null;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  id: string;
+}
 
 export const ListComponent = React.memo((props: ListComponentProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, value, docString, isInstantUpdate, addNotification } =
-    props;
+  const { value, docString, isInstantUpdate, addNotification, id } = props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  }, [props]);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
   return (
-    <div className={'listComponent'} id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+    <div className={"listComponent"} id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
-      {value.map((item, index) => {
+      {value.map((item) => {
         return (
           <GenericComponent
-            key={`${name}[${index}]`}
+            key={item.full_access_path}
             attribute={item}
-            name={`${name}[${index}]`}
-            parentPath={parentPath}
             isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
             addNotification={addNotification}
           />
@@ -46,3 +35,5 @@ export const ListComponent = React.memo((props: ListComponentProps) => {
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+ListComponent.displayName = "ListComponent";

frontend/src/components/MethodComponent.tsx

@@ -1,118 +1,55 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { runMethod } from '../socket';
-import { Button, InputGroup, Form, Collapse } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useRef } from "react";
+import { runMethod } from "../socket";
+import { Button, Form } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
+import { propsAreEqual } from "../utils/propsAreEqual";
 
-type MethodProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath: string;
-  parameters: Record<string, string>;
-  docString?: string;
-  hideOutput?: boolean;
+interface MethodProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+  render: boolean;
+}
 
 export const MethodComponent = React.memo((props: MethodProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, docString, addNotification } = props;
+  const { fullAccessPath, docString, addNotification, displayName, id } = props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-  const [hideOutput, setHideOutput] = useState(false);
-  // Add a new state variable to hold the list of function calls
-  const [functionCalls, setFunctionCalls] = useState([]);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
+  // Conditional rendering based on the 'render' prop.
+  if (!props.render) {
+    return null;
   }
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-    if (props.hideOutput !== undefined) {
-      setHideOutput(props.hideOutput);
-    }
-  });
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
+  const formRef = useRef(null);
 
-  const triggerNotification = (args: Record<string, string>) => {
-    const argsString = Object.entries(args)
-      .map(([key, value]) => `${key}: "${value}"`)
-      .join(', ');
-    let message = `Method ${parentPath}.${name} was triggered`;
+  const triggerNotification = () => {
+    const message = `Method ${fullAccessPath} was triggered.`;
 
-    if (argsString === '') {
-      message += '.';
-    } else {
-      message += ` with arguments {${argsString}}.`;
-    }
     addNotification(message);
   };
 
   const execute = async (event: React.FormEvent) => {
     event.preventDefault();
+    runMethod(fullAccessPath);
 
-    const kwargs = {};
-    Object.keys(props.parameters).forEach(
-      (name) => (kwargs[name] = event.target[name].value)
-    );
-    runMethod(name, parentPath, kwargs, (ack) => {
-      // Update the functionCalls state with the new call if we get an acknowledge msg
-      if (ack !== undefined) {
-        setFunctionCalls((prevCalls) => [
-          ...prevCalls,
-          { name, args: kwargs, result: ack }
-        ]);
-      }
-    });
-
-    triggerNotification(kwargs);
+    triggerNotification();
   };
 
-  const args = Object.entries(props.parameters).map(([name, type], index) => {
-    const form_name = `${name} (${type})`;
-    return (
-      <InputGroup key={index}>
-        <InputGroup.Text className="component-label">{form_name}</InputGroup.Text>
-        <Form.Control type="text" name={name} />
-      </InputGroup>
-    );
-  });
-
   return (
-    <div className="align-items-center methodComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
-      <h5 onClick={() => setHideOutput(!hideOutput)} style={{ cursor: 'pointer' }}>
-        Function: {displayName}
-      </h5>
-      <Form onSubmit={execute}>
-        {args}
-        <Button variant="primary" type="submit">
-          Execute
+    <div className="component methodComponent" id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
+      <Form onSubmit={execute} ref={formRef}>
+        <Button className="component" variant="primary" type="submit">
+          {`${displayName} `}
           <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
         </Button>
       </Form>
-
-      <Collapse in={!hideOutput}>
-        <div id="function-output">
-          {functionCalls.map((call, index) => (
-            <div key={index}>
-              <div style={{ color: 'grey', fontSize: 'small' }}>
-                {Object.entries(call.args)
-                  .map(([key, val]) => `${key}=${JSON.stringify(val)}`)
-                  .join(', ') +
-                  ' => ' +
-                  JSON.stringify(call.result)}
-              </div>
-            </div>
-          ))}
-        </div>
-      </Collapse>
     </div>
   );
-});
+}, propsAreEqual);
+
+MethodComponent.displayName = "MethodComponent";

frontend/src/components/NotificationsComponent.tsx

@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
-import React from 'react';
-import { ToastContainer, Toast } from 'react-bootstrap';
+import React from "react";
+import { ToastContainer, Toast } from "react-bootstrap";
 
-export type LevelName = 'CRITICAL' | 'ERROR' | 'WARNING' | 'INFO' | 'DEBUG';
-export type Notification = {
+export type LevelName = "CRITICAL" | "ERROR" | "WARNING" | "INFO" | "DEBUG";
+export interface Notification {
   id: number;
   timeStamp: string;
   message: string;
   levelname: LevelName;
-};
+}
 
-type NotificationProps = {
+interface NotificationProps {
   showNotification: boolean;
   notifications: Notification[];
   removeNotificationById: (id: number) => void;
-};
+}
 
 export const Notifications = React.memo((props: NotificationProps) => {
   const { showNotification, notifications, removeNotificationById } = props;
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ export const Notifications = React.memo((props: NotificationProps) => {
       {notifications.map((notification) => {
         // Determine if the toast should be shown
         const shouldShow =
-          notification.levelname === 'ERROR' ||
-          notification.levelname === 'CRITICAL' ||
+          notification.levelname === "ERROR" ||
+          notification.levelname === "CRITICAL" ||
           (showNotification &&
-            ['WARNING', 'INFO', 'DEBUG'].includes(notification.levelname));
+            ["WARNING", "INFO", "DEBUG"].includes(notification.levelname));
 
         if (!shouldShow) {
           return null;
@@ -34,31 +34,31 @@ export const Notifications = React.memo((props: NotificationProps) => {
 
         return (
           <Toast
-            className={notification.levelname.toLowerCase() + 'Toast'}
+            className={notification.levelname.toLowerCase() + "Toast"}
             key={notification.id}
             onClose={() => removeNotificationById(notification.id)}
             onClick={() => removeNotificationById(notification.id)}
             onMouseLeave={() => {
-              if (notification.levelname !== 'ERROR') {
+              if (notification.levelname !== "ERROR") {
                 removeNotificationById(notification.id);
               }
             }}
             show={true}
             autohide={
-              notification.levelname === 'WARNING' ||
-              notification.levelname === 'INFO' ||
-              notification.levelname === 'DEBUG'
+              notification.levelname === "WARNING" ||
+              notification.levelname === "INFO" ||
+              notification.levelname === "DEBUG"
             }
             delay={
-              notification.levelname === 'WARNING' ||
-              notification.levelname === 'INFO' ||
-              notification.levelname === 'DEBUG'
+              notification.levelname === "WARNING" ||
+              notification.levelname === "INFO" ||
+              notification.levelname === "DEBUG"
                 ? 2000
                 : undefined
             }>
             <Toast.Header
               closeButton={false}
-              className={notification.levelname.toLowerCase() + 'Toast text-right'}>
+              className={notification.levelname.toLowerCase() + "Toast text-right"}>
               <strong className="me-auto">{notification.levelname}</strong>
               <small>{notification.timeStamp}</small>
             </Toast.Header>
@@ -69,3 +69,5 @@ export const Notifications = React.memo((props: NotificationProps) => {
     </ToastContainer>
   );
 });
+
+Notifications.displayName = "Notifications";

frontend/src/components/NumberComponent.tsx

@@ -1,60 +1,58 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { Form, InputGroup } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import '../App.css';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { Form, InputGroup } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import "../App.css";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { QuantityMap } from "../types/QuantityMap";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
 // TODO: add button functionality
 
-export type QuantityObject = {
-  type: 'Quantity';
+export interface QuantityObject {
+  type: "Quantity";
   readonly: boolean;
-  value: {
-    magnitude: number;
-    unit: string;
-  };
-  doc?: string;
-};
-export type IntObject = {
-  type: 'int';
+  value: QuantityMap;
+  doc: string | null;
+}
+export interface IntObject {
+  type: "int";
   readonly: boolean;
   value: number;
-  doc?: string;
-};
-export type FloatObject = {
-  type: 'float';
+  doc: string | null;
+}
+export interface FloatObject {
+  type: "float";
   readonly: boolean;
   value: number;
-  doc?: string;
-};
+  doc: string | null;
+}
 export type NumberObject = IntObject | FloatObject | QuantityObject;
 
-type NumberComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  type: 'float' | 'int';
-  parentPath?: string;
+interface NumberComponentProps {
+  type: "float" | "int" | "Quantity";
+  fullAccessPath: string;
   value: number;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   unit?: string;
-  showName?: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+  displayName?: string;
+  id: string;
+}
 
 // TODO: highlight the digit that is being changed by setting both selectionStart and
 // selectionEnd
 const handleArrowKey = (
   key: string,
   value: string,
-  selectionStart: number
+  selectionStart: number,
   // selectionEnd: number
 ) => {
   // Split the input value into the integer part and decimal part
-  const parts = value.split('.');
+  const parts = value.split(".");
   const beforeDecimalCount = parts[0].length; // Count digits before the decimal
   const afterDecimalCount = parts[1] ? parts[1].length : 0; // Count digits after the decimal
 
@@ -70,14 +68,14 @@ const handleArrowKey = (
 
   // Convert the input value to a number, increment or decrement it based on the
   // arrow key
-  const numValue = parseFloat(value) + (key === 'ArrowUp' ? increment : -increment);
+  const numValue = parseFloat(value) + (key === "ArrowUp" ? increment : -increment);
 
   // Convert the resulting number to a string, maintaining the same number of digits
   // after the decimal
   const newValue = numValue.toFixed(afterDecimalCount);
 
   // Check if the length of the integer part of the number string has in-/decreased
-  const newBeforeDecimalCount = newValue.split('.')[0].length;
+  const newBeforeDecimalCount = newValue.split(".")[0].length;
   if (newBeforeDecimalCount > beforeDecimalCount) {
     // Move the cursor one position to the right
     selectionStart += 1;
@@ -91,18 +89,18 @@ const handleArrowKey = (
 const handleBackspaceKey = (
   value: string,
   selectionStart: number,
-  selectionEnd: number
+  selectionEnd: number,
 ) => {
   if (selectionEnd > selectionStart) {
     // If there is a selection, delete all characters in the selection
     return {
       value: value.slice(0, selectionStart) + value.slice(selectionEnd),
-      selectionStart
+      selectionStart,
     };
   } else if (selectionStart > 0) {
     return {
       value: value.slice(0, selectionStart - 1) + value.slice(selectionStart),
-      selectionStart: selectionStart - 1
+      selectionStart: selectionStart - 1,
     };
   }
   return { value, selectionStart };
@@ -111,179 +109,167 @@ const handleBackspaceKey = (
 const handleDeleteKey = (
   value: string,
   selectionStart: number,
-  selectionEnd: number
+  selectionEnd: number,
 ) => {
   if (selectionEnd > selectionStart) {
     // If there is a selection, delete all characters in the selection
     return {
       value: value.slice(0, selectionStart) + value.slice(selectionEnd),
-      selectionStart
+      selectionStart,
     };
   } else if (selectionStart < value.length) {
     return {
       value: value.slice(0, selectionStart) + value.slice(selectionStart + 1),
-      selectionStart
+      selectionStart,
     };
   }
   return { value, selectionStart };
 };
 
+const handleNumericKey = (
+  key: string,
+  value: string,
+  selectionStart: number,
+  selectionEnd: number,
+) => {
+  // Check if a number key or a decimal point key is pressed
+  if (key === "." && value.includes(".")) {
+    // Check if value already contains a decimal. If so, ignore input.
+    console.warn("Invalid input! Ignoring...");
+    return { value, selectionStart };
+  }
+
+  let newValue = value;
+
+  // Add the new key at the cursor's position
+  if (selectionEnd > selectionStart) {
+    // If there is a selection, replace it with the key
+    newValue = value.slice(0, selectionStart) + key + value.slice(selectionEnd);
+  } else {
+    // otherwise, append the key after the selection start
+    newValue = value.slice(0, selectionStart) + key + value.slice(selectionStart);
+  }
+
+  return { value: newValue, selectionStart: selectionStart + 1 };
+};
+
 export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
   const {
-    name,
-    parentPath,
+    fullAccessPath,
+    value,
     readOnly,
+    type,
     docString,
     isInstantUpdate,
     unit,
-    addNotification
+    addNotification,
+    changeCallback = () => {},
+    displayName,
+    id,
   } = props;
 
-  // Whether to show the name infront of the component (false if used with a slider)
-  const showName = props.showName !== undefined ? props.showName : true;
-
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
   // Create a state for the cursor position
-  const [cursorPosition, setCursorPosition] = useState(null);
+  const [cursorPosition, setCursorPosition] = useState<number | null>(null);
   // Create a state for the input string
-  const [inputString, setInputString] = useState(props.value.toString());
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
+  const [inputString, setInputString] = useState(value.toString());
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-
-    // Set the cursor position after the component re-renders
-    const inputElement = document.getElementsByName(
-      fullAccessPath
-    )[0] as HTMLInputElement;
-    if (inputElement && cursorPosition !== null) {
-      inputElement.setSelectionRange(cursorPosition, cursorPosition);
-    }
-  });
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    // Parse the input string to a number for comparison
-    const numericInputString =
-      props.type === 'int' ? parseInt(inputString) : parseFloat(inputString);
-    // Only update the inputString if it's different from the prop value
-    if (props.value !== numericInputString) {
-      setInputString(props.value.toString());
-    }
-
-    // emitting notification
-    let notificationMsg = `${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${props.value}`;
-    if (unit === undefined) {
-      notificationMsg += '.';
-    } else {
-      notificationMsg += ` ${unit}.`;
-    }
-    addNotification(notificationMsg);
-  }, [props.value]);
-
-  const handleNumericKey = (
-    key: string,
-    value: string,
-    selectionStart: number,
-    selectionEnd: number
-  ) => {
-    // Check if a number key or a decimal point key is pressed
-    if (key === '.' && (value.includes('.') || props.type === 'int')) {
-      // Check if value already contains a decimal. If so, ignore input.
-      // eslint-disable-next-line no-console
-      console.warn('Invalid input! Ignoring...');
-      return { value, selectionStart };
-    }
-
-    let newValue = value;
-
-    // Add the new key at the cursor's position
-    if (selectionEnd > selectionStart) {
-      // If there is a selection, replace it with the key
-      newValue = value.slice(0, selectionStart) + key + value.slice(selectionEnd);
-    } else {
-      // otherwise, append the key after the selection start
-      newValue = value.slice(0, selectionStart) + key + value.slice(selectionStart);
-    }
-
-    return { value: newValue, selectionStart: selectionStart + 1 };
-  };
-  const handleKeyDown = (event) => {
+  const handleKeyDown = (event: React.KeyboardEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
     const { key, target } = event;
+    console.log(typeof key);
+
+    // Typecast
+    const inputTarget = target as HTMLInputElement;
     if (
-      key === 'F1' ||
-      key === 'F5' ||
-      key === 'F12' ||
-      key === 'Tab' ||
-      key === 'ArrowRight' ||
-      key === 'ArrowLeft'
+      key === "F1" ||
+      key === "F5" ||
+      key === "F12" ||
+      key === "Tab" ||
+      key === "ArrowRight" ||
+      key === "ArrowLeft"
     ) {
       return;
     }
     event.preventDefault();
 
     // Get the current input value and cursor position
-    const { value } = target;
-    let { selectionStart } = target;
-    const { selectionEnd } = target;
+    const { value } = inputTarget;
+    const selectionEnd = inputTarget.selectionEnd ?? 0;
+    let selectionStart = inputTarget.selectionStart ?? 0;
 
     let newValue: string = value;
-    if (event.ctrlKey && key === 'a') {
+    if (event.ctrlKey && key === "a") {
       // Select everything when pressing Ctrl + a
-      target.setSelectionRange(0, target.value.length);
+      inputTarget.setSelectionRange(0, value.length);
       return;
-    } else if (key === '-') {
-      if (selectionStart === 0 && !value.startsWith('-')) {
-        newValue = '-' + value;
+    } else if (key === "-") {
+      if (selectionStart === 0 && !value.startsWith("-")) {
+        newValue = "-" + value;
         selectionStart++;
-      } else if (value.startsWith('-') && selectionStart === 1) {
+      } else if (value.startsWith("-") && selectionStart === 1) {
         newValue = value.substring(1); // remove minus sign
         selectionStart--;
       } else {
         return; // Ignore "-" pressed in other positions
       }
-    } else if (!isNaN(key) && key !== ' ') {
+    } else if (key >= "0" && key <= "9") {
       // Check if a number key or a decimal point key is pressed
       ({ value: newValue, selectionStart } = handleNumericKey(
         key,
         value,
         selectionStart,
-        selectionEnd
+        selectionEnd,
       ));
-    } else if (key === '.') {
+    } else if (key === "." && (type === "float" || type === "Quantity")) {
       ({ value: newValue, selectionStart } = handleNumericKey(
         key,
         value,
         selectionStart,
-        selectionEnd
+        selectionEnd,
       ));
-    } else if (key === 'ArrowUp' || key === 'ArrowDown') {
+    } else if (key === "ArrowUp" || key === "ArrowDown") {
       ({ value: newValue, selectionStart } = handleArrowKey(
         key,
         value,
-        selectionStart
+        selectionStart,
         // selectionEnd
       ));
-    } else if (key === 'Backspace') {
+    } else if (key === "Backspace") {
       ({ value: newValue, selectionStart } = handleBackspaceKey(
         value,
         selectionStart,
-        selectionEnd
+        selectionEnd,
       ));
-    } else if (key === 'Delete') {
+    } else if (key === "Delete") {
       ({ value: newValue, selectionStart } = handleDeleteKey(
         value,
         selectionStart,
-        selectionEnd
+        selectionEnd,
       ));
-    } else if (key === 'Enter' && !isInstantUpdate) {
-      setAttribute(name, parentPath, Number(newValue));
+    } else if (key === "Enter" && !isInstantUpdate) {
+      let serializedObject: SerializedObject;
+      if (type === "Quantity") {
+        serializedObject = {
+          type: "Quantity",
+          value: {
+            magnitude: Number(newValue),
+            unit: unit,
+          } as QuantityMap,
+          full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+          readonly: readOnly,
+          doc: docString,
+        };
+      } else {
+        serializedObject = {
+          type: type,
+          value: Number(newValue),
+          full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+          readonly: readOnly,
+          doc: docString,
+        };
+      }
+
+      changeCallback(serializedObject);
       return;
     } else {
       console.debug(key);
@@ -292,7 +278,29 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
 
     // Update the input value and maintain the cursor position
     if (isInstantUpdate) {
-      setAttribute(name, parentPath, Number(newValue));
+      let serializedObject: SerializedObject;
+      if (type === "Quantity") {
+        serializedObject = {
+          type: "Quantity",
+          value: {
+            magnitude: Number(newValue),
+            unit: unit,
+          } as QuantityMap,
+          full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+          readonly: readOnly,
+          doc: docString,
+        };
+      } else {
+        serializedObject = {
+          type: type,
+          value: Number(newValue),
+          full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+          readonly: readOnly,
+          doc: docString,
+        };
+      }
+
+      changeCallback(serializedObject);
     }
 
     setInputString(newValue);
@@ -304,35 +312,82 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
   const handleBlur = () => {
     if (!isInstantUpdate) {
       // If not in "instant update" mode, emit an update when the input field loses focus
-      setAttribute(name, parentPath, Number(inputString));
+      let serializedObject: SerializedObject;
+      if (type === "Quantity") {
+        serializedObject = {
+          type: "Quantity",
+          value: {
+            magnitude: Number(inputString),
+            unit: unit,
+          } as QuantityMap,
+          full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+          readonly: readOnly,
+          doc: docString,
+        };
+      } else {
+        serializedObject = {
+          type: type,
+          value: Number(inputString),
+          full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+          readonly: readOnly,
+          doc: docString,
+        };
+      }
+
+      changeCallback(serializedObject);
     }
   };
+  useEffect(() => {
+    // Parse the input string to a number for comparison
+    const numericInputString =
+      type === "int" ? parseInt(inputString) : parseFloat(inputString);
+    // Only update the inputString if it's different from the prop value
+    if (value !== numericInputString) {
+      setInputString(value.toString());
+    }
+
+    // emitting notification
+    let notificationMsg = `${fullAccessPath} changed to ${props.value}`;
+    if (unit === undefined) {
+      notificationMsg += ".";
+    } else {
+      notificationMsg += ` ${unit}.`;
+    }
+    addNotification(notificationMsg);
+  }, [value]);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    // Set the cursor position after the component re-renders
+    const inputElement = document.getElementsByName(id)[0] as HTMLInputElement;
+    if (inputElement && cursorPosition !== null) {
+      inputElement.setSelectionRange(cursorPosition, cursorPosition);
+    }
+  });
 
   return (
-    <div className="numberComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
-      <div className="d-flex">
-        <InputGroup>
-          {showName && (
-            <InputGroup.Text>
-              {displayName}
-              <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
-            </InputGroup.Text>
-          )}
-          <Form.Control
-            type="text"
-            value={inputString}
-            disabled={readOnly}
-            name={fullAccessPath}
-            onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
-            onBlur={handleBlur}
-            className={isInstantUpdate && !readOnly ? 'instantUpdate' : ''}
-          />
-          {unit && <InputGroup.Text>{unit}</InputGroup.Text>}
-        </InputGroup>
-      </div>
+    <div className="component numberComponent" id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
+      <InputGroup>
+        {displayName && (
+          <InputGroup.Text>
+            {displayName}
+            <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
+          </InputGroup.Text>
+        )}
+        <Form.Control
+          type="text"
+          value={inputString}
+          disabled={readOnly}
+          onChange={() => {}}
+          name={id}
+          onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
+          onBlur={handleBlur}
+          className={isInstantUpdate && !readOnly ? "instantUpdate" : ""}
+        />
+        {unit && <InputGroup.Text>{unit}</InputGroup.Text>}
+      </InputGroup>
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+NumberComponent.displayName = "NumberComponent";

frontend/src/components/SliderComponent.tsx

@@ -1,97 +1,137 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
-import { InputGroup, Form, Row, Col, Collapse, ToggleButton } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { Slider } from '@mui/material';
-import { NumberComponent, NumberObject } from './NumberComponent';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { InputGroup, Form, Row, Col, Collapse, ToggleButton } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import { Slider } from "@mui/material";
+import { NumberComponent, NumberObject } from "./NumberComponent";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { QuantityMap } from "../types/QuantityMap";
+import { propsAreEqual } from "../utils/propsAreEqual";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
-type SliderComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
+interface SliderComponentProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
   min: NumberObject;
   max: NumberObject;
-  parentPath?: string;
   value: NumberObject;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   stepSize: NumberObject;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
+  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+}
+
+const deconstructNumberDict = (
+  numberDict: NumberObject,
+): [number, boolean, string | undefined] => {
+  let numberMagnitude = 0;
+  let numberUnit: string | undefined = undefined;
+  const numberReadOnly = numberDict.readonly;
+
+  if (numberDict.type === "int" || numberDict.type === "float") {
+    numberMagnitude = numberDict.value;
+  } else if (numberDict.type === "Quantity") {
+    numberMagnitude = numberDict.value.magnitude;
+    numberUnit = numberDict.value.unit;
+  }
+
+  return [numberMagnitude, numberReadOnly, numberUnit];
 };
 
 export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
   const {
-    name,
-    parentPath,
+    fullAccessPath,
     value,
     min,
     max,
     stepSize,
     docString,
     isInstantUpdate,
-    addNotification
+    addNotification,
+    changeCallback = () => {},
+    displayName,
+    id,
   } = props;
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${value.value}.`);
+  }, [props.value.value]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${value}.`);
-  }, [props.value]);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath}.min changed to ${min.value}.`);
+  }, [props.min.value, props.min.type]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name}.min changed to ${min}.`);
-  }, [props.min]);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath}.max changed to ${max.value}.`);
+  }, [props.max.value, props.max.type]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name}.max changed to ${max}.`);
-  }, [props.max]);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath}.stepSize changed to ${stepSize.value}.`);
+  }, [props.stepSize.value, props.stepSize.type]);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name}.stepSize changed to ${stepSize}.`);
-  }, [props.stepSize]);
-
-  const handleOnChange = (event, newNumber: number | number[]) => {
+  const handleOnChange = (_: Event, newNumber: number | number[]) => {
     // This will never be the case as we do not have a range slider. However, we should
     // make sure this is properly handled.
     if (Array.isArray(newNumber)) {
       newNumber = newNumber[0];
     }
-    setAttribute(`${name}.value`, parentPath, newNumber);
-  };
 
-  const handleValueChange = (newValue: number, valueType: string) => {
-    setAttribute(`${name}.${valueType}`, parentPath, newValue);
-  };
-
-  const deconstructNumberDict = (
-    numberDict: NumberObject
-  ): [number, boolean, string | null] => {
-    let numberMagnitude: number;
-    let numberUnit: string | null = null;
-    const numberReadOnly = numberDict.readonly;
-
-    if (numberDict.type === 'int' || numberDict.type === 'float') {
-      numberMagnitude = numberDict.value;
-    } else if (numberDict.type === 'Quantity') {
-      numberMagnitude = numberDict.value.magnitude;
-      numberUnit = numberDict.value.unit;
+    let serializedObject: SerializedObject;
+    if (value.type === "Quantity") {
+      serializedObject = {
+        type: "Quantity",
+        value: {
+          magnitude: newNumber,
+          unit: value.value.unit,
+        } as QuantityMap,
+        full_access_path: `${fullAccessPath}.value`,
+        readonly: value.readonly,
+        doc: docString,
+      };
+    } else {
+      serializedObject = {
+        type: value.type,
+        value: newNumber,
+        full_access_path: `${fullAccessPath}.value`,
+        readonly: value.readonly,
+        doc: docString,
+      };
     }
+    changeCallback(serializedObject);
+  };
 
-    return [numberMagnitude, numberReadOnly, numberUnit];
+  const handleValueChange = (
+    newValue: number,
+    name: string,
+    valueObject: NumberObject,
+  ) => {
+    let serializedObject: SerializedObject;
+    if (valueObject.type === "Quantity") {
+      serializedObject = {
+        type: valueObject.type,
+        value: {
+          magnitude: newValue,
+          unit: valueObject.value.unit,
+        } as QuantityMap,
+        full_access_path: `${fullAccessPath}.${name}`,
+        readonly: valueObject.readonly,
+        doc: null,
+      };
+    } else {
+      serializedObject = {
+        type: valueObject.type,
+        value: newValue,
+        full_access_path: `${fullAccessPath}.${name}`,
+        readonly: valueObject.readonly,
+        doc: null,
+      };
+    }
+    changeCallback(serializedObject);
   };
 
   const [valueMagnitude, valueReadOnly, valueUnit] = deconstructNumberDict(value);
@@ -100,10 +140,8 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
   const [stepSizeMagnitude, stepSizeReadOnly] = deconstructNumberDict(stepSize);
 
   return (
-    <div className="sliderComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+    <div className="component sliderComponent" id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
 
       <Row>
         <Col xs="auto" xl="auto">
@@ -114,7 +152,7 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
         </Col>
         <Col xs="5" xl>
           <Slider
-            style={{ margin: '0px 0px 10px 0px' }}
+            style={{ margin: "0px 0px 10px 0px" }}
             aria-label="Always visible"
             // valueLabelDisplay="on"
             disabled={valueReadOnly}
@@ -125,22 +163,22 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
             step={stepSizeMagnitude}
             marks={[
               { value: minMagnitude, label: `${minMagnitude}` },
-              { value: maxMagnitude, label: `${maxMagnitude}` }
+              { value: maxMagnitude, label: `${maxMagnitude}` },
             ]}
           />
         </Col>
         <Col xs="3" xl>
           <NumberComponent
             isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
-            parentPath={parentPath}
-            name={`${name}.value`}
-            docString=""
+            fullAccessPath={`${fullAccessPath}.value`}
+            docString={docString}
             readOnly={valueReadOnly}
-            type="float"
+            type={value.type}
             value={valueMagnitude}
             unit={valueUnit}
-            showName={false}
-            addNotification={() => null}
+            addNotification={() => {}}
+            changeCallback={changeCallback}
+            id={id + "-value"}
           />
         </Col>
         <Col xs="auto">
@@ -170,14 +208,14 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
         <Form.Group>
           <Row
             className="justify-content-center"
-            style={{ paddingTop: '20px', margin: '10px' }}>
+            style={{ paddingTop: "20px", margin: "10px" }}>
             <Col xs="auto">
               <Form.Label>Min Value</Form.Label>
               <Form.Control
                 type="number"
                 value={minMagnitude}
                 disabled={minReadOnly}
-                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), 'min')}
+                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), "min", min)}
               />
             </Col>
 
@@ -187,7 +225,7 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
                 type="number"
                 value={maxMagnitude}
                 disabled={maxReadOnly}
-                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), 'max')}
+                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), "max", max)}
               />
             </Col>
 
@@ -197,7 +235,9 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
                 type="number"
                 value={stepSizeMagnitude}
                 disabled={stepSizeReadOnly}
-                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), 'step_size')}
+                onChange={(e) =>
+                  handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), "step_size", stepSize)
+                }
               />
             </Col>
           </Row>
@@ -205,4 +245,6 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
       </Collapse>
     </div>
   );
-});
+}, propsAreEqual);
+
+SliderComponent.displayName = "SliderComponent";

frontend/src/components/StringComponent.tsx

@@ -1,75 +1,89 @@
-import React, { useContext, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { Form, InputGroup } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { setAttribute } from '../socket';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import '../App.css';
-import { getIdFromFullAccessPath } from '../utils/stringUtils';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-import { WebSettingsContext } from '../WebSettings';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import { Form, InputGroup } from "react-bootstrap";
+import { DocStringComponent } from "./DocStringComponent";
+import "../App.css";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+import { useRenderCount } from "../hooks/useRenderCount";
 
 // TODO: add button functionality
 
-type StringComponentProps = {
-  name: string;
-  parentPath?: string;
+interface StringComponentProps {
+  fullAccessPath: string;
   value: string;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-};
+  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+  displayName: string;
+  id: string;
+}
 
 export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
-  const { name, parentPath, readOnly, docString, isInstantUpdate, addNotification } =
-    props;
+  const {
+    fullAccessPath,
+    readOnly,
+    docString,
+    isInstantUpdate,
+    addNotification,
+    changeCallback = () => {},
+    displayName,
+    id,
+  } = props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const [inputString, setInputString] = useState(props.value);
-  const fullAccessPath = [parentPath, name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
-  const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
-  const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-  let displayName = name;
-
-  if (webSettings[fullAccessPath] && webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName) {
-    displayName = webSettings[fullAccessPath].displayName;
-  }
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  }, [isInstantUpdate, inputString, renderCount]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     // Only update the inputString if it's different from the prop value
     if (props.value !== inputString) {
       setInputString(props.value);
     }
-    addNotification(`${parentPath}.${name} changed to ${props.value}.`);
+    addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${props.value}.`);
   }, [props.value]);
 
-  const handleChange = (event) => {
+  const handleChange = (event: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
     setInputString(event.target.value);
     if (isInstantUpdate) {
-      setAttribute(name, parentPath, event.target.value);
+      changeCallback({
+        type: "str",
+        value: event.target.value,
+        full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+        readonly: readOnly,
+        doc: docString,
+      });
     }
   };
 
-  const handleKeyDown = (event) => {
-    if (event.key === 'Enter' && !isInstantUpdate) {
-      setAttribute(name, parentPath, inputString);
+  const handleKeyDown = (event: React.KeyboardEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
+    if (event.key === "Enter" && !isInstantUpdate) {
+      changeCallback({
+        type: "str",
+        value: inputString,
+        full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+        readonly: readOnly,
+        doc: docString,
+      });
+      event.preventDefault();
     }
   };
 
   const handleBlur = () => {
     if (!isInstantUpdate) {
-      setAttribute(name, parentPath, inputString);
+      changeCallback({
+        type: "str",
+        value: inputString,
+        full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+        readonly: readOnly,
+        doc: docString,
+      });
     }
   };
 
   return (
-    <div className={'stringComponent'} id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+    <div className="component stringComponent" id={id}>
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <InputGroup>
         <InputGroup.Text>
           {displayName}
@@ -77,15 +91,17 @@ export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
         </InputGroup.Text>
         <Form.Control
           type="text"
+          name={id}
           value={inputString}
           disabled={readOnly}
-          name={name}
           onChange={handleChange}
           onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
           onBlur={handleBlur}
-          className={isInstantUpdate && !readOnly ? 'instantUpdate' : ''}
+          className={isInstantUpdate && !readOnly ? "instantUpdate" : ""}
         />
       </InputGroup>
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+StringComponent.displayName = "StringComponent";

frontend/src/hooks/useRenderCount.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+import { useRef, useEffect } from "react";
+
+export function useRenderCount() {
+  const count = useRef(0);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    count.current += 1;
+  });
+
+  return count.current;
+}

frontend/src/index.tsx

@@ -1,10 +1,13 @@
-import App from './App';
-import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';
+import App from "./App";
+import React from "react";
+import ReactDOM from "react-dom/client";
 
 // Importing the Bootstrap CSS
-import 'bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css';
+import "bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css";
 
 // Render the App component into the #root div
-const container = document.getElementById('root');
-const root = createRoot(container);
-root.render(<App />);
+ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById("root")!).render(
+  <React.StrictMode>
+    <App />
+  </React.StrictMode>,
+);

frontend/src/socket.ts

@@ -1,36 +1,54 @@
-import { io } from 'socket.io-client';
+import { io } from "socket.io-client";
+import { serializeDict, serializeList } from "./utils/serializationUtils";
+import { SerializedObject } from "./types/SerializedObject";
 
 export const hostname =
-  process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? `localhost` : window.location.hostname;
+  process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" ? `localhost` : window.location.hostname;
 export const port =
-  process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' ? 8001 : window.location.port;
+  process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" ? 8001 : window.location.port;
 const URL = `ws://${hostname}:${port}/`;
-console.debug('Websocket: ', URL);
+console.debug("Websocket: ", URL);
 
-export const socket = io(URL, { path: '/ws/socket.io', transports: ['websocket'] });
+export const socket = io(URL, { path: "/ws/socket.io", transports: ["websocket"] });
 
-export const setAttribute = (
-  name: string,
-  parentPath: string,
-  value: unknown,
-  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void
+export const updateValue = (
+  serializedObject: SerializedObject,
+  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void,
 ) => {
   if (callback) {
-    socket.emit('set_attribute', { name, parent_path: parentPath, value }, callback);
+    socket.emit(
+      "update_value",
+      { access_path: serializedObject["full_access_path"], value: serializedObject },
+      callback,
+    );
   } else {
-    socket.emit('set_attribute', { name, parent_path: parentPath, value });
+    socket.emit("update_value", {
+      access_path: serializedObject["full_access_path"],
+      value: serializedObject,
+    });
   }
 };
 
 export const runMethod = (
-  name: string,
-  parentPath: string,
-  kwargs: Record<string, unknown>,
-  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void
+  accessPath: string,
+  args: unknown[] = [],
+  kwargs: Record<string, unknown> = {},
+  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void,
 ) => {
+  const serializedArgs = serializeList(args);
+  const serializedKwargs = serializeDict(kwargs);
+
   if (callback) {
-    socket.emit('run_method', { name, parent_path: parentPath, kwargs }, callback);
+    socket.emit(
+      "trigger_method",
+      { access_path: accessPath, args: serializedArgs, kwargs: serializedKwargs },
+      callback,
+    );
   } else {
-    socket.emit('run_method', { name, parent_path: parentPath, kwargs });
+    socket.emit("trigger_method", {
+      access_path: accessPath,
+      args: serializedArgs,
+      kwargs: serializedKwargs,
+    });
   }
 };

frontend/src/types/QuantityMap.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+export interface QuantityMap {
+  magnitude: number;
+  unit: string;
+}

frontend/src/types/SerializedObject.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+import { QuantityMap } from "./QuantityMap";
+
+interface SignatureDict {
+  parameters: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>>;
+  return_annotation: Record<string, unknown>;
+}
+
+interface SerializedObjectBase {
+  full_access_path: string;
+  doc: string | null;
+  readonly: boolean;
+}
+
+type SerializedInteger = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: number;
+  type: "int";
+};
+
+type SerializedFloat = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: number;
+  type: "float";
+};
+
+type SerializedQuantity = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: QuantityMap;
+  type: "Quantity";
+};
+
+type SerializedBool = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: boolean;
+  type: "bool";
+};
+
+type SerializedString = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: string;
+  type: "str";
+};
+
+export type SerializedEnum = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  name: string;
+  value: string;
+  type: "Enum" | "ColouredEnum";
+  enum: Record<string, string>;
+};
+
+type SerializedList = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: SerializedObject[];
+  type: "list";
+};
+
+type SerializedDict = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: Record<string, SerializedObject>;
+  type: "dict";
+};
+
+type SerializedNoneType = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: null;
+  type: "NoneType";
+};
+
+type SerializedNoValue = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: null;
+  type: "None";
+};
+
+type SerializedMethod = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  value: "RUNNING" | null;
+  type: "method";
+  async: boolean;
+  signature: SignatureDict;
+  frontend_render: boolean;
+};
+
+type SerializedException = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  name: string;
+  value: string;
+  type: "Exception";
+};
+
+type DataServiceTypes = "DataService" | "Image" | "NumberSlider" | "DeviceConnection";
+
+type SerializedDataService = SerializedObjectBase & {
+  name: string;
+  value: Record<string, SerializedObject>;
+  type: DataServiceTypes;
+};
+
+export type SerializedObject =
+  | SerializedBool
+  | SerializedFloat
+  | SerializedInteger
+  | SerializedString
+  | SerializedList
+  | SerializedDict
+  | SerializedNoneType
+  | SerializedMethod
+  | SerializedException
+  | SerializedDataService
+  | SerializedEnum
+  | SerializedQuantity
+  | SerializedNoValue;

frontend/src/utils/propsAreEqual.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import deepEqual from "deep-equal";
+
+export const propsAreEqual = <T extends object>(
+  prevProps: T,
+  nextProps: T,
+): boolean => {
+  for (const key in nextProps) {
+    if (typeof nextProps[key] === "object") {
+      if (!deepEqual(prevProps[key], nextProps[key])) {
+        return false;
+      }
+    } else if (!Object.is(prevProps[key], nextProps[key])) {
+      return false;
+    }
+  }
+  return true;
+};

frontend/src/utils/serializationUtils.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+
+const serializePrimitive = (
+  obj: number | boolean | string | null,
+  accessPath: string,
+): SerializedObject => {
+  if (typeof obj === "number") {
+    return {
+      full_access_path: accessPath,
+      doc: null,
+      readonly: false,
+      type: Number.isInteger(obj) ? "int" : "float",
+      value: obj,
+    };
+  } else if (typeof obj === "boolean") {
+    return {
+      full_access_path: accessPath,
+      doc: null,
+      readonly: false,
+      type: "bool",
+      value: obj,
+    };
+  } else if (typeof obj === "string") {
+    return {
+      full_access_path: accessPath,
+      doc: null,
+      readonly: false,
+      type: "str",
+      value: obj,
+    };
+  } else if (obj === null) {
+    return {
+      full_access_path: accessPath,
+      doc: null,
+      readonly: false,
+      type: "None",
+      value: null,
+    };
+  } else {
+    throw new Error("Unsupported type for serialization");
+  }
+};
+
+export const serializeList = (obj: unknown[], accessPath = "") => {
+  const doc = null;
+  const value = obj.map((item, index) => {
+    if (
+      typeof item === "number" ||
+      typeof item === "boolean" ||
+      typeof item === "string" ||
+      item === null
+    ) {
+      serializePrimitive(
+        item as number | boolean | string | null,
+        `${accessPath}[${index}]`,
+      );
+    }
+  });
+
+  return {
+    full_access_path: accessPath,
+    type: "list",
+    value,
+    readonly: false,
+    doc,
+  };
+};
+export const serializeDict = (obj: Record<string, unknown>, accessPath = "") => {
+  const doc = null;
+  const value = Object.entries(obj).reduce(
+    (acc, [key, val]) => {
+      // Construct the new access path for nested properties
+      const newPath = `${accessPath}["${key}"]`;
+
+      // Serialize each value in the dictionary and assign to the accumulator
+      if (
+        typeof val === "number" ||
+        typeof val === "boolean" ||
+        typeof val === "string" ||
+        val === null
+      ) {
+        acc[key] = serializePrimitive(val as number | boolean | string | null, newPath);
+      }
+
+      return acc;
+    },
+    {} as Record<string, SerializedObject>,
+  );
+
+  return {
+    full_access_path: accessPath,
+    type: "dict",
+    value,
+    readonly: false,
+    doc,
+  };
+};

frontend/src/utils/stateUtils.ts

@@ -1,113 +1,175 @@
-export interface SerializedValue {
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+
+export interface State {
   type: string;
-  value: Record<string, unknown> | Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+  name: string;
+  value: Record<string, SerializedObject> | null;
   readonly: boolean;
   doc: string | null;
-  async?: boolean;
-  parameters?: unknown;
 }
-export type State = {
-  type: string;
-  value: Record<string, SerializedValue> | null;
-  readonly: boolean;
-  doc: string | null;
-};
 
-export function setNestedValueByPath(
-  serializationDict: Record<string, SerializedValue>,
-  path: string,
-  serializedValue: SerializedValue
-): Record<string, SerializedValue> {
-  const parentPathParts = path.split('.').slice(0, -1);
-  const attrName = path.split('.').pop();
+/**
+ * Splits a full access path into its atomic parts, separating attribute names, numeric
+ * indices (including floating points), and string keys within indices.
+ *
+ * @param path The full access path string to be split into components.
+ * @returns An array of components that make up the path, including attribute names,
+ *          numeric indices, and string keys as separate elements.
+ */
+export function parseFullAccessPath(path: string): string[] {
+  // The pattern matches:
+  // \w+ - Words
+  // \[\d+\.\d+\] - Floating point numbers inside brackets
+  // \[\d+\] - Integers inside brackets
+  // \["[^"]*"\] - Double-quoted strings inside brackets
+  // \['[^']*'\] - Single-quoted strings inside brackets
+  const pattern = /\w+|\[\d+\.\d+\]|\[\d+\]|\["[^"]*"\]|\['[^']*'\]/g;
+  const matches = path.match(pattern);
 
-  if (!attrName) {
-    throw new Error('Invalid path');
+  return matches ?? []; // Return an empty array if no matches found
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parse a serialized key and convert it to an appropriate type (number or string).
+ *
+ * @param serializedKey The serialized key, which might be enclosed in brackets and quotes.
+ * @returns The processed key as a number or an unquoted string.
+ *
+ * Examples:
+ * console.log(parseSerializedKey("attr_name"));  // Outputs: attr_name  (string)
+ * console.log(parseSerializedKey("[123]"));      // Outputs: 123  (number)
+ * console.log(parseSerializedKey("[12.3]"));     // Outputs: 12.3  (number)
+ * console.log(parseSerializedKey("['hello']"));  // Outputs: hello  (string)
+ * console.log(parseSerializedKey('["12.34"]'));  // Outputs: "12.34"  (string)
+ * console.log(parseSerializedKey('["complex"]'));// Outputs: "complex"  (string)
+ */
+function parseSerializedKey(serializedKey: string): string | number {
+  // Strip outer brackets if present
+  if (serializedKey.startsWith("[") && serializedKey.endsWith("]")) {
+    serializedKey = serializedKey.slice(1, -1);
   }
 
-  let currentSerializedValue: SerializedValue;
-  const newSerializationDict: Record<string, SerializedValue> = JSON.parse(
-    JSON.stringify(serializationDict)
+  // Strip quotes if the resulting string is quoted
+  if (
+    (serializedKey.startsWith("'") && serializedKey.endsWith("'")) ||
+    (serializedKey.startsWith('"') && serializedKey.endsWith('"'))
+  ) {
+    return serializedKey.slice(1, -1);
+  }
+
+  // Try converting to a number if the string is not quoted
+  const parsedNumber = parseFloat(serializedKey);
+  if (!isNaN(parsedNumber)) {
+    return parsedNumber;
+  }
+
+  // Return the original string if it's not a valid number
+  return serializedKey;
+}
+
+function getOrCreateItemInContainer(
+  container: Record<string | number, SerializedObject> | SerializedObject[],
+  key: string | number,
+  allowAddKey: boolean,
+): SerializedObject {
+  // Check if the key exists and return the item if it does
+  if (key in container) {
+    /* @ts-expect-error Key is in the correct form but converted to type any for some reason */
+    return container[key];
+  }
+
+  // Handling the case where the key does not exist
+  if (Array.isArray(container)) {
+    // Handling arrays
+    if (allowAddKey && key === container.length) {
+      container.push(createEmptySerializedObject());
+      return container[key];
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Index out of bounds: ${key}`);
+  } else {
+    // Handling objects
+    if (allowAddKey) {
+      container[key] = createEmptySerializedObject();
+      return container[key];
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Key not found: ${key}`);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Retrieve an item from a container specified by the passed key. Add an item to the
+ * container if allowAppend is set to True.
+ *
+ * @param container Either a dictionary or list of serialized objects.
+ * @param key The key name or index (as a string) representing the attribute in the container.
+ * @param allowAppend Whether to allow appending a new entry if the specified index is out of range by exactly one position.
+ * @returns The serialized object corresponding to the specified key.
+ * @throws SerializationPathError If the key is invalid or leads to an access error without append permissions.
+ * @throws SerializationValueError If the expected structure is incorrect.
+ */
+function getContainerItemByKey(
+  container: Record<string, SerializedObject> | SerializedObject[],
+  key: string,
+  allowAppend = false,
+): SerializedObject {
+  const processedKey = parseSerializedKey(key);
+
+  try {
+    return getOrCreateItemInContainer(container, processedKey, allowAppend);
+  } catch (error) {
+    if (error instanceof RangeError) {
+      throw new Error(`Index '${processedKey}': ${error.message}`);
+    } else if (error instanceof Error) {
+      throw new Error(`Key '${processedKey}': ${error.message}`);
+    }
+    throw error; // Re-throw if it's not a known error type
+  }
+}
+
+export function setNestedValueByPath(
+  serializationDict: Record<string, SerializedObject>,
+  path: string,
+  serializedValue: SerializedObject,
+): Record<string, SerializedObject> {
+  const pathParts = parseFullAccessPath(path);
+  const newSerializationDict: Record<string, SerializedObject> = JSON.parse(
+    JSON.stringify(serializationDict),
   );
 
   let currentDict = newSerializationDict;
 
   try {
-    for (const pathPart of parentPathParts) {
-      currentSerializedValue = getNextLevelDictByKey(currentDict, pathPart, false);
-      // @ts-expect-error The value will be of type SerializedValue as we are still
-      // looping through the parent parts
-      currentDict = currentSerializedValue['value'];
+    for (let i = 0; i < pathParts.length - 1; i++) {
+      const pathPart = pathParts[i];
+      const nextLevelSerializedObject = getContainerItemByKey(
+        currentDict,
+        pathPart,
+        false,
+      );
+      currentDict = nextLevelSerializedObject["value"] as Record<
+        string,
+        SerializedObject
+      >;
     }
 
-    currentSerializedValue = getNextLevelDictByKey(currentDict, attrName, true);
+    const finalPart = pathParts[pathParts.length - 1];
+    const finalObject = getContainerItemByKey(currentDict, finalPart, true);
+
+    Object.assign(finalObject, serializedValue);
 
-    Object.assign(currentSerializedValue, serializedValue);
     return newSerializationDict;
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error);
-    return currentDict;
+    console.error(`Error occurred trying to change ${path}: ${error}`);
   }
+  return {};
 }
 
-function getNextLevelDictByKey(
-  serializationDict: Record<string, SerializedValue>,
-  attrName: string,
-  allowAppend: boolean = false
-): SerializedValue {
-  const [key, index] = parseListAttrAndIndex(attrName);
-  let currentDict: SerializedValue;
-
-  try {
-    if (index !== null) {
-      if (!serializationDict[key] || !Array.isArray(serializationDict[key]['value'])) {
-        throw new Error(`Expected an array at '${key}', but found something else.`);
-      }
-
-      if (index < serializationDict[key]['value'].length) {
-        currentDict = serializationDict[key]['value'][index];
-      } else if (allowAppend && index === serializationDict[key]['value'].length) {
-        // Appending to list
-        // @ts-expect-error When the index is not null, I expect an array
-        serializationDict[key]['value'].push({});
-        currentDict = serializationDict[key]['value'][index];
-      } else {
-        throw new Error(`Index out of range for '${key}[${index}]'.`);
-      }
-    } else {
-      if (!serializationDict[key]) {
-        throw new Error(`Key '${key}' not found.`);
-      }
-      currentDict = serializationDict[key];
-    }
-  } catch (error) {
-    throw new Error(`Error occurred trying to access '${attrName}': ${error}`);
-  }
-
-  if (typeof currentDict !== 'object' || currentDict === null) {
-    throw new Error(
-      `Expected a dictionary at '${attrName}', but found type '${typeof currentDict}' instead.`
-    );
-  }
-
-  return currentDict;
-}
-
-function parseListAttrAndIndex(attrString: string): [string, number | null] {
-  let index: number | null = null;
-  let attrName = attrString;
-
-  if (attrString.includes('[') && attrString.endsWith(']')) {
-    const parts = attrString.split('[');
-    attrName = parts[0];
-    const indexPart = parts[1].slice(0, -1); // Removes the closing ']'
-
-    if (!isNaN(parseInt(indexPart))) {
-      index = parseInt(indexPart);
-    } else {
-      console.error(`Invalid index format in key: ${attrString}`);
-    }
-  }
-
-  return [attrName, index];
+function createEmptySerializedObject(): SerializedObject {
+  return {
+    full_access_path: "",
+    value: null,
+    type: "None",
+    doc: null,
+    readonly: false,
+  };
 }

frontend/src/utils/stringUtils.ts

@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
 export function getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath: string) {
   if (fullAccessPath) {
     // Replace '].' with a single dash
-    let id = fullAccessPath.replace(/\]\./g, '-');
+    let id = fullAccessPath.replace(/\]\./g, "-");
 
     // Replace any character that is not a word character or underscore with a dash
-    id = id.replace(/[^\w_]+/g, '-');
+    id = id.replace(/[^\w_]+/g, "-");
 
     // Remove any trailing dashes
-    id = id.replace(/-+$/, '');
+    id = id.replace(/-+$/, "");
 
     return id;
   } else {
-    return 'main';
+    return "main";
   }
 }

frontend/tsconfig.app.json

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+{
+    "compilerOptions": {
+        "composite": true,
+        "tsBuildInfoFile": "./node_modules/.tmp/tsconfig.app.tsbuildinfo",
+        "target": "ES2020",
+        "useDefineForClassFields": true,
+        "lib": [
+            "ES2020",
+            "DOM",
+            "DOM.Iterable"
+        ],
+        "module": "ESNext",
+        "skipLibCheck": true,
+        /* Bundler mode */
+        "moduleResolution": "bundler",
+        "allowImportingTsExtensions": true,
+        "resolveJsonModule": true,
+        "isolatedModules": true,
+        "moduleDetection": "force",
+        "noEmit": true,
+        "jsx": "react-jsx",
+        /* Linting */
+        "strict": true,
+        "noUnusedLocals": true,
+        "noUnusedParameters": true,
+        "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true
+    },
+    "include": [
+        "src"
+    ]
+}

frontend/tsconfig.json

@@ -1,8 +1,11 @@
 {
-    "compilerOptions": {
-        "jsx": "react-jsx",
-        "allowImportingTsExtensions": true,
-        "noEmit": true,
-        "esModuleInterop": true
-    }
-}
+    "files": [],
+    "references": [
+        {
+            "path": "./tsconfig.app.json"
+        },
+        {
+            "path": "./tsconfig.node.json"
+        }
+    ]
+}

frontend/tsconfig.node.json

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+{
+    "compilerOptions": {
+        "composite": true,
+        "tsBuildInfoFile": "./node_modules/.tmp/tsconfig.node.tsbuildinfo",
+        "skipLibCheck": true,
+        "module": "ESNext",
+        "moduleResolution": "bundler",
+        "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
+        "strict": true,
+        "noEmit": true
+    },
+    "include": [
+        "vite.config.ts"
+    ]
+}

frontend/vite.config.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { defineConfig } from "vite";
+import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react-swc";
+
+// https://vitejs.dev/config/
+export default defineConfig({
+  plugins: [react()],
+  build: {
+    outDir: "../src/pydase/frontend",
+  },
+  esbuild: {
+    drop: ["console", "debugger"],
+  },
+});

pyproject.toml

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "pydase"
-version = "0.6.0"
+version = "0.8.4"
 description = "A flexible and robust Python library for creating, managing, and interacting with data services, with built-in support for web and RPC servers, and customizable features for diverse use cases."
 authors = ["Mose Mueller <mosmuell@ethz.ch>"]
 readme = "README.md"
@@ -9,15 +9,14 @@ packages = [{ include = "pydase", from = "src" }]
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
 python = "^3.10"
-rpyc = "^5.3.1"
-fastapi = "^0.100.0"
-uvicorn = "^0.22.0"
+fastapi = "^0.108.0"
+uvicorn = "^0.27.0"
 toml = "^0.10.2"
 python-socketio = "^5.8.0"
-websockets = "^11.0.3"
 confz = "^2.0.0"
-pint = "^0.22"
-pillow = "^10.0.0"
+pint = "^0.24"
+websocket-client = "^1.7.0"
+aiohttp = "^3.9.3"
 
 [tool.poetry.group.dev]
 optional = true
@@ -30,7 +29,7 @@ mypy = "^1.4.1"
 matplotlib = "^3.7.2"
 pyright = "^1.1.323"
 pytest-mock = "^3.11.1"
-ruff = "^0.1.5"
+ruff = "^0.2.0"
 pytest-asyncio = "^0.23.2"
 
 [tool.poetry.group.docs]
@@ -48,6 +47,11 @@ build-backend = "poetry.core.masonry.api"
 
 [tool.ruff]
 target-version = "py310" # Always generate Python 3.10-compatible code
+extend-exclude = [
+  "docs", "frontend"
+]
+
+[tool.ruff.lint]
 select = [
     "ASYNC", # flake8-async
     "C4",    # flake8-comprehensions
@@ -78,13 +82,9 @@ select = [
     "W",     # pycodestyle warnings
 ]
 ignore = [
-    "E203",     # whitespace-before-punctuation
-    "W292",     # missing-newline-at-end-of-file
+    "RUF006",  # asyncio-dangling-task
     "PERF203",  # try-except-in-loop
 ]
-extend-exclude = [
-  "docs", "frontend"
-]
 
 [tool.ruff.lint.mccabe]
 max-complexity = 7

src/pydase/__init__.py

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+from pydase.client.client import Client
 from pydase.data_service import DataService
 from pydase.server import Server
 from pydase.utils.logging import setup_logging
@@ -7,4 +8,5 @@ setup_logging()
 __all__ = [
     "DataService",
     "Server",
+    "Client",
 ]

src/pydase/client/__init__.py

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+from pydase.client.client import Client
+
+__all__ = ["Client"]

src/pydase/client/client.py

@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+import asyncio
+import logging
+import threading
+from typing import TypedDict, cast
+
+import socketio  # type: ignore
+
+import pydase.components
+from pydase.client.proxy_loader import ProxyClassMixin, ProxyLoader
+from pydase.utils.serialization.deserializer import loads
+from pydase.utils.serialization.types import SerializedDataService, SerializedObject
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class NotifyDataDict(TypedDict):
+    full_access_path: str
+    value: SerializedObject
+
+
+class NotifyDict(TypedDict):
+    data: NotifyDataDict
+
+
+def asyncio_loop_thread(loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop) -> None:
+    asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+    loop.run_forever()
+
+
+class ProxyClass(ProxyClassMixin, pydase.components.DeviceConnection):
+    """
+    A proxy class that serves as the interface for interacting with device connections
+    via a socket.io client in an asyncio environment.
+
+    Args:
+        sio_client (socketio.AsyncClient):
+            The socket.io client instance used for asynchronous communication with the
+            pydase service server.
+        loop (asyncio.AbstractEventLoop):
+            The event loop in which the client operations are managed and executed.
+
+    This class is used to create a proxy object that behaves like a local representation
+    of a remote pydase service, facilitating direct interaction as if it were local
+    while actually communicating over network protocols.
+    It can also be used as an attribute of a pydase service itself, e.g.
+
+        ```python
+        import pydase
+
+
+        class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+            proxy = pydase.Client(
+                hostname="...", port=8001, block_until_connected=False
+            ).proxy
+
+
+        if __name__ == "__main__":
+            service = MyService()
+            server = pydase.Server(service, web_port=8002).run()
+        ```
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self, sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient, loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop
+    ) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self._initialise(sio_client=sio_client, loop=loop)
+
+
+class Client:
+    """
+    A client for connecting to a remote pydase service using socket.io. This client
+    handles asynchronous communication with a service, manages events such as
+    connection, disconnection, and updates, and ensures that the proxy object is
+    up-to-date with the server state.
+
+    Attributes:
+        proxy (ProxyClass):
+            A proxy object representing the remote service, facilitating interaction as
+            if it were local.
+
+    Args:
+        hostname (str):
+            Hostname of the exposed service this client attempts to connect to.
+            Default is "localhost".
+        port (int):
+            Port of the exposed service this client attempts to connect on.
+            Default is 8001.
+        block_until_connected (bool):
+            If set to True, the constructor will block until the connection to the
+            service has been established. This is useful for ensuring the client is
+            ready to use immediately after instantiation. Default is True.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        hostname: str,
+        port: int,
+        block_until_connected: bool = True,
+    ):
+        self._hostname = hostname
+        self._port = port
+        self._sio = socketio.AsyncClient()
+        self._loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+        self.proxy = ProxyClass(sio_client=self._sio, loop=self._loop)
+        self._thread = threading.Thread(
+            target=asyncio_loop_thread, args=(self._loop,), daemon=True
+        )
+        self._thread.start()
+        connection_future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
+            self._connect(), self._loop
+        )
+        if block_until_connected:
+            connection_future.result()
+
+    async def _connect(self) -> None:
+        logger.debug("Connecting to server '%s:%s' ...", self._hostname, self._port)
+        await self._setup_events()
+        await self._sio.connect(
+            f"ws://{self._hostname}:{self._port}",
+            socketio_path="/ws/socket.io",
+            transports=["websocket"],
+            retry=True,
+        )
+
+    async def _setup_events(self) -> None:
+        self._sio.on("connect", self._handle_connect)
+        self._sio.on("disconnect", self._handle_disconnect)
+        self._sio.on("notify", self._handle_update)
+
+    async def _handle_connect(self) -> None:
+        logger.debug("Connected to '%s:%s' ...", self._hostname, self._port)
+        serialized_object = cast(
+            SerializedDataService, await self._sio.call("service_serialization")
+        )
+        ProxyLoader.update_data_service_proxy(
+            self.proxy, serialized_object=serialized_object
+        )
+        serialized_object["type"] = "DeviceConnection"
+        self.proxy._notify_changed("", loads(serialized_object))
+        self.proxy._connected = True
+
+    async def _handle_disconnect(self) -> None:
+        logger.debug("Disconnected from '%s:%s' ...", self._hostname, self._port)
+        self.proxy._connected = False
+
+    async def _handle_update(self, data: NotifyDict) -> None:
+        self.proxy._notify_changed(
+            data["data"]["full_access_path"],
+            loads(data["data"]["value"]),
+        )

src/pydase/client/proxy_loader.py

@@ -0,0 +1,409 @@
+import asyncio
+import logging
+from collections.abc import Iterable
+from copy import copy
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, cast
+
+import socketio  # type: ignore
+from typing_extensions import SupportsIndex
+
+from pydase.utils.serialization.deserializer import Deserializer, loads
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import dump
+from pydase.utils.serialization.types import SerializedObject
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Callable
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class ProxyAttributeError(Exception): ...
+
+
+def trigger_method(
+    sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+    loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    access_path: str,
+    args: list[Any],
+    kwargs: dict[str, Any],
+) -> Any:
+    async def async_trigger_method() -> Any:
+        return await sio_client.call(
+            "trigger_method",
+            {
+                "access_path": access_path,
+                "args": dump(args),
+                "kwargs": dump(kwargs),
+            },
+        )
+
+    result: SerializedObject | None = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
+        async_trigger_method(),
+        loop=loop,
+    ).result()
+
+    if result is not None:
+        return ProxyLoader.loads_proxy(
+            serialized_object=result, sio_client=sio_client, loop=loop
+        )
+
+    return None
+
+
+def update_value(
+    sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+    loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    access_path: str,
+    value: Any,
+) -> Any:
+    async def set_result() -> Any:
+        return await sio_client.call(
+            "update_value",
+            {
+                "access_path": access_path,
+                "value": dump(value),
+            },
+        )
+
+    result: SerializedObject | None = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
+        set_result(),
+        loop=loop,
+    ).result()
+    if result is not None:
+        ProxyLoader.loads_proxy(
+            serialized_object=result, sio_client=sio_client, loop=loop
+        )
+
+
+class ProxyDict(dict[str, Any]):
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        original_dict: dict[str, Any],
+        parent_path: str,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> None:
+        super().__init__(original_dict)
+        self._parent_path = parent_path
+        self._loop = loop
+        self._sio = sio_client
+
+    def __setitem__(self, key: str, value: Any) -> None:
+        observer_key = key
+        if isinstance(key, str):
+            observer_key = f'"{key}"'
+
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}[{observer_key}]"
+
+        update_value(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, value)
+
+    def pop(self, key: str) -> Any:  # type: ignore
+        """Removes the element from the dictionary on the server. It does not return
+        any proxy as the corresponding object on the server does not live anymore."""
+
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.pop"
+
+        trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [key], {})
+
+
+class ProxyList(list[Any]):
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        original_list: list[Any],
+        parent_path: str,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> None:
+        super().__init__(original_list)
+        self._parent_path = parent_path
+        self._loop = loop
+        self._sio = sio_client
+
+    def __setitem__(self, key: int, value: Any) -> None:  # type: ignore[override]
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}[{key}]"
+
+        update_value(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, value)
+
+    def append(self, __object: Any) -> None:
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.append"
+
+        trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [__object], {})
+
+    def clear(self) -> None:
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.clear"
+
+        trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [], {})
+
+    def extend(self, __iterable: Iterable[Any]) -> None:
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.extend"
+
+        trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [__iterable], {})
+
+    def insert(self, __index: SupportsIndex, __object: Any) -> None:
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.insert"
+
+        trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [__index, __object], {})
+
+    def pop(self, __index: SupportsIndex = -1) -> Any:
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.pop"
+
+        return trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [__index], {})
+
+    def remove(self, __value: Any) -> None:
+        full_access_path = f"{self._parent_path}.remove"
+
+        trigger_method(self._sio, self._loop, full_access_path, [__value], {})
+
+
+class ProxyClassMixin:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        # declare before DataService init to avoid warning messaged
+        self._observers: dict[str, Any] = {}
+
+        self._proxy_getters: dict[str, Callable[..., Any]] = {}
+        self._proxy_setters: dict[str, Callable[..., Any]] = {}
+        self._proxy_methods: dict[str, Callable[..., Any]] = {}
+
+    def _initialise(
+        self,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> None:
+        self._loop = loop
+        self._sio = sio_client
+
+    def __dir__(self) -> list[str]:
+        """Used to provide tab completion on CLI / notebook"""
+        static_dir = super().__dir__()
+        return sorted({*static_dir, *self._proxy_getters, *self._proxy_methods.keys()})
+
+    def __getattribute__(self, name: str) -> Any:
+        try:
+            if name in super().__getattribute__("_proxy_getters"):
+                return super().__getattribute__("_proxy_getters")[name]()
+            if name in super().__getattribute__("_proxy_methods"):
+                return super().__getattribute__("_proxy_methods")[name]
+        except AttributeError:
+            pass
+        return super().__getattribute__(name)
+
+    def __setattr__(self, name: str, value: Any) -> None:
+        try:
+            if name in super().__getattribute__("_proxy_setters"):
+                return super().__getattribute__("_proxy_setters")[name](value)
+            if name in super().__getattribute__("_proxy_getters"):
+                raise ProxyAttributeError(
+                    f"Proxy attribute {name!r} of {type(self).__name__!r} is readonly!"
+                )
+        except AttributeError:
+            pass
+        return super().__setattr__(name, value)
+
+    def _handle_serialized_method(
+        self, attr_name: str, serialized_object: SerializedObject
+    ) -> None:
+        def add_prefix_to_last_path_element(s: str, prefix: str) -> str:
+            parts = s.split(".")
+            parts[-1] = f"{prefix}_{parts[-1]}"
+            return ".".join(parts)
+
+        if serialized_object["type"] == "method":
+            if serialized_object["async"] is True:
+                start_method = copy(serialized_object)
+                start_method["full_access_path"] = add_prefix_to_last_path_element(
+                    start_method["full_access_path"], "start"
+                )
+                stop_method = copy(serialized_object)
+                stop_method["full_access_path"] = add_prefix_to_last_path_element(
+                    stop_method["full_access_path"], "stop"
+                )
+                self._add_method_proxy(f"start_{attr_name}", start_method)
+                self._add_method_proxy(f"stop_{attr_name}", stop_method)
+            else:
+                self._add_method_proxy(attr_name, serialized_object)
+
+    def _add_method_proxy(
+        self, attr_name: str, serialized_object: SerializedObject
+    ) -> None:
+        def method_proxy(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> Any:
+            return trigger_method(
+                self._sio,
+                self._loop,
+                serialized_object["full_access_path"],
+                list(args),
+                kwargs,
+            )
+
+        dict.__setitem__(self._proxy_methods, attr_name, method_proxy)
+
+    def _add_attr_proxy(
+        self, attr_name: str, serialized_object: SerializedObject
+    ) -> None:
+        self._add_getattr_proxy(attr_name, serialized_object=serialized_object)
+        if not serialized_object["readonly"]:
+            self._add_setattr_proxy(attr_name, serialized_object=serialized_object)
+
+    def _add_setattr_proxy(
+        self, attr_name: str, serialized_object: SerializedObject
+    ) -> None:
+        self._add_getattr_proxy(attr_name, serialized_object=serialized_object)
+        if not serialized_object["readonly"]:
+
+            def setter_proxy(value: Any) -> None:
+                update_value(
+                    self._sio, self._loop, serialized_object["full_access_path"], value
+                )
+
+            dict.__setitem__(self._proxy_setters, attr_name, setter_proxy)  # type: ignore
+
+    def _add_getattr_proxy(
+        self, attr_name: str, serialized_object: SerializedObject
+    ) -> None:
+        def getter_proxy() -> Any:
+            async def get_result() -> Any:
+                return await self._sio.call(
+                    "get_value", serialized_object["full_access_path"]
+                )
+
+            result = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(
+                get_result(),
+                loop=self._loop,
+            ).result()
+            return ProxyLoader.loads_proxy(result, self._sio, self._loop)
+
+        dict.__setitem__(self._proxy_getters, attr_name, getter_proxy)  # type: ignore
+
+
+class ProxyLoader:
+    @staticmethod
+    def load_list_proxy(
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> Any:
+        return ProxyList(
+            [
+                ProxyLoader.loads_proxy(item, sio_client, loop)
+                for item in cast(list[SerializedObject], serialized_object["value"])
+            ],
+            parent_path=serialized_object["full_access_path"],
+            sio_client=sio_client,
+            loop=loop,
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def load_dict_proxy(
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> Any:
+        return ProxyDict(
+            {
+                key: ProxyLoader.loads_proxy(value, sio_client, loop)
+                for key, value in cast(
+                    dict[str, SerializedObject], serialized_object["value"]
+                ).items()
+            },
+            parent_path=serialized_object["full_access_path"],
+            sio_client=sio_client,
+            loop=loop,
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def update_data_service_proxy(
+        proxy_class: ProxyClassMixin,
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+    ) -> Any:
+        proxy_class._proxy_getters.clear()
+        proxy_class._proxy_setters.clear()
+        proxy_class._proxy_methods.clear()
+        for key, value in cast(
+            dict[str, SerializedObject], serialized_object["value"]
+        ).items():
+            type_handler: dict[str | None, None | Callable[..., Any]] = {
+                None: None,
+                "int": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "float": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "bool": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "str": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "NoneType": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "Quantity": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "Enum": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "ColouredEnum": proxy_class._add_attr_proxy,
+                "method": proxy_class._handle_serialized_method,
+                "list": proxy_class._add_getattr_proxy,
+                "dict": proxy_class._add_getattr_proxy,
+            }
+
+            # First go through handled types (as ColouredEnum is also within the
+            # components)
+            handler = type_handler.get(value["type"])
+            if handler:
+                handler(key, value)
+            else:
+                proxy_class._add_getattr_proxy(key, value)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def load_data_service_proxy(
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> Any:
+        # Custom types like Components or DataService classes
+        component_class = cast(
+            type, Deserializer.get_component_class(serialized_object["type"])
+        )
+        class_bases = (
+            ProxyClassMixin,
+            component_class,
+        )
+        proxy_base_class: type[ProxyClassMixin] = type(
+            serialized_object["name"],  # type: ignore
+            class_bases,
+            {},
+        )
+        proxy_class_instance = proxy_base_class()
+        proxy_class_instance._initialise(sio_client=sio_client, loop=loop)
+        ProxyLoader.update_data_service_proxy(
+            proxy_class=proxy_class_instance, serialized_object=serialized_object
+        )
+        return proxy_class_instance
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def load_default(
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> Any:
+        return loads(serialized_object)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def loads_proxy(
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+        sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
+        loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
+    ) -> Any:
+        type_handler: dict[str | None, None | Callable[..., Any]] = {
+            "int": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "float": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "bool": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "str": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "NoneType": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "Quantity": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "Enum": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "ColouredEnum": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "Exception": ProxyLoader.load_default,
+            "list": ProxyLoader.load_list_proxy,
+            "dict": ProxyLoader.load_dict_proxy,
+        }
+
+        # First go through handled types (as ColouredEnum is also within the components)
+        handler = type_handler.get(serialized_object["type"])
+        if handler:
+            return handler(
+                serialized_object=serialized_object, sio_client=sio_client, loop=loop
+            )
+
+        return ProxyLoader.load_data_service_proxy(
+            serialized_object=serialized_object, sio_client=sio_client, loop=loop
+        )

src/pydase/components/__init__.py

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ print(my_service.voltage.value)  # Output: 5
 """
 
 from pydase.components.coloured_enum import ColouredEnum
+from pydase.components.device_connection import DeviceConnection
 from pydase.components.image import Image
 from pydase.components.number_slider import NumberSlider
 
@@ -35,4 +36,5 @@ __all__ = [
     "NumberSlider",
     "Image",
     "ColouredEnum",
+    "DeviceConnection",
 ]

src/pydase/components/coloured_enum.py

@@ -56,4 +56,9 @@ class ColouredEnum(Enum):
     my_service = StatusExample()
     my_service.status = MyStatus.FAILED
     ```
+
+    Note
+    ----
+    Each enumeration name and value must be unique. This means that you should use
+    different colour formats when you want to use a colour multiple times.
     """

src/pydase/components/device_connection.py

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import asyncio
+
+import pydase.data_service
+
+
+class DeviceConnection(pydase.data_service.DataService):
+    """
+    Base class for device connection management within the pydase framework.
+
+    This class serves as the foundation for subclasses that manage connections to
+    specific devices. It implements automatic reconnection logic that periodically
+    checks the device's availability and attempts to reconnect if the connection is
+    lost. The frequency of these checks is controlled by the `_reconnection_wait_time`
+    attribute.
+
+    Subclassing
+    -----------
+    Users should primarily override the `connect` method to establish a connection
+    to the device. This method should update the `self._connected` attribute to reflect
+    the connection status:
+
+    >>> class MyDeviceConnection(DeviceConnection):
+    ...     def connect(self) -> None:
+    ...         # Implementation to connect to the device
+    ...         # Update self._connected to `True` if connection is successful,
+    ...         # `False` otherwise
+    ...         ...
+
+    Optionally, if additional logic is needed to determine the connection status,
+    the `connected` property can also be overridden:
+
+    >>> class MyDeviceConnection(DeviceConnection):
+    ...     @property
+    ...     def connected(self) -> bool:
+    ...         # Custom logic to determine connection status
+    ...         return some_custom_condition
+    ...
+
+    Frontend Representation
+    -----------------------
+    In the frontend, this class is represented without directly exposing the `connect`
+    method and `connected` attribute. Instead, user-defined attributes, methods, and
+    properties are displayed. When `self.connected` is `False`, the frontend component
+    shows an overlay that allows manual triggering of the `connect()` method. This
+    overlay disappears once the connection is successfully re-established.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self._connected = False
+        self._autostart_tasks["_handle_connection"] = ()  # type: ignore
+        self._reconnection_wait_time = 10.0
+
+    def connect(self) -> None:
+        """Tries connecting to the device and changes `self._connected` status
+        accordingly. This method is called every `self._reconnection_wait_time` seconds
+        when `self.connected` is False. Users should override this method to implement
+        device-specific connection logic.
+        """
+
+    @property
+    def connected(self) -> bool:
+        """Indicates if the device is currently connected or was recently connected.
+        Users may override this property to incorporate custom logic for determining
+        the connection status.
+        """
+        return self._connected
+
+    async def _handle_connection(self) -> None:
+        """Automatically tries reconnecting to the device if it is not connected.
+        This method leverages the `connect` method and the `connected` property to
+        manage the connection status.
+        """
+        while True:
+            if not self.connected:
+                self.connect()
+            await asyncio.sleep(self._reconnection_wait_time)

src/pydase/components/image.py

@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
 from urllib.request import urlopen
 
-import PIL.Image  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
-
 from pydase.data_service.data_service import DataService
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
@@ -16,9 +14,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class Image(DataService):
-    def __init__(
-        self,
-    ) -> None:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
         super().__init__()
         self._value: str = ""
         self._format: str = ""
@@ -32,8 +28,14 @@ class Image(DataService):
         return self._format
 
     def load_from_path(self, path: Path | str) -> None:
-        with PIL.Image.open(path) as image:
-            self._load_from_pil(image)
+        with open(path, "rb") as image_file:
+            image_data = image_file.read()
+        format_ = self._get_image_format_from_bytes(image_data)
+        if format_ is None:
+            logger.error("Unsupported image format. Skipping...")
+            return
+        value_ = base64.b64encode(image_data)
+        self._load_from_base64(value_, format_)
 
     def load_from_matplotlib_figure(self, fig: "Figure", format_: str = "png") -> None:
         buffer = io.BytesIO()
@@ -42,12 +44,18 @@ class Image(DataService):
         self._load_from_base64(value_, format_)
 
     def load_from_url(self, url: str) -> None:
-        image = PIL.Image.open(urlopen(url))
-        self._load_from_pil(image)
+        with urlopen(url) as response:
+            image_data = response.read()
+        format_ = self._get_image_format_from_bytes(image_data)
+        if format_ is None:
+            logger.error("Unsupported image format. Skipping...")
+            return
+        value_ = base64.b64encode(image_data)
+        self._load_from_base64(value_, format_)
 
     def load_from_base64(self, value_: bytes, format_: str | None = None) -> None:
         if format_ is None:
-            format_ = self._get_image_format_from_bytes(value_)
+            format_ = self._get_image_format_from_bytes(base64.b64decode(value_))
             if format_ is None:
                 logger.warning(
                     "Format of passed byte string could not be determined. Skipping..."
@@ -60,19 +68,14 @@ class Image(DataService):
         self._value = value
         self._format = format_
 
-    def _load_from_pil(self, image: PIL.Image.Image) -> None:
-        if image.format is not None:
-            format_ = image.format
-            buffer = io.BytesIO()
-            image.save(buffer, format=format_)
-            value_ = base64.b64encode(buffer.getvalue())
-            self._load_from_base64(value_, format_)
-        else:
-            logger.error("Image format is 'None'. Skipping...")
-
     def _get_image_format_from_bytes(self, value_: bytes) -> str | None:
-        image_data = base64.b64decode(value_)
-        # Create a writable memory buffer for the image
-        image_buffer = io.BytesIO(image_data)
-        # Read the image from the buffer and return format
-        return PIL.Image.open(image_buffer).format
+        format_map = {
+            b"\xff\xd8": "JPEG",
+            b"\x89PNG": "PNG",
+            b"GIF": "GIF",
+            b"RIFF": "WEBP",
+        }
+        for signature, format_name in format_map.items():
+            if value_.startswith(signature):
+                return format_name
+        return None

src/pydase/config.py

@@ -13,9 +13,8 @@ class OperationMode(BaseConfig):  # type: ignore[misc]
 class ServiceConfig(BaseConfig):  # type: ignore[misc]
     config_dir: Path = Path("config")
     web_port: int = 8001
-    rpc_port: int = 18871
 
-    CONFIG_SOURCES = EnvSource(allow_all=True, prefix="SERVICE_")
+    CONFIG_SOURCES = EnvSource(allow_all=True, prefix="SERVICE_", file=".env")
 
 
 class WebServerConfig(BaseConfig):  # type: ignore[misc]

src/pydase/data_service/data_service.py

@@ -1,9 +1,7 @@
 import inspect
 import logging
 from enum import Enum
-from typing import Any, get_type_hints
-
-import rpyc  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
+from typing import Any
 
 import pydase.units as u
 from pydase.data_service.abstract_data_service import AbstractDataService
@@ -12,30 +10,19 @@ from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.observable import (
     Observable,
 )
 from pydase.utils.helpers import (
-    convert_arguments_to_hinted_types,
     get_class_and_instance_attributes,
     is_property_attribute,
 )
-from pydase.utils.serializer import (
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import (
+    SerializedObject,
     Serializer,
 )
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-def process_callable_attribute(attr: Any, args: dict[str, Any]) -> Any:
-    converted_args_or_error_msg = convert_arguments_to_hinted_types(
-        args, get_type_hints(attr)
-    )
-    return (
-        attr(**converted_args_or_error_msg)
-        if not isinstance(converted_args_or_error_msg, str)
-        else converted_args_or_error_msg
-    )
-
-
-class DataService(rpyc.Service, AbstractDataService):
-    def __init__(self, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
+class DataService(AbstractDataService):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
         super().__init__()
         self._task_manager = TaskManager(self)
 
@@ -86,7 +73,7 @@ class DataService(rpyc.Service, AbstractDataService):
 
         if not issubclass(
             value_class,
-            (int | float | bool | str | list | Enum | u.Quantity | Observable),
+            (int | float | bool | str | list | dict | Enum | u.Quantity | Observable),
         ):
             logger.warning(
                 "Class '%s' does not inherit from DataService. This may lead to"
@@ -105,27 +92,7 @@ class DataService(rpyc.Service, AbstractDataService):
             ):
                 self.__warn_if_not_observable(attr_value)
 
-    def _rpyc_getattr(self, name: str) -> Any:
-        if name.startswith("_"):
-            # disallow special and private attributes
-            raise AttributeError("cannot access private/special names")
-        # allow all other attributes
-        return getattr(self, name)
-
-    def _rpyc_setattr(self, name: str, value: Any) -> None:
-        if name.startswith("_"):
-            # disallow special and private attributes
-            raise AttributeError("cannot access private/special names")
-
-        # check if the attribute has a setter method
-        attr = getattr(self, name, None)
-        if isinstance(attr, property) and attr.fset is None:
-            raise AttributeError(f"{name} attribute does not have a setter method")
-
-        # allow all other attributes
-        setattr(self, name, value)
-
-    def serialize(self) -> dict[str, dict[str, Any]]:
+    def serialize(self) -> SerializedObject:
         """
         Serializes the instance into a dictionary, preserving the structure of the
         instance.

src/pydase/data_service/data_service_cache.py

@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 import logging
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, cast
 
-from pydase.utils.serializer import (
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import (
     SerializationPathError,
     SerializationValueError,
+    SerializedObject,
     get_nested_dict_by_path,
     set_nested_value_by_path,
 )
@@ -16,12 +17,12 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 class DataServiceCache:
     def __init__(self, service: "DataService") -> None:
-        self._cache: dict[str, Any] = {}
+        self._cache: SerializedObject
         self.service = service
         self._initialize_cache()
 
     @property
-    def cache(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    def cache(self) -> SerializedObject:
         return self._cache
 
     def _initialize_cache(self) -> None:
@@ -30,10 +31,23 @@ class DataServiceCache:
         self._cache = self.service.serialize()
 
     def update_cache(self, full_access_path: str, value: Any) -> None:
-        set_nested_value_by_path(self._cache["value"], full_access_path, value)
+        set_nested_value_by_path(
+            cast(dict[str, SerializedObject], self._cache["value"]),
+            full_access_path,
+            value,
+        )
 
-    def get_value_dict_from_cache(self, full_access_path: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    def get_value_dict_from_cache(self, full_access_path: str) -> SerializedObject:
         try:
-            return get_nested_dict_by_path(self._cache["value"], full_access_path)
+            return get_nested_dict_by_path(
+                cast(dict[str, SerializedObject], self._cache["value"]),
+                full_access_path,
+            )
         except (SerializationPathError, SerializationValueError, KeyError):
-            return {}
+            return {
+                "full_access_path": full_access_path,
+                "value": None,
+                "type": "None",
+                "doc": None,
+                "readonly": False,
+            }

src/pydase/data_service/data_service_observer.py

@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.observable_object import ObservableObjec
 from pydase.observer_pattern.observer.property_observer import (
     PropertyObserver,
 )
-from pydase.utils.helpers import get_object_attr_from_path_list
-from pydase.utils.serializer import dump
+from pydase.utils.helpers import get_object_attr_from_path
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import SerializedObject, dump
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -18,11 +18,18 @@ class DataServiceObserver(PropertyObserver):
     def __init__(self, state_manager: StateManager) -> None:
         self.state_manager = state_manager
         self._notification_callbacks: list[
-            Callable[[str, Any, dict[str, Any]], None]
+            Callable[[str, Any, SerializedObject], None]
         ] = []
         super().__init__(state_manager.service)
 
     def on_change(self, full_access_path: str, value: Any) -> None:
+        if any(
+            full_access_path.startswith(changing_attribute)
+            and full_access_path != changing_attribute
+            for changing_attribute in self.changing_attributes
+        ):
+            return
+
         cached_value_dict = deepcopy(
             self.state_manager._data_service_cache.get_value_dict_from_cache(
                 full_access_path
@@ -30,15 +37,22 @@ class DataServiceObserver(PropertyObserver):
         )
 
         cached_value = cached_value_dict.get("value")
-        if cached_value != dump(value)["value"] and all(
-            part[0] != "_" for part in full_access_path.split(".")
+        if (
+            all(part[0] != "_" for part in full_access_path.split("."))
+            and cached_value != dump(value)["value"]
         ):
             logger.debug("'%s' changed to '%s'", full_access_path, value)
 
-        self._update_cache_value(full_access_path, value, cached_value_dict)
+            self._update_cache_value(full_access_path, value, cached_value_dict)
 
-        for callback in self._notification_callbacks:
-            callback(full_access_path, value, cached_value_dict)
+            cached_value_dict = deepcopy(
+                self.state_manager._data_service_cache.get_value_dict_from_cache(
+                    full_access_path
+                )
+            )
+
+            for callback in self._notification_callbacks:
+                callback(full_access_path, value, cached_value_dict)
 
         if isinstance(value, ObservableObject):
             self._update_property_deps_dict()
@@ -46,26 +60,29 @@ class DataServiceObserver(PropertyObserver):
         self._notify_dependent_property_changes(full_access_path)
 
     def _update_cache_value(
-        self, full_access_path: str, value: Any, cached_value_dict: dict[str, Any]
+        self,
+        full_access_path: str,
+        value: Any,
+        cached_value_dict: SerializedObject | dict[str, Any],
     ) -> None:
         value_dict = dump(value)
-        if cached_value_dict != {}:
-            if (
-                cached_value_dict["type"] != "method"
-                and cached_value_dict["type"] != value_dict["type"]
-            ):
-                logger.warning(
-                    "Type of '%s' changed from '%s' to '%s'. This could have unwanted "
-                    "side effects! Consider setting it to '%s' directly.",
-                    full_access_path,
-                    cached_value_dict["type"],
-                    value_dict["type"],
-                    cached_value_dict["type"],
-                )
-            self.state_manager._data_service_cache.update_cache(
+        if (
+            cached_value_dict != {}
+            and cached_value_dict["type"] != "method"
+            and cached_value_dict["type"] != value_dict["type"]
+        ):
+            logger.warning(
+                "Type of '%s' changed from '%s' to '%s'. This could have unwanted "
+                "side effects! Consider setting it to '%s' directly.",
                 full_access_path,
-                value,
+                cached_value_dict["type"],
+                value_dict["type"],
+                cached_value_dict["type"],
             )
+        self.state_manager._data_service_cache.update_cache(
+            full_access_path,
+            value,
+        )
 
     def _notify_dependent_property_changes(self, changed_attr_path: str) -> None:
         changed_props = self.property_deps_dict.get(changed_attr_path, [])
@@ -76,11 +93,11 @@ class DataServiceObserver(PropertyObserver):
             if prop not in self.changing_attributes:
                 self._notify_changed(
                     prop,
-                    get_object_attr_from_path_list(self.observable, prop.split(".")),
+                    get_object_attr_from_path(self.observable, prop),
                 )
 
     def add_notification_callback(
-        self, callback: Callable[[str, Any, dict[str, Any]], None]
+        self, callback: Callable[[str, Any, SerializedObject], None]
     ) -> None:
         """
         Registers a callback function to be invoked upon attribute changes in the

src/pydase/data_service/state_manager.py

@@ -5,15 +5,17 @@ from collections.abc import Callable
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, cast
 
-import pydase.units as u
 from pydase.data_service.data_service_cache import DataServiceCache
 from pydase.utils.helpers import (
-    get_object_attr_from_path_list,
+    get_object_by_path_parts,
     is_property_attribute,
-    parse_list_attr_and_index,
+    parse_full_access_path,
+    parse_serialized_key,
 )
-from pydase.utils.serializer import (
-    dump,
+from pydase.utils.serialization.deserializer import loads
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import (
+    SerializationPathError,
+    SerializedObject,
     generate_serialized_data_paths,
     get_nested_dict_by_path,
     serialized_dict_is_nested_object,
@@ -114,10 +116,17 @@ class StateManager:
         self._data_service_cache = DataServiceCache(self.service)
 
     @property
-    def cache(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    def cache(self) -> SerializedObject:
         """Returns the cached DataService state."""
         return self._data_service_cache.cache
 
+    @property
+    def cache_value(self) -> dict[str, SerializedObject]:
+        """Returns the "value" value of the DataService serialization."""
+        return cast(
+            dict[str, SerializedObject], self._data_service_cache.cache["value"]
+        )
+
     def save_state(self) -> None:
         """
         Saves the DataService's current state to a JSON file defined by `self.filename`.
@@ -126,7 +135,7 @@ class StateManager:
 
         if self.filename is not None:
             with open(self.filename, "w") as f:
-                json.dump(self.cache["value"], f, indent=4)
+                json.dump(self.cache_value, f, indent=4)
         else:
             logger.info(
                 "State manager was not initialised with a filename. Skipping "
@@ -146,24 +155,26 @@ class StateManager:
             return
 
         for path in generate_serialized_data_paths(json_dict):
-            nested_json_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(json_dict, path)
-            nested_class_dict = self._data_service_cache.get_value_dict_from_cache(path)
-
-            value, value_type = nested_json_dict["value"], nested_json_dict["type"]
-            class_attr_value_type = nested_class_dict.get("type", None)
-
-            if class_attr_value_type == value_type:
-                if self.__is_loadable_state_attribute(path):
-                    self.set_service_attribute_value_by_path(path, value)
-            else:
-                logger.info(
-                    "Attribute type of '%s' changed from '%s' to "
-                    "'%s'. Ignoring value from JSON file...",
-                    path,
-                    value_type,
-                    class_attr_value_type,
+            if self.__is_loadable_state_attribute(path):
+                nested_json_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(json_dict, path)
+                nested_class_dict = self._data_service_cache.get_value_dict_from_cache(
+                    path
                 )
 
+                value_type = nested_json_dict["type"]
+                class_attr_value_type = nested_class_dict.get("type", None)
+
+                if class_attr_value_type == value_type:
+                    self.set_service_attribute_value_by_path(path, nested_json_dict)
+                else:
+                    logger.info(
+                        "Attribute type of '%s' changed from '%s' to "
+                        "'%s'. Ignoring value from JSON file...",
+                        path,
+                        value_type,
+                        class_attr_value_type,
+                    )
+
     def _get_state_dict_from_json_file(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
         if self.filename is not None and os.path.exists(self.filename):
             with open(self.filename) as f:
@@ -175,7 +186,7 @@ class StateManager:
     def set_service_attribute_value_by_path(
         self,
         path: str,
-        value: Any,
+        serialized_value: SerializedObject,
     ) -> None:
         """
         Sets the value of an attribute in the service managed by the `StateManager`
@@ -191,62 +202,67 @@ class StateManager:
             value: The new value to set for the attribute.
         """
 
-        current_value_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(self.cache["value"], path)
+        current_value_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(self.cache_value, path)
 
         # This will also filter out methods as they are 'read-only'
         if current_value_dict["readonly"]:
             logger.debug("Attribute '%s' is read-only. Ignoring new value...", path)
             return
 
-        converted_value = self.__convert_value_if_needed(value, current_value_dict)
+        if "full_access_path" not in serialized_value:
+            # Backwards compatibility for JSON files not containing the
+            # full_access_path
+            logger.warning(
+                "The format of your JSON file is out-of-date. This might lead "
+                "to unexpected errors. Please consider updating it."
+            )
+            serialized_value["full_access_path"] = current_value_dict[
+                "full_access_path"
+            ]
 
         # only set value when it has changed
-        if self.__attr_value_has_changed(converted_value, current_value_dict["value"]):
-            self.__update_attribute_by_path(path, converted_value)
+        if self.__attr_value_has_changed(serialized_value, current_value_dict):
+            self.__update_attribute_by_path(path, serialized_value)
         else:
             logger.debug("Value of attribute '%s' has not changed...", path)
 
-    def __attr_value_has_changed(self, value_object: Any, current_value: Any) -> bool:
-        """Check if the serialized value of `value_object` differs from `current_value`.
+    def __attr_value_has_changed(
+        self, serialized_new_value: Any, serialized_current_value: Any
+    ) -> bool:
+        return not (
+            serialized_new_value["type"] == serialized_current_value["type"]
+            and serialized_new_value["value"] == serialized_current_value["value"]
+        )
 
-        The method serializes `value_object` to compare it, which is mainly
-        necessary for handling Quantity objects.
-        """
+    def __update_attribute_by_path(
+        self, path: str, serialized_value: SerializedObject
+    ) -> None:
+        path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+        target_obj = get_object_by_path_parts(self.service, path_parts[:-1])
 
-        return dump(value_object)["value"] != current_value
-
-    def __convert_value_if_needed(
-        self, value: Any, current_value_dict: dict[str, Any]
-    ) -> Any:
-        if current_value_dict["type"] == "Quantity":
-            return u.convert_to_quantity(value, current_value_dict["value"]["unit"])
-        if current_value_dict["type"] == "float" and not isinstance(value, float):
-            return float(value)
-        return value
-
-    def __update_attribute_by_path(self, path: str, value: Any) -> None:
-        parent_path_list, attr_name = path.split(".")[:-1], path.split(".")[-1]
-
-        # If attr_name corresponds to a list entry, extract the attr_name and the
-        # index
-        attr_name, index = parse_list_attr_and_index(attr_name)
-
-        # Update path to reflect the attribute without list indices
-        path = ".".join([*parent_path_list, attr_name])
-
-        attr_cache_type = get_nested_dict_by_path(self.cache["value"], path)["type"]
-
-        # Traverse the object according to the path parts
-        target_obj = get_object_attr_from_path_list(self.service, parent_path_list)
+        attr_cache_type = get_nested_dict_by_path(self.cache_value, path)["type"]
 
+        # De-serialize the value
         if attr_cache_type in ("ColouredEnum", "Enum"):
-            enum_attr = get_object_attr_from_path_list(target_obj, [attr_name])
-            setattr(target_obj, attr_name, enum_attr.__class__[value])
-        elif attr_cache_type == "list":
-            list_obj = get_object_attr_from_path_list(target_obj, [attr_name])
-            list_obj[index] = value
+            enum_attr = get_object_by_path_parts(target_obj, [path_parts[-1]])
+            # take the value of the existing enum class
+            if serialized_value["type"] in ("ColouredEnum", "Enum"):
+                try:
+                    value = enum_attr.__class__[serialized_value["value"]]
+                except KeyError:
+                    # This error will arise when setting an enum from another enum class
+                    # In this case, we resort to loading the enum and setting it
+                    # directly
+                    value = loads(serialized_value)
         else:
-            setattr(target_obj, attr_name, value)
+            value = loads(serialized_value)
+
+        # set the value
+        if isinstance(target_obj, list | dict):
+            processed_key = parse_serialized_key(path_parts[-1])
+            target_obj[processed_key] = value  # type: ignore
+        else:
+            setattr(target_obj, path_parts[-1], value)
 
     def __is_loadable_state_attribute(self, full_access_path: str) -> bool:
         """Checks if an attribute defined by a dot-separated path should be loaded from
@@ -256,28 +272,34 @@ class StateManager:
         attributes default to being loadable.
         """
 
-        parent_object = get_object_attr_from_path_list(
-            self.service, full_access_path.split(".")[:-1]
-        )
-        attr_name = full_access_path.split(".")[-1]
+        path_parts = parse_full_access_path(full_access_path)
+        parent_object = get_object_by_path_parts(self.service, path_parts[:-1])
 
-        if is_property_attribute(parent_object, attr_name):
-            prop = getattr(type(parent_object), attr_name)
+        if is_property_attribute(parent_object, path_parts[-1]):
+            prop = getattr(type(parent_object), path_parts[-1])
             has_decorator = has_load_state_decorator(prop)
             if not has_decorator:
                 logger.debug(
                     "Property '%s' has no '@load_state' decorator. "
                     "Ignoring value from JSON file...",
-                    attr_name,
+                    path_parts[-1],
                 )
             return has_decorator
 
-        cached_serialization_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(
-            self.cache["value"], full_access_path
-        )
+        try:
+            cached_serialization_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(
+                self.cache_value, full_access_path
+            )
 
-        if cached_serialization_dict["value"] == "method":
+            if cached_serialization_dict["value"] == "method":
+                return False
+
+            # nested objects cannot be loaded
+            return not serialized_dict_is_nested_object(cached_serialization_dict)
+        except SerializationPathError:
+            logger.debug(
+                "Path %a could not be loaded. It does not correspond to an attribute of"
+                " the class. Ignoring value from JSON file...",
+                path_parts[-1],
+            )
             return False
-
-        # nested objects cannot be loaded
-        return not serialized_dict_is_nested_object(cached_serialization_dict)

src/pydase/data_service/task_manager.py

@@ -3,10 +3,15 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import asyncio
 import inspect
 import logging
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, TypedDict
+from enum import Enum
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 from pydase.data_service.abstract_data_service import AbstractDataService
-from pydase.utils.helpers import get_class_and_instance_attributes
+from pydase.utils.helpers import (
+    function_has_arguments,
+    get_class_and_instance_attributes,
+    is_property_attribute,
+)
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Callable
@@ -16,9 +21,8 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-class TaskDict(TypedDict):
-    task: asyncio.Task[None]
-    kwargs: dict[str, Any]
+class TaskStatus(Enum):
+    RUNNING = "running"
 
 
 class TaskManager:
@@ -78,7 +82,7 @@ class TaskManager:
     def __init__(self, service: DataService) -> None:
         self.service = service
 
-        self.tasks: dict[str, TaskDict] = {}
+        self.tasks: dict[str, asyncio.Task[None]] = {}
         """A dictionary to keep track of running tasks. The keys are the names of the
         tasks and the values are TaskDict instances which include the task itself and
         its kwargs.
@@ -91,13 +95,27 @@ class TaskManager:
         return asyncio.get_running_loop()
 
     def _set_start_and_stop_for_async_methods(self) -> None:
-        # inspect the methods of the class
-        for name, method in inspect.getmembers(
-            self.service, predicate=inspect.iscoroutinefunction
-        ):
-            # create start and stop methods for each coroutine
-            setattr(self.service, f"start_{name}", self._make_start_task(name, method))
-            setattr(self.service, f"stop_{name}", self._make_stop_task(name))
+        for name in dir(self.service):
+            # circumvents calling properties
+            if is_property_attribute(self.service, name):
+                continue
+
+            method = getattr(self.service, name)
+            if inspect.iscoroutinefunction(method):
+                if function_has_arguments(method):
+                    logger.info(
+                        "Async function %a is defined with at least one argument. If "
+                        "you want to use it as a task, remove the argument(s) from the "
+                        "function definition.",
+                        method.__name__,
+                    )
+                    continue
+
+                # create start and stop methods for each coroutine
+                setattr(
+                    self.service, f"start_{name}", self._make_start_task(name, method)
+                )
+                setattr(self.service, f"stop_{name}", self._make_stop_task(name))
 
     def _initiate_task_startup(self) -> None:
         if self.service._autostart_tasks is not None:
@@ -137,7 +155,7 @@ class TaskManager:
             # cancel the task
             task = self.tasks.get(name, None)
             if task is not None:
-                self._loop.call_soon_threadsafe(task["task"].cancel)
+                self._loop.call_soon_threadsafe(task.cancel)
 
         return stop_task
 
@@ -156,7 +174,7 @@ class TaskManager:
             method (callable): The coroutine to be turned into an asyncio task.
         """
 
-        def start_task(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
+        def start_task() -> None:
             def task_done_callback(task: asyncio.Task[None], name: str) -> None:
                 """Handles tasks that have finished.
 
@@ -180,36 +198,16 @@ class TaskManager:
                     )
                     raise exception
 
-            async def task(*args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> None:
+            async def task() -> None:
                 try:
-                    await method(*args, **kwargs)
+                    await method()
                 except asyncio.CancelledError:
                     logger.info("Task '%s' was cancelled", name)
 
             if not self.tasks.get(name):
-                # Get the signature of the coroutine method to start
-                sig = inspect.signature(method)
-
-                # Create a list of the parameter names from the method signature.
-                parameter_names = list(sig.parameters.keys())
-
-                # Extend the list of positional arguments with None values to match
-                # the length of the parameter names list. This is done to ensure
-                # that zip can pair each parameter name with a corresponding value.
-                args_padded = list(args) + [None] * (len(parameter_names) - len(args))
-
-                # Create a dictionary of keyword arguments by pairing the parameter
-                # names with the values in 'args_padded'. Then merge this dictionary
-                # with the 'kwargs' dictionary. If a parameter is specified in both
-                # 'args_padded' and 'kwargs', the value from 'kwargs' is used.
-                kwargs_updated = {
-                    **dict(zip(parameter_names, args_padded, strict=True)),
-                    **kwargs,
-                }
-
                 # creating the task and adding the task_done_callback which checks
                 # if an exception has occured during the task execution
-                task_object = self._loop.create_task(task(*args, **kwargs))
+                task_object = self._loop.create_task(task())
                 task_object.add_done_callback(
                     lambda task: task_done_callback(task, name)
                 )
@@ -217,13 +215,10 @@ class TaskManager:
                 # Store the task and its arguments in the '__tasks' dictionary. The
                 # key is the name of the method, and the value is a dictionary
                 # containing the task object and the updated keyword arguments.
-                self.tasks[name] = {
-                    "task": task_object,
-                    "kwargs": kwargs_updated,
-                }
+                self.tasks[name] = task_object
 
                 # emit the notification that the task was started
-                self.service._notify_changed(name, kwargs_updated)
+                self.service._notify_changed(name, TaskStatus.RUNNING)
             else:
                 logger.error("Task '%s' is already running!", name)
 

src/pydase/frontend/asset-manifest.json

@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "files": {
-    "main.css": "/static/css/main.2d8458eb.css",
-    "main.js": "/static/js/main.1b1d7066.js",
-    "index.html": "/index.html",
-    "main.2d8458eb.css.map": "/static/css/main.2d8458eb.css.map",
-    "main.1b1d7066.js.map": "/static/js/main.1b1d7066.js.map"
-  },
-  "entrypoints": [
-    "static/css/main.2d8458eb.css",
-    "static/js/main.1b1d7066.js"
-  ]
-}

src/pydase/frontend/index.html

@@ -1 +1,18 @@
-<!doctype html><html lang="en"><head><meta charset="utf-8"/><link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico"/><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1"/><meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"/><meta name="description" content="Web site displaying a pydase UI."/><link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/logo192.png"/><link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json"/><title>pydase App</title><script defer="defer" src="/static/js/main.1b1d7066.js"></script><link href="/static/css/main.2d8458eb.css" rel="stylesheet"></head><body><noscript>You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.</noscript><div id="root"></div></body></html>
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+
+<head>
+    <meta charset="UTF-8" />
+    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
+    <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000" />
+    <meta name="description" content="Web site displaying a pydase UI." />
+  <script type="module" crossorigin src="/assets/index-C12UM6g5.js"></script>
+  <link rel="stylesheet" crossorigin href="/assets/index-D2aktF3W.css">
+</head>
+
+<body>
+    <noscript>You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.</noscript>
+    <div id="root"></div>
+</body>
+
+</html>

src/pydase/frontend/manifest.json

@@ -1,25 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "short_name": "React App",
-  "name": "Create React App Sample",
-  "icons": [
-    {
-      "src": "favicon.ico",
-      "sizes": "64x64 32x32 24x24 16x16",
-      "type": "image/x-icon"
-    },
-    {
-      "src": "logo192.png",
-      "type": "image/png",
-      "sizes": "192x192"
-    },
-    {
-      "src": "logo512.png",
-      "type": "image/png",
-      "sizes": "512x512"
-    }
-  ],
-  "start_url": ".",
-  "display": "standalone",
-  "theme_color": "#000000",
-  "background_color": "#ffffff"
-}

src/pydase/frontend/robots.txt

@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-# https://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html
-User-agent: *
-Disallow:

src/pydase/frontend/static/js/main.1b1d7066.js.LICENSE.txt

@@ -1,45 +0,0 @@
-/*!
-	Copyright (c) 2018 Jed Watson.
-	Licensed under the MIT License (MIT), see
-	http://jedwatson.github.io/classnames
-*/
-
-/**
- * @license React
- * react-dom.production.min.js
- *
- * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates.
- *
- * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
- * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
- */
-
-/**
- * @license React
- * react-jsx-runtime.production.min.js
- *
- * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates.
- *
- * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
- * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
- */
-
-/**
- * @license React
- * react.production.min.js
- *
- * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates.
- *
- * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
- * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
- */
-
-/**
- * @license React
- * scheduler.production.min.js
- *
- * Copyright (c) Facebook, Inc. and its affiliates.
- *
- * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
- * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
- */

src/pydase/observer_pattern/observable/decorators.py

@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+import time
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, ParamSpec, TypeVar
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.observable import Observable
+
+P = ParamSpec("P")
+R = TypeVar("R")
+
+
+def validate_set(
+    *, timeout: float = 0.1, precision: float | None = None
+) -> Callable[[Callable[P, R]], Callable[P, R]]:
+    """
+    Decorator marking a property setter to read back the set value using the property
+    getter and check against the desired value.
+
+    Args:
+        timeout (float):
+            The maximum time (in seconds) to wait for the value to be within the
+            precision boundary.
+        precision (float | None):
+            The acceptable deviation from the desired value. If None, the value must be
+            exact.
+    """
+
+    def validate_set_decorator(func: Callable[P, R]) -> Callable[P, R]:
+        def wrapper(*args: P.args, **kwargs: P.kwargs) -> R:
+            return func(*args, **kwargs)
+
+        wrapper._validate_kwargs = {  # type: ignore
+            "timeout": timeout,
+            "precision": precision,
+        }
+
+        return wrapper
+
+    return validate_set_decorator
+
+
+def has_validate_set_decorator(prop: property) -> bool:
+    """
+    Checks if a property setter has been decorated with the `validate_set` decorator.
+
+    Args:
+        prop (property):
+            The property to check.
+
+    Returns:
+        bool:
+            True if the property setter has the `validate_set` decorator, False
+            otherwise.
+    """
+
+    property_setter = prop.fset
+    return hasattr(property_setter, "_validate_kwargs")
+
+
+def _validate_value_was_correctly_set(
+    *,
+    obj: "Observable",
+    name: str,
+    value: Any,
+) -> None:
+    """
+    Validates if the property `name` of `obj` attains the desired `value` within the
+    specified `precision` and time `timeout`.
+
+    Args:
+        obj (Observable):
+            The instance of the class containing the property.
+        name (str):
+            The name of the property to validate.
+        value (Any):
+            The desired value to check against.
+
+    Raises:
+        ValueError:
+            If the property value does not match the desired value within the specified
+            precision and timeout.
+    """
+
+    prop: property = getattr(type(obj), name)
+
+    timeout = prop.fset._validate_kwargs["timeout"]  # type: ignore
+    precision = prop.fset._validate_kwargs["precision"]  # type: ignore
+    if precision is None:
+        precision = 0.0
+
+    start_time = time.time()
+    while time.time() - start_time < timeout:
+        current_value = obj.__getattribute__(name)
+        # This check is faster than rounding and comparing to 0
+        if abs(current_value - value) <= precision:
+            return
+        time.sleep(0.01)
+    raise ValueError(
+        f"Failed to set value to {value} within {timeout} seconds. Current value: "
+        f"{current_value}."
+    )

src/pydase/observer_pattern/observable/observable.py

@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 import logging
 from typing import Any
 
+from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.decorators import (
+    _validate_value_was_correctly_set,
+    has_validate_set_decorator,
+)
 from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.observable_object import ObservableObject
 from pydase.utils.helpers import is_property_attribute
 
@@ -15,6 +19,7 @@ class Observable(ObservableObject):
             for k in set(type(self).__dict__)
             - set(Observable.__dict__)
             - set(self.__dict__)
+            - {"__annotations__"}
         }
         for name, value in class_attrs.items():
             if isinstance(value, property) or callable(value):
@@ -34,7 +39,12 @@ class Observable(ObservableObject):
 
         super().__setattr__(name, value)
 
-        self._notify_changed(name, value)
+        if is_property_attribute(self, name) and has_validate_set_decorator(
+            getattr(type(self), name)
+        ):
+            _validate_value_was_correctly_set(obj=self, name=name, value=value)
+        else:
+            self._notify_changed(name, value)
 
     def __getattribute__(self, name: str) -> Any:
         if is_property_attribute(self, name):
@@ -67,5 +77,9 @@ class Observable(ObservableObject):
         self, observer_attr_name: str, instance_attr_name: str
     ) -> str:
         if observer_attr_name != "":
-            return f"{observer_attr_name}.{instance_attr_name}"
+            return (
+                f"{observer_attr_name}.{instance_attr_name}"
+                if instance_attr_name != ""
+                else observer_attr_name
+            )
         return instance_attr_name

src/pydase/observer_pattern/observable/observable_object.py

@@ -1,34 +1,44 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
 import logging
+import weakref
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
-from collections.abc import Iterable
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, ClassVar, SupportsIndex
 
+from pydase.utils.helpers import parse_serialized_key
+
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Iterable
+
     from pydase.observer_pattern.observer.observer import Observer
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 class ObservableObject(ABC):
-    _list_mapping: ClassVar[dict[int, "_ObservableList"]] = {}
-    _dict_mapping: ClassVar[dict[int, "_ObservableDict"]] = {}
+    _list_mapping: ClassVar[dict[int, weakref.ReferenceType[_ObservableList]]] = {}
+    _dict_mapping: ClassVar[dict[int, weakref.ReferenceType[_ObservableDict]]] = {}
 
     def __init__(self) -> None:
         if not hasattr(self, "_observers"):
-            self._observers: dict[str, list["ObservableObject | Observer"]] = {}
+            self._observers: dict[str, list[ObservableObject | Observer]] = {}
 
     def add_observer(
-        self, observer: "ObservableObject | Observer", attr_name: str = ""
+        self, observer: ObservableObject | Observer, attr_name: str = ""
     ) -> None:
         if attr_name not in self._observers:
             self._observers[attr_name] = []
         if observer not in self._observers[attr_name]:
             self._observers[attr_name].append(observer)
 
-    def _remove_observer(self, observer: "ObservableObject", attribute: str) -> None:
+    def _remove_observer(self, observer: ObservableObject, attribute: str) -> None:
         if attribute in self._observers:
             self._observers[attribute].remove(observer)
 
+            # remove attribute key from observers dict if list of observers is empty
+            if not self._observers[attribute]:
+                del self._observers[attribute]
+
     @abstractmethod
     def _remove_observer_if_observable(self, name: str) -> None:
         """Removes the current object as an observer from an observable attribute.
@@ -81,26 +91,30 @@ class ObservableObject(ABC):
                 )
                 observer._notify_change_start(extended_attr_path)
 
-    def _initialise_new_objects(self, attr_name_or_key: Any, value: Any) -> Any:
+    def _initialise_new_objects(self, attr_name_or_key: str, value: Any) -> Any:
         new_value = value
         if isinstance(value, list):
             if id(value) in self._list_mapping:
                 # If the list `value` was already referenced somewhere else
-                new_value = self._list_mapping[id(value)]
+                new_value = self._list_mapping[id(value)]()
             else:
                 # convert the builtin list into a ObservableList
                 new_value = _ObservableList(original_list=value)
-                self._list_mapping[id(value)] = new_value
+
+                # Use weakref to allow the GC to collect unused objects
+                self._list_mapping[id(value)] = weakref.ref(new_value)
         elif isinstance(value, dict):
             if id(value) in self._dict_mapping:
-                # If the list `value` was already referenced somewhere else
-                new_value = self._dict_mapping[id(value)]
+                # If the dict `value` was already referenced somewhere else
+                new_value = self._dict_mapping[id(value)]()
             else:
-                # convert the builtin list into a ObservableList
+                # convert the builtin dict into a ObservableDict
                 new_value = _ObservableDict(original_dict=value)
-                self._dict_mapping[id(value)] = new_value
+
+                # Use weakref to allow the GC to collect unused objects
+                self._dict_mapping[id(value)] = weakref.ref(new_value)
         if isinstance(new_value, ObservableObject):
-            new_value.add_observer(self, str(attr_name_or_key))
+            new_value.add_observer(self, attr_name_or_key)
         return new_value
 
     @abstractmethod
@@ -137,6 +151,9 @@ class _ObservableList(ObservableObject, list[Any]):
         for i, item in enumerate(self._original_list):
             super().__setitem__(i, self._initialise_new_objects(f"[{i}]", item))
 
+    def __del__(self) -> None:
+        self._list_mapping.pop(id(self._original_list))
+
     def __setitem__(self, key: int, value: Any) -> None:  # type: ignore[override]
         if hasattr(self, "_observers"):
             self._remove_observer_if_observable(f"[{key}]")
@@ -148,8 +165,8 @@ class _ObservableList(ObservableObject, list[Any]):
         self._notify_changed(f"[{key}]", value)
 
     def append(self, __object: Any) -> None:
-        self._initialise_new_objects(f"[{len(self)}]", __object)
-        super().append(__object)
+        self._notify_change_start("")
+        super().append(self._initialise_new_objects(f"[{len(self)}]", __object))
         self._notify_changed("", self)
 
     def clear(self) -> None:
@@ -223,7 +240,7 @@ class _ObservableList(ObservableObject, list[Any]):
         return instance_attr_name
 
 
-class _ObservableDict(dict[str, Any], ObservableObject):
+class _ObservableDict(ObservableObject, dict[str, Any]):
     def __init__(
         self,
         original_dict: dict[str, Any],
@@ -232,24 +249,29 @@ class _ObservableDict(dict[str, Any], ObservableObject):
         ObservableObject.__init__(self)
         dict.__init__(self)
         for key, value in self._original_dict.items():
-            super().__setitem__(key, self._initialise_new_objects(f"['{key}']", value))
+            self.__setitem__(key, self._initialise_new_objects(f'["{key}"]', value))
+
+    def __del__(self) -> None:
+        self._dict_mapping.pop(id(self._original_dict))
 
     def __setitem__(self, key: str, value: Any) -> None:
         if not isinstance(key, str):
-            logger.warning("Converting non-string dictionary key %s to string.", key)
-            key = str(key)
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Invalid key type: {key} ({type(key).__name__}). In pydase services, "
+                "dictionary keys must be strings."
+            )
 
         if hasattr(self, "_observers"):
-            self._remove_observer_if_observable(f"['{key}']")
-            value = self._initialise_new_objects(key, value)
-            self._notify_change_start(f"['{key}']")
+            self._remove_observer_if_observable(f'["{key}"]')
+            value = self._initialise_new_objects(f'["{key}"]', value)
+            self._notify_change_start(f'["{key}"]')
 
         super().__setitem__(key, value)
 
-        self._notify_changed(f"['{key}']", value)
+        self._notify_changed(f'["{key}"]', value)
 
     def _remove_observer_if_observable(self, name: str) -> None:
-        key = name[2:-2]
+        key = str(parse_serialized_key(name))
         current_value = self.get(key, None)
 
         if isinstance(current_value, ObservableObject):
@@ -261,3 +283,11 @@ class _ObservableDict(dict[str, Any], ObservableObject):
         if observer_attr_name != "":
             return f"{observer_attr_name}{instance_attr_name}"
         return instance_attr_name
+
+    def pop(self, key: str) -> Any:  # type: ignore[override]
+        self._remove_observer_if_observable(f'["{key}"]')
+
+        popped_item = super().pop(key)
+
+        self._notify_changed("", self)
+        return popped_item

src/pydase/observer_pattern/observer/observer.py

@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@ class Observer(ABC):
         self.changing_attributes: list[str] = []
 
     def _notify_changed(self, changed_attribute: str, value: Any) -> None:
+        self.on_change(full_access_path=changed_attribute, value=value)
+
         if changed_attribute in self.changing_attributes:
             self.changing_attributes.remove(changed_attribute)
 
-        self.on_change(full_access_path=changed_attribute, value=value)
-
     def _notify_change_start(self, changing_attribute: str) -> None:
         self.changing_attributes.append(changing_attribute)
         self.on_change_start(changing_attribute)

src/pydase/observer_pattern/observer/property_observer.py

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class PropertyObserver(Observer):
     def _process_observable_properties(
         self, obj: Observable, deps: dict[str, Any], prefix: str
     ) -> None:
-        for k, value in vars(type(obj)).items():
+        for k, value in inspect.getmembers(type(obj)):
             prefix = (
                 f"{prefix}." if prefix != "" and not prefix.endswith(".") else prefix
             )

src/pydase/server/server.py

@@ -3,12 +3,10 @@ import logging
 import os
 import signal
 import threading
-from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
 from pathlib import Path
 from types import FrameType
 from typing import Any, Protocol, TypedDict
 
-from rpyc import ThreadedServer  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from uvicorn.server import HANDLED_SIGNALS
 
 from pydase import DataService
@@ -51,8 +49,7 @@ class AdditionalServerProtocol(Protocol):
         host: str,
         port: int,
         **kwargs: Any,
-    ) -> None:
-        ...
+    ) -> None: ...
 
     async def serve(self) -> Any:
         """Starts the server. This method should be implemented as an asynchronous
@@ -81,71 +78,67 @@ class Server:
 
     Args:
         service: DataService
-          The DataService instance that this server will manage.
+            The DataService instance that this server will manage.
         host: str
-          The host address for the server. Default is '0.0.0.0', which means all
-          available network interfaces.
-        rpc_port: int
-          The port number for the RPC server. Default is
-          `pydase.config.ServiceConfig().rpc_port`.
+            The host address for the server. Default is '0.0.0.0', which means all
+            available network interfaces.
         web_port: int
-          The port number for the web server. Default is
-          `pydase.config.ServiceConfig().web_port`.
-        enable_rpc: bool
-          Whether to enable the RPC server. Default is True.
+            The port number for the web server. Default is
+            `pydase.config.ServiceConfig().web_port`.
         enable_web: bool
-          Whether to enable the web server. Default is True.
+            Whether to enable the web server. Default is True.
         filename: str | Path | None
-          Filename of the file managing the service state persistence. Defaults to None.
-        use_forking_server: bool
-          Whether to use ForkingServer for multiprocessing. Default is False.
+            Filename of the file managing the service state persistence.
+            Defaults to None.
         additional_servers : list[AdditionalServer]
-          A list of additional servers to run alongside the main server. Each entry in
-          the list should be a dictionary with the following structure:
-            - server: A class that adheres to the AdditionalServerProtocol. This class
-                should have an `__init__` method that accepts the DataService instance,
-                port, host, and optional keyword arguments, and a `serve` method that is
-                a coroutine responsible for starting the server.
-            - port: The port on which the additional server will be running.
-            - kwargs: A dictionary containing additional keyword arguments that will be
-                passed to the server's `__init__` method.
+            A list of additional servers to run alongside the main server. Each entry in
+            the list should be a dictionary with the following structure:
+                - server: A class that adheres to the AdditionalServerProtocol. This
+                    class should have an `__init__` method that accepts the DataService
+                    instance, port, host, and optional keyword arguments, and a `serve`
+                    method that is a coroutine responsible for starting the server.
+                - port: The port on which the additional server will be running.
+                - kwargs: A dictionary containing additional keyword arguments that will
+                    be passed to the server's `__init__` method.
 
-          Here's an example of how you might define an additional server:
+            Here's an example of how you might define an additional server:
 
+            ```python
+            class MyCustomServer:
+                def __init__(
+                    self,
+                    data_service_observer: DataServiceObserver,
+                    host: str,
+                    port: int,
+                    **kwargs: Any,
+                ) -> None:
+                    self.observer = data_service_observer
+                    self.state_manager = self.observer.state_manager
+                    self.service = self.state_manager.service
+                    self.port = port
+                    self.host = host
+                    # handle any additional arguments...
 
-          >>>     class MyCustomServer:
-          ...         def __init__(
-          ...             self,
-          ...             data_service_observer: DataServiceObserver,
-          ...             host: str,
-          ...             port: int,
-          ...             **kwargs: Any,
-          ...         ) -> None:
-          ...             self.observer = data_service_observer
-          ...             self.state_manager = self.observer.state_manager
-          ...             self.service = self.state_manager.service
-          ...             self.port = port
-          ...             self.host = host
-          ...             # handle any additional arguments...
-          ...
-          ...         async def serve(self):
-          ...             # code to start the server...
+                async def serve(self):
+                    # code to start the server...
+            ```
 
-          And here's how you might add it to the `additional_servers` list when creating
-          a `Server` instance:
-
-          >>>    server = Server(
-          ...        service=my_data_service,
-          ...        additional_servers=[
-          ...            {
-          ...                "server": MyCustomServer,
-          ...                "port": 12345,
-          ...                "kwargs": {"some_arg": "some_value"}
-          ...            }
-          ...        ],
-          ...    )
-          ...    server.run()
+            And here's how you might add it to the `additional_servers` list when
+            creating a `Server` instance:
 
+            ```python
+            server = Server(
+                service=my_data_service,
+                additional_servers=[
+                    {
+                        "server": MyCustomServer,
+                        "port": 12345,
+                        "kwargs": {"some_arg": "some_value"}
+                    }
+                ],
+            )
+            server.run()
+            ```
         **kwargs: Any
           Additional keyword arguments.
     """
@@ -154,9 +147,7 @@ class Server:
         self,
         service: DataService,
         host: str = "0.0.0.0",
-        rpc_port: int = ServiceConfig().rpc_port,
         web_port: int = ServiceConfig().web_port,
-        enable_rpc: bool = True,
         enable_web: bool = True,
         filename: str | Path | None = None,
         additional_servers: list[AdditionalServer] | None = None,
@@ -166,16 +157,13 @@ class Server:
             additional_servers = []
         self._service = service
         self._host = host
-        self._rpc_port = rpc_port
         self._web_port = web_port
-        self._enable_rpc = enable_rpc
         self._enable_web = enable_web
         self._kwargs = kwargs
         self._loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop
         self._additional_servers = additional_servers
         self.should_exit = False
         self.servers: dict[str, asyncio.Future[Any]] = {}
-        self.executor: ThreadPoolExecutor | None = None
         self._state_manager = StateManager(self._service, filename)
         self._observer = DataServiceObserver(self._state_manager)
         self._state_manager.load_state()
@@ -207,20 +195,6 @@ class Server:
         self.install_signal_handlers()
         self._service._task_manager.start_autostart_tasks()
 
-        if self._enable_rpc:
-            self.executor = ThreadPoolExecutor()
-            self._rpc_server = ThreadedServer(
-                self._service,
-                port=self._rpc_port,
-                protocol_config={
-                    "allow_all_attrs": True,
-                    "allow_setattr": True,
-                },
-            )
-            future_or_task = self._loop.run_in_executor(
-                executor=self.executor, func=self._rpc_server.start
-            )
-            self.servers["rpyc"] = future_or_task
         for server in self._additional_servers:
             addin_server = server["server"](
                 data_service_observer=self._observer,
@@ -258,10 +232,6 @@ class Server:
         await self.__cancel_servers()
         await self.__cancel_tasks()
 
-        if hasattr(self, "_rpc_server") and self._enable_rpc:
-            logger.debug("Closing rpyc server.")
-            self._rpc_server.close()
-
     async def __cancel_servers(self) -> None:
         for server_name, task in self.servers.items():
             task.cancel()

src/pydase/server/web_server/sio_setup.py

@@ -2,14 +2,15 @@ import asyncio
 import logging
 from typing import Any, TypedDict
 
+import click
 import socketio  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 
-from pydase.data_service.data_service import process_callable_attribute
 from pydase.data_service.data_service_observer import DataServiceObserver
 from pydase.data_service.state_manager import StateManager
-from pydase.utils.helpers import get_object_attr_from_path_list
+from pydase.utils.helpers import get_object_attr_from_path
 from pydase.utils.logging import SocketIOHandler
-from pydase.utils.serializer import dump
+from pydase.utils.serialization.deserializer import Deserializer
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import SerializedObject, dump
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -21,26 +22,20 @@ class UpdateDict(TypedDict):
 
     Attributes:
     ----------
-    name : str
-        The name of the attribute to be updated in the DataService instance.
-        If the attribute is part of a nested structure, this would be the name of the
-        attribute in the last nested object. For example, for an attribute access path
-        'attr1.list_attr[0].attr2', 'attr2' would be the name.
-
-    parent_path : str
-        The access path for the parent object of the attribute to be updated. This is
-        used to construct the full access path for the attribute. For example, for an
-        attribute access path 'attr1.list_attr[0].attr2', 'attr1.list_attr[0]' would be
-        the parent_path.
-
-    value : Any
-        The new value to be assigned to the attribute. The type of this value should
-        match the type of the attribute to be updated.
+    access_path : string
+        The full access path of the attribute to be updated.
+    value : SerializedObject
+        The serialized new value to be assigned to the attribute.
     """
 
-    name: str
-    parent_path: str
-    value: Any
+    access_path: str
+    value: SerializedObject
+
+
+class TriggerMethodDict(TypedDict):
+    access_path: str
+    args: SerializedObject
+    kwargs: SerializedObject
 
 
 class RunMethodDict(TypedDict):
@@ -94,14 +89,9 @@ def setup_sio_server(
 
     # Add notification callback to observer
     def sio_callback(
-        full_access_path: str, value: Any, cached_value_dict: dict[str, Any]
+        full_access_path: str, value: Any, cached_value_dict: SerializedObject
     ) -> None:
         if cached_value_dict != {}:
-            serialized_value = dump(value)
-            if cached_value_dict["type"] != "method":
-                cached_value_dict["type"] = serialized_value["type"]
-
-            cached_value_dict["value"] = serialized_value["value"]
 
             async def notify() -> None:
                 try:
@@ -124,24 +114,57 @@ def setup_sio_server(
     return sio
 
 
-def setup_sio_events(sio: socketio.AsyncServer, state_manager: StateManager) -> None:
-    @sio.event
-    def set_attribute(sid: str, data: UpdateDict) -> Any:
-        logger.debug("Received frontend update: %s", data)
-        parent_path = data["parent_path"].split(".")
-        path_list = [element for element in parent_path if element] + [data["name"]]
-        path = ".".join(path_list)
-        return state_manager.set_service_attribute_value_by_path(
-            path=path, value=data["value"]
+def setup_sio_events(sio: socketio.AsyncServer, state_manager: StateManager) -> None:  # noqa: C901
+    @sio.event  # type: ignore
+    async def connect(sid: str, environ: Any) -> None:
+        logging.debug("Client [%s] connected", click.style(str(sid), fg="cyan"))
+
+    @sio.event  # type: ignore
+    async def disconnect(sid: str) -> None:
+        logging.debug("Client [%s] disconnected", click.style(str(sid), fg="cyan"))
+
+    @sio.event  # type: ignore
+    async def service_serialization(sid: str) -> SerializedObject:
+        logging.debug(
+            "Client [%s] requested service serialization",
+            click.style(str(sid), fg="cyan"),
         )
+        return state_manager.cache
 
     @sio.event
-    def run_method(sid: str, data: RunMethodDict) -> Any:
-        logger.debug("Running method: %s", data)
-        parent_path = data["parent_path"].split(".")
-        path_list = [element for element in parent_path if element] + [data["name"]]
-        method = get_object_attr_from_path_list(state_manager.service, path_list)
-        return process_callable_attribute(method, data["kwargs"])
+    async def update_value(sid: str, data: UpdateDict) -> SerializedObject | None:  # type: ignore
+        path = data["access_path"]
+
+        try:
+            state_manager.set_service_attribute_value_by_path(
+                path=path, serialized_value=data["value"]
+            )
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.exception(e)
+            return dump(e)
+
+    @sio.event
+    async def get_value(sid: str, access_path: str) -> SerializedObject:
+        try:
+            return state_manager._data_service_cache.get_value_dict_from_cache(
+                access_path
+            )
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.exception(e)
+            return dump(e)
+
+    @sio.event
+    async def trigger_method(sid: str, data: TriggerMethodDict) -> Any:
+        try:
+            method = get_object_attr_from_path(
+                state_manager.service, data["access_path"]
+            )
+            args = Deserializer.deserialize(data["args"])
+            kwargs: dict[str, Any] = Deserializer.deserialize(data["kwargs"])
+            return dump(method(*args, **kwargs))
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(e)
+            return dump(e)
 
 
 def setup_logging_handler(sio: socketio.AsyncServer) -> None:

src/pydase/server/web_server/web_server.py

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ from typing import Any
 
 import socketio  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 import uvicorn
-from fastapi import FastAPI
+from fastapi import FastAPI, Response
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from fastapi.responses import FileResponse
 from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ from pydase.data_service.data_service_observer import DataServiceObserver
 from pydase.server.web_server.sio_setup import (
     setup_sio_server,
 )
-from pydase.utils.serializer import generate_serialized_data_paths
+from pydase.utils.helpers import get_path_from_path_parts, parse_full_access_path
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import generate_serialized_data_paths
 from pydase.version import __version__
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -70,7 +71,7 @@ class WebServer:
         enable_cors: bool = True,
         config_dir: Path = ServiceConfig().config_dir,
         generate_web_settings: bool = WebServerConfig().generate_web_settings,
-        **kwargs: Any,
+        frontend_src: Path = Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "frontend",
     ) -> None:
         self.observer = data_service_observer
         self.state_manager = self.observer.state_manager
@@ -79,6 +80,7 @@ class WebServer:
         self.host = host
         self.css = css
         self.enable_cors = enable_cors
+        self.frontend_src = frontend_src
         self._service_config_dir = config_dir
         self._generate_web_settings = generate_web_settings
         self._loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop
@@ -126,11 +128,24 @@ class WebServer:
     @property
     def web_settings(self) -> dict[str, dict[str, Any]]:
         current_web_settings = self._get_web_settings_from_file()
-        for path in generate_serialized_data_paths(self.state_manager.cache["value"]):
+        for path in generate_serialized_data_paths(self.state_manager.cache_value):
             if path in current_web_settings:
                 continue
 
-            current_web_settings[path] = {"displayName": path.split(".")[-1]}
+            # Creating the display name by reversely looping through the path parts
+            # until an item does not start with a square bracket, and putting the parts
+            # back together again. This allows for display names like
+            #       >>> 'dict_attr["some.dotted.key"]'
+            display_name_parts: list[str] = []
+            for item in parse_full_access_path(path)[::-1]:
+                display_name_parts.insert(0, item)
+                if not item.startswith("["):
+                    break
+
+            current_web_settings[path] = {
+                "displayName": get_path_from_path_parts(display_name_parts),
+                "display": True,
+            }
 
         return current_web_settings
 
@@ -161,23 +176,24 @@ class WebServer:
 
         @app.get("/service-properties")
         def service_properties() -> dict[str, Any]:
-            return self.state_manager.cache
+            return self.state_manager.cache  # type: ignore
 
         @app.get("/web-settings")
         def web_settings() -> dict[str, Any]:
             return self.web_settings
 
         # exposing custom.css file provided by user
-        if self.css is not None:
-
-            @app.get("/custom.css")
-            async def styles() -> FileResponse:
+        @app.get("/custom.css")
+        async def styles() -> Response:
+            if self.css is not None:
                 return FileResponse(str(self.css))
 
+            return Response(content="", media_type="text/css")
+
         app.mount(
             "/",
             StaticFiles(
-                directory=Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / "frontend",
+                directory=self.frontend_src,
                 html=True,
             ),
         )

src/pydase/utils/decorators.py

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+import inspect
+from collections.abc import Callable
+from typing import Any
+
+from pydase.utils.helpers import function_has_arguments
+
+
+class FunctionDefinitionError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+def frontend(func: Callable[..., Any]) -> Callable[..., Any]:
+    """
+    Decorator to mark a DataService method for frontend rendering. Ensures that the
+    method does not contain arguments, as they are not supported for frontend rendering.
+    """
+
+    if function_has_arguments(func):
+        raise FunctionDefinitionError(
+            "The @frontend decorator requires functions without arguments. Function "
+            f"'{func.__name__}' has at least one argument. "
+            "Please remove the argument(s) from this function to use it with the "
+            "@frontend decorator."
+        )
+
+    # Mark the function for frontend display.
+    func._display_in_frontend = True  # type: ignore
+    return func
+
+
+def render_in_frontend(func: Callable[..., Any]) -> bool:
+    """Determines if the method should be rendered in the frontend.
+
+    It checks if the "@frontend" decorator was used or the method is a coroutine."""
+
+    if inspect.iscoroutinefunction(func):
+        return True
+
+    try:
+        return func._display_in_frontend  # type: ignore
+    except AttributeError:
+        return False

src/pydase/utils/helpers.py

@@ -1,11 +1,99 @@
 import inspect
 import logging
+import re
+from collections.abc import Callable
 from itertools import chain
 from typing import Any
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+def parse_serialized_key(serialized_key: str) -> str | int | float:
+    """
+    Parse a serialized key and convert it to an appropriate type (int, float, or str).
+
+    Args:
+        serialized_key: str
+            The serialized key, which might be enclosed in brackets and quotes.
+
+    Returns:
+        int | float | str:
+            The processed key as an integer, float, or unquoted string.
+
+    Examples:
+        ```python
+        print(parse_serialized_key("attr_name"))  # Outputs: attr_name  (str)
+        print(parse_serialized_key("[123]"))  # Outputs: 123  (int)
+        print(parse_serialized_key("[12.3]"))  # Outputs: 12.3  (float)
+        print(parse_serialized_key("['hello']"))  # Outputs: hello  (str)
+        print(parse_serialized_key('["12.34"]'))  # Outputs: 12.34  (str)
+        print(parse_serialized_key('["complex"]'))  # Outputs: complex  (str)
+        ```
+    """
+
+    # Strip outer brackets if present
+    if serialized_key.startswith("[") and serialized_key.endswith("]"):
+        serialized_key = serialized_key[1:-1]
+
+    # Strip quotes if the resulting string is quoted
+    if serialized_key.startswith(("'", '"')) and serialized_key.endswith(("'", '"')):
+        return serialized_key[1:-1]
+
+    # Try converting to float or int if the string is not quoted
+    try:
+        return float(serialized_key) if "." in serialized_key else int(serialized_key)
+    except ValueError:
+        # Return the original string if it's not a valid number
+        return serialized_key
+
+
+def parse_full_access_path(path: str) -> list[str]:
+    """
+    Splits a full access path into its atomic parts, separating attribute names, numeric
+    indices (including floating points), and string keys within indices.
+
+    Args:
+        path: str
+            The full access path string to be split into components.
+
+    Returns:
+        list[str]
+            A list of components that make up the path, including attribute names,
+            numeric indices, and string keys as separate elements.
+    """
+    # Matches:
+    # \w+ - Words
+    # \[\d+\.\d+\] - Floating point numbers inside brackets
+    # \[\d+\] - Integers inside brackets
+    # \["[^"]*"\] - Double-quoted strings inside brackets
+    # \['[^']*'\] - Single-quoted strings inside brackets
+    pattern = r'\w+|\[\d+\.\d+\]|\[\d+\]|\["[^"]*"\]|\[\'[^\']*\']'
+    return re.findall(pattern, path)
+
+
+def get_path_from_path_parts(path_parts: list[str]) -> str:
+    """Creates the full access path from its atomic parts.
+
+    The reverse function is given by `parse_full_access_path`.
+
+    Args:
+        path_parts: list[str]
+            A list of components that make up the path, including attribute names,
+            numeric indices and string keys enclosed in square brackets as separate
+            elements.
+    Returns:
+        str
+            The full access path corresponding to the path_parts.
+    """
+
+    path = ""
+    for path_part in path_parts:
+        if not path_part.startswith("[") and path != "":
+            path += "."
+        path += path_part
+    return path
+
+
 def get_attribute_doc(attr: Any) -> str | None:
     """This function takes an input attribute attr and returns its documentation
     string if it's different from the documentation of its type, otherwise,
@@ -29,13 +117,27 @@ def get_class_and_instance_attributes(obj: object) -> dict[str, Any]:
     return dict(chain(type(obj).__dict__.items(), obj.__dict__.items()))
 
 
-def get_object_attr_from_path_list(target_obj: Any, path: list[str]) -> Any:
+def get_object_by_path_parts(target_obj: Any, path_parts: list[str]) -> Any:
+    for part in path_parts:
+        if part.startswith("["):
+            deserialized_part = parse_serialized_key(part)
+            target_obj = target_obj[deserialized_part]
+        else:
+            try:
+                target_obj = getattr(target_obj, part)
+            except AttributeError:
+                logger.debug("Attribute %a does not exist in the object.", part)
+                return None
+    return target_obj
+
+
+def get_object_attr_from_path(target_obj: Any, path: str) -> Any:
     """
     Traverse the object tree according to the given path.
 
     Args:
         target_obj: The root object to start the traversal from.
-        path: A list of attribute names representing the path to traverse.
+        path: Access path of the object.
 
     Returns:
         The attribute at the end of the path. If the path includes a list index,
@@ -45,136 +147,8 @@ def get_object_attr_from_path_list(target_obj: Any, path: list[str]) -> Any:
     Raises:
         ValueError: If a list index in the path is not a valid integer.
     """
-    for part in path:
-        try:
-            # Try to split the part into attribute and index
-            attr, index_str = part.split("[", maxsplit=1)
-            index_str = index_str.replace("]", "")
-            index = int(index_str)
-            target_obj = getattr(target_obj, attr)[index]
-        except ValueError:
-            # No index, so just get the attribute
-            target_obj = getattr(target_obj, part)
-        except AttributeError:
-            # The attribute doesn't exist
-            logger.debug("Attribute % does not exist in the object.", part)
-            return None
-    return target_obj
-
-
-def convert_arguments_to_hinted_types(
-    args: dict[str, Any], type_hints: dict[str, Any]
-) -> dict[str, Any] | str:
-    """
-    Convert the given arguments to their types hinted in the type_hints dictionary.
-
-    This function attempts to convert each argument in the args dictionary to the type
-    specified for the argument in the type_hints dictionary. If the conversion is
-    successful, the function replaces the original argument in the args dictionary with
-    the converted argument.
-
-    If a ValueError is raised during the conversion of an argument, the function logs
-    an error message and returns the error message as a string.
-
-    Args:
-        args: A dictionary of arguments to be converted. The keys are argument names
-              and the values are the arguments themselves.
-        type_hints: A dictionary of type hints for the arguments. The keys are
-                    argument names and the values are the hinted types.
-
-    Returns:
-        A dictionary of the converted arguments if all conversions are successful,
-        or an error message string if a ValueError is raised during a conversion.
-    """
-
-    # Convert arguments to their hinted types
-    for arg_name, arg_value in args.items():
-        if arg_name in type_hints:
-            arg_type = type_hints[arg_name]
-            if isinstance(arg_type, type):
-                # Attempt to convert the argument to its hinted type
-                try:
-                    args[arg_name] = arg_type(arg_value)
-                except ValueError:
-                    msg = (
-                        f"Failed to convert argument '{arg_name}' to type "
-                        f"{arg_type.__name__}"
-                    )
-                    logger.error(msg)
-                    return msg
-    return args
-
-
-def update_value_if_changed(
-    target: Any, attr_name_or_index: str | int, new_value: Any
-) -> None:
-    """
-    Updates the value of an attribute or a list element on a target object if the new
-    value differs from the current one.
-
-    This function supports updating both attributes of an object and elements of a list.
-
-    - For objects, the function first checks the current value of the attribute. If the
-      current value differs from the new value, the function updates the attribute.
-
-    - For lists, the function checks the current value at the specified index. If the
-      current value differs from the new value, the function updates the list element
-      at the given index.
-
-    Args:
-        target (Any):
-            The target object that has the attribute or the list.
-        attr_name_or_index (str | int):
-            The name of the attribute or the index of the list element.
-        new_value (Any):
-            The new value for the attribute or the list element.
-    """
-
-    if isinstance(target, list) and isinstance(attr_name_or_index, int):
-        if target[attr_name_or_index] != new_value:
-            target[attr_name_or_index] = new_value
-    elif isinstance(attr_name_or_index, str):
-        # If the type matches and the current value is different from the new value,
-        # update the attribute.
-        if getattr(target, attr_name_or_index) != new_value:
-            setattr(target, attr_name_or_index, new_value)
-    else:
-        logger.error("Incompatible arguments: %s, %s.", target, attr_name_or_index)
-
-
-def parse_list_attr_and_index(attr_string: str) -> tuple[str, int | None]:
-    """
-    Parses an attribute string and extracts a potential list attribute name and its
-    index.
-    Logs an error if the index is not a valid digit.
-
-    Args:
-        attr_string (str):
-            The attribute string to parse. Can be a regular attribute name (e.g.,
-            'attr_name') or a list attribute with an index (e.g., 'list_attr[2]').
-
-    Returns:
-        tuple[str, Optional[int]]:
-            A tuple containing the attribute name as a string and the index as an
-            integer if present, otherwise None.
-
-    Examples:
-        >>> parse_attribute_and_index('list_attr[2]')
-        ('list_attr', 2)
-        >>> parse_attribute_and_index('attr_name')
-        ('attr_name', None)
-    """
-
-    index = None
-    attr_name = attr_string
-    if "[" in attr_string and attr_string.endswith("]"):
-        attr_name, index_part = attr_string.split("[", 1)
-        index_part = index_part.rstrip("]")
-        if index_part.isdigit():
-            index = int(index_part)
-        else:
-            logger.error("Invalid index format in key: %s", attr_name)
-    return attr_name, index
+    path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+    return get_object_by_path_parts(target_obj, path_parts)
 
 
 def get_component_classes() -> list[type]:
@@ -194,5 +168,20 @@ def get_data_service_class_reference() -> Any:
     return getattr(pydase.data_service.data_service, "DataService")
 
 
-def is_property_attribute(target_obj: Any, attr_name: str) -> bool:
-    return isinstance(getattr(type(target_obj), attr_name, None), property)
+def is_property_attribute(target_obj: Any, access_path: str) -> bool:
+    path_parts = parse_full_access_path(access_path)
+    target_obj = get_object_by_path_parts(target_obj, path_parts[:-1])
+
+    # don't have to check if target_obj is dict or list as their content cannot be
+    # properties -> always return False then
+    return isinstance(getattr(type(target_obj), path_parts[-1], None), property)
+
+
+def function_has_arguments(func: Callable[..., Any]) -> bool:
+    sig = inspect.signature(func)
+    parameters = dict(sig.parameters)
+    # Remove 'self' parameter for instance methods.
+    parameters.pop("self", None)
+
+    # Check if there are any parameters left which would indicate additional arguments.
+    return len(parameters) > 0

src/pydase/utils/serialization/deserializer.py

@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+import enum
+import logging
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, NoReturn, cast
+
+import pydase
+import pydase.components
+import pydase.units as u
+from pydase.utils.helpers import get_component_classes
+from pydase.utils.serialization.types import SerializedObject
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Callable
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class Deserializer:
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+        type_handler: dict[str | None, None | Callable[..., Any]] = {
+            None: None,
+            "int": cls.deserialize_primitive,
+            "float": cls.deserialize_primitive,
+            "bool": cls.deserialize_primitive,
+            "str": cls.deserialize_primitive,
+            "NoneType": cls.deserialize_primitive,
+            "Quantity": cls.deserialize_quantity,
+            "Enum": cls.deserialize_enum,
+            "ColouredEnum": lambda serialized_object: cls.deserialize_enum(
+                serialized_object, enum_class=pydase.components.ColouredEnum
+            ),
+            "list": cls.deserialize_list,
+            "dict": cls.deserialize_dict,
+            "method": cls.deserialize_method,
+            "Exception": cls.deserialize_exception,
+        }
+
+        # First go through handled types (as ColouredEnum is also within the components)
+        handler = type_handler.get(serialized_object["type"])
+        if handler:
+            return handler(serialized_object)
+
+        # Custom types like Components or DataService classes
+        component_class = cls.get_component_class(serialized_object["type"])
+        if component_class:
+            return cls.deserialize_component_type(serialized_object, component_class)
+
+        return None
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_primitive(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+        if serialized_object["type"] == "float":
+            return float(serialized_object["value"])
+        return serialized_object["value"]
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_quantity(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+        return u.convert_to_quantity(serialized_object["value"])  # type: ignore
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_enum(
+        cls,
+        serialized_object: SerializedObject,
+        enum_class: type[enum.Enum] = enum.Enum,
+    ) -> Any:
+        return enum_class(serialized_object["name"], serialized_object["enum"])[  # type: ignore
+            serialized_object["value"]
+        ]
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_list(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+        return [
+            cls.deserialize(item)
+            for item in cast(list[SerializedObject], serialized_object["value"])
+        ]
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_dict(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+        return {
+            key: cls.deserialize(value)
+            for key, value in cast(
+                dict[str, SerializedObject], serialized_object["value"]
+            ).items()
+        }
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_method(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+        return
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_exception(cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> NoReturn:
+        import builtins
+
+        try:
+            exception = getattr(builtins, serialized_object["name"])  # type: ignore
+        except AttributeError:
+            exception = type(serialized_object["name"], (Exception,), {})  # type: ignore
+        raise exception(serialized_object["value"])
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_component_class(type_name: str | None) -> type | None:
+        for component_class in get_component_classes():
+            if type_name == component_class.__name__:
+                return component_class
+        if type_name == "DataService":
+            import pydase
+
+            return pydase.DataService
+        return None
+
+    @classmethod
+    def create_attr_property(cls, serialized_attr: SerializedObject) -> property:
+        attr_name = serialized_attr["full_access_path"].split(".")[-1]
+
+        def get(self) -> Any:  # type: ignore
+            return getattr(self, f"_{attr_name}")
+
+        get.__doc__ = serialized_attr["doc"]
+
+        def set(self, value: Any) -> None:  # type: ignore
+            return setattr(self, f"_{attr_name}", value)
+
+        if serialized_attr["readonly"]:
+            return property(get)
+        return property(get, set)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def deserialize_component_type(
+        cls, serialized_object: SerializedObject, base_class: type
+    ) -> Any:
+        def create_proxy_class(serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> type:
+            class_bases = (base_class,)
+            class_attrs = {}
+
+            # Process and add properties based on the serialized object
+            for key, value in cast(
+                dict[str, SerializedObject], serialized_object["value"]
+            ).items():
+                if value["type"] != "method":
+                    class_attrs[key] = cls.create_attr_property(value)
+                    # Initialize a placeholder for the attribute to avoid AttributeError
+                    class_attrs[f"_{key}"] = cls.deserialize(value)
+
+            # Create the dynamic class with the given name and attributes
+            return type(serialized_object["name"], class_bases, class_attrs)  # type: ignore
+
+        return create_proxy_class(serialized_object)()
+
+
+def loads(serialized_object: SerializedObject) -> Any:
+    return Deserializer.deserialize(serialized_object)

src/pydase/utils/serialization/serializer.py

@@ -0,0 +1,548 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import inspect
+import logging
+import sys
+from enum import Enum
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Literal, cast
+
+import pydase.units as u
+from pydase.data_service.abstract_data_service import AbstractDataService
+from pydase.data_service.task_manager import TaskStatus
+from pydase.utils.decorators import render_in_frontend
+from pydase.utils.helpers import (
+    get_attribute_doc,
+    get_component_classes,
+    get_data_service_class_reference,
+    parse_full_access_path,
+    parse_serialized_key,
+)
+from pydase.utils.serialization.types import (
+    DataServiceTypes,
+    SerializedBool,
+    SerializedDataService,
+    SerializedDict,
+    SerializedEnum,
+    SerializedException,
+    SerializedFloat,
+    SerializedInteger,
+    SerializedList,
+    SerializedMethod,
+    SerializedNoneType,
+    SerializedObject,
+    SerializedQuantity,
+    SerializedString,
+    SignatureDict,
+)
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from collections.abc import Callable
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class SerializationError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+class SerializationPathError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+class SerializationValueError(Exception):
+    pass
+
+
+class Serializer:
+    @staticmethod
+    def serialize_object(obj: Any, access_path: str = "") -> SerializedObject:  # noqa: C901
+        result: SerializedObject
+
+        if isinstance(obj, Exception):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_exception(obj)
+
+        elif isinstance(obj, AbstractDataService):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_data_service(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        elif isinstance(obj, list):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_list(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        elif isinstance(obj, dict):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_dict(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        # Special handling for u.Quantity
+        elif isinstance(obj, u.Quantity):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_quantity(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        # Handling for Enums
+        elif isinstance(obj, Enum):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_enum(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        # Methods and coroutines
+        elif inspect.isfunction(obj) or inspect.ismethod(obj):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_method(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        elif isinstance(obj, int | float | bool | str | None):
+            result = Serializer._serialize_primitive(obj, access_path=access_path)
+
+        try:
+            return result
+        except UnboundLocalError:
+            raise SerializationError(
+                f"Could not serialized object of type {type(obj)}."
+            )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_primitive(
+        obj: float | bool | str | None,
+        access_path: str,
+    ) -> (
+        SerializedInteger
+        | SerializedFloat
+        | SerializedBool
+        | SerializedString
+        | SerializedNoneType
+    ):
+        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
+        return {  # type: ignore
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "doc": doc,
+            "readonly": False,
+            "type": type(obj).__name__,
+            "value": obj,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_exception(obj: Exception) -> SerializedException:
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": "",
+            "doc": None,
+            "readonly": True,
+            "type": "Exception",
+            "value": obj.args[0],
+            "name": obj.__class__.__name__,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_enum(obj: Enum, access_path: str = "") -> SerializedEnum:
+        import pydase.components.coloured_enum
+
+        value = obj.name
+        doc = obj.__doc__
+        class_name = type(obj).__name__
+        if sys.version_info < (3, 11) and doc == "An enumeration.":
+            doc = None
+        if isinstance(obj, pydase.components.coloured_enum.ColouredEnum):
+            obj_type: Literal["ColouredEnum", "Enum"] = "ColouredEnum"
+        else:
+            obj_type = "Enum"
+
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "name": class_name,
+            "type": obj_type,
+            "value": value,
+            "readonly": False,
+            "doc": doc,
+            "enum": {
+                name: member.value for name, member in obj.__class__.__members__.items()
+            },
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_quantity(
+        obj: u.Quantity, access_path: str = ""
+    ) -> SerializedQuantity:
+        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
+        value: u.QuantityDict = {"magnitude": obj.m, "unit": str(obj.u)}
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "type": "Quantity",
+            "value": value,
+            "readonly": False,
+            "doc": doc,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_dict(obj: dict[str, Any], access_path: str = "") -> SerializedDict:
+        readonly = False
+        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
+        value = {}
+        for key, val in obj.items():
+            value[key] = Serializer.serialize_object(
+                val, access_path=f'{access_path}["{key}"]'
+            )
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "type": "dict",
+            "value": value,
+            "readonly": readonly,
+            "doc": doc,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_list(obj: list[Any], access_path: str = "") -> SerializedList:
+        readonly = False
+        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
+        value = [
+            Serializer.serialize_object(o, access_path=f"{access_path}[{i}]")
+            for i, o in enumerate(obj)
+        ]
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "type": "list",
+            "value": value,
+            "readonly": readonly,
+            "doc": doc,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_method(
+        obj: Callable[..., Any], access_path: str = ""
+    ) -> SerializedMethod:
+        readonly = True
+        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
+        frontend_render = render_in_frontend(obj)
+
+        # Store parameters and their anotations in a dictionary
+        sig = inspect.signature(obj)
+        sig.return_annotation
+
+        signature: SignatureDict = {"parameters": {}, "return_annotation": {}}
+
+        for k, v in sig.parameters.items():
+            default_value = cast(
+                dict[str, Any], {} if v.default == inspect._empty else dump(v.default)
+            )
+            default_value.pop("full_access_path", None)
+            signature["parameters"][k] = {
+                "annotation": str(v.annotation),
+                "default": default_value,
+            }
+
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "type": "method",
+            "value": None,
+            "readonly": readonly,
+            "doc": doc,
+            "async": inspect.iscoroutinefunction(obj),
+            "signature": signature,
+            "frontend_render": frontend_render,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _serialize_data_service(
+        obj: AbstractDataService, access_path: str = ""
+    ) -> SerializedDataService:
+        readonly = False
+        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
+        obj_type: DataServiceTypes = "DataService"
+        obj_name = obj.__class__.__name__
+
+        # Get component base class if any
+        component_base_cls = next(
+            (cls for cls in get_component_classes() if isinstance(obj, cls)), None
+        )
+        if component_base_cls:
+            obj_type = component_base_cls.__name__  # type: ignore
+
+        # Get the set of DataService class attributes
+        data_service_attr_set = set(dir(get_data_service_class_reference()))
+        # Get the set of the object attributes
+        obj_attr_set = set(dir(obj))
+        # Get the difference between the two sets
+        derived_only_attr_set = obj_attr_set - data_service_attr_set
+
+        value: dict[str, SerializedObject] = {}
+
+        # Iterate over attributes, properties, class attributes, and methods
+        for key in sorted(derived_only_attr_set):
+            if key.startswith("_"):
+                continue  # Skip attributes that start with underscore
+
+            # Skip keys that start with "start_" or "stop_" and end with an async
+            # method name
+            if key.startswith(("start_", "stop_")) and key.split("_", 1)[1] in {
+                name
+                for name, _ in inspect.getmembers(
+                    obj, predicate=inspect.iscoroutinefunction
+                )
+            }:
+                continue
+
+            val = getattr(obj, key)
+
+            path = f"{access_path}.{key}" if access_path else key
+            serialized_object = Serializer.serialize_object(val, access_path=path)
+
+            # If there's a running task for this method
+            if serialized_object["type"] == "method" and key in obj._task_manager.tasks:
+                serialized_object["value"] = TaskStatus.RUNNING.name
+
+            value[key] = serialized_object
+
+            # If the DataService attribute is a property
+            if isinstance(getattr(obj.__class__, key, None), property):
+                prop: property = getattr(obj.__class__, key)
+                value[key]["readonly"] = prop.fset is None
+                value[key]["doc"] = get_attribute_doc(prop)  # overwrite the doc
+
+        return {
+            "full_access_path": access_path,
+            "name": obj_name,
+            "type": obj_type,
+            "value": value,
+            "readonly": readonly,
+            "doc": doc,
+        }
+
+
+def dump(obj: Any) -> SerializedObject:
+    return Serializer.serialize_object(obj)
+
+
+def set_nested_value_by_path(
+    serialization_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject], path: str, value: Any
+) -> None:
+    """
+    Set a value in a nested dictionary structure, which conforms to the serialization
+    format used by `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`, using a dot-notation path.
+
+    Args:
+        serialization_dict:
+            The base dictionary representing data serialized with
+            `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
+        path:
+            The dot-notation path (e.g., 'attr1.attr2[0].attr3') indicating where to
+            set the value.
+        value:
+            The new value to set at the specified path.
+
+    Note:
+        - If the index equals the length of the list, the function will append the
+          serialized representation of the 'value' to the list.
+    """
+
+    path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+    current_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject] = serialization_dict
+
+    try:
+        for path_part in path_parts[:-1]:
+            next_level_serialized_object = get_container_item_by_key(
+                current_dict, path_part, allow_append=False
+            )
+            current_dict = cast(
+                dict[Any, SerializedObject],
+                next_level_serialized_object["value"],
+            )
+
+        next_level_serialized_object = get_container_item_by_key(
+            current_dict, path_parts[-1], allow_append=True
+        )
+    except (SerializationPathError, SerializationValueError, KeyError) as e:
+        logger.error("Error occured trying to change %a: %s", path, e)
+        return
+
+    if next_level_serialized_object["type"] == "method":  # state change of task
+        next_level_serialized_object["value"] = (
+            "RUNNING" if isinstance(value, TaskStatus) else None
+        )
+    else:
+        serialized_value = Serializer.serialize_object(value, access_path=path)
+        serialized_value["readonly"] = next_level_serialized_object["readonly"]
+
+        keys_to_keep = set(serialized_value.keys())
+
+        next_level_serialized_object.update(serialized_value)  # type: ignore
+
+        # removes keys that are not present in the serialized new value
+        for key in list(next_level_serialized_object.keys()):
+            if key not in keys_to_keep:
+                next_level_serialized_object.pop(key, None)  # type: ignore
+
+
+def get_nested_dict_by_path(
+    serialization_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject],
+    path: str,
+) -> SerializedObject:
+    path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+    current_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject] = serialization_dict
+
+    for path_part in path_parts[:-1]:
+        next_level_serialized_object = get_container_item_by_key(
+            current_dict, path_part, allow_append=False
+        )
+        current_dict = cast(
+            dict[Any, SerializedObject],
+            next_level_serialized_object["value"],
+        )
+    return get_container_item_by_key(current_dict, path_parts[-1], allow_append=False)
+
+
+def create_empty_serialized_object() -> SerializedObject:
+    """Create a new empty serialized object."""
+
+    return {
+        "full_access_path": "",
+        "value": None,
+        "type": "None",
+        "doc": None,
+        "readonly": False,
+    }
+
+
+def get_or_create_item_in_container(
+    container: dict[Any, SerializedObject] | list[SerializedObject],
+    key: Any,
+    *,
+    allow_add_key: bool,
+) -> SerializedObject:
+    """Ensure the key exists in the dictionary, append if necessary and allowed."""
+
+    try:
+        return container[key]
+    except IndexError:
+        if allow_add_key and key == len(container):
+            cast(list[SerializedObject], container).append(
+                create_empty_serialized_object()
+            )
+            return container[key]
+        raise
+    except KeyError:
+        if allow_add_key:
+            container[key] = create_empty_serialized_object()
+            return container[key]
+        raise
+
+
+def get_container_item_by_key(
+    container: dict[Any, SerializedObject] | list[SerializedObject],
+    key: str,
+    *,
+    allow_append: bool = False,
+) -> SerializedObject:
+    """
+    Retrieve an item from a container specified by the passed key. Add an item to the
+    container if allow_append is set to True.
+
+    If specified keys or indexes do not exist, the function can append new elements to
+    dictionaries and to lists if `allow_append` is True and the missing element is
+    exactly the next sequential index (for lists).
+
+    Args:
+        container: dict[str, SerializedObject] | list[SerializedObject]
+            The container representing serialized data.
+        key: str
+            The key name representing the attribute in the dictionary, which may include
+            direct keys or indexes (e.g., 'attr_name', '["key"]' or '[0]').
+        allow_append: bool
+            Flag to allow appending a new entry if the specified index is out of range
+            by exactly one position.
+
+    Returns:
+        SerializedObject
+            The dictionary or list item corresponding to the specified attribute and
+            index.
+
+    Raises:
+        SerializationPathError:
+            If the path composed of `attr_name` and any specified index is invalid, or
+            leads to an IndexError or KeyError. This error is also raised if an attempt
+            to access a nonexistent key or index occurs without permission to append.
+        SerializationValueError:
+            If the retrieval results in an object that is expected to be a dictionary
+            but is not, indicating a mismatch between expected and actual serialized
+            data structure.
+    """
+    processed_key = parse_serialized_key(key)
+
+    try:
+        return get_or_create_item_in_container(
+            container, processed_key, allow_add_key=allow_append
+        )
+    except IndexError as e:
+        raise SerializationPathError(f"Index '{processed_key}': {e}")
+    except KeyError as e:
+        raise SerializationPathError(f"Key '{processed_key}': {e}")
+
+
+def get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(  # noqa: C901
+    serialized_obj: SerializedObject,
+    parent_path: str = "",
+) -> list[str]:
+    """
+    Recursively extracts full access paths from a serialized object.
+
+    Args:
+        serialized_obj (SerializedObject):
+            The dictionary representing the serialization of an object. Produced by
+            `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
+
+    Returns:
+        list[str]:
+            A list of strings, each representing a full access path in the serialized
+            object.
+    """
+
+    paths: list[str] = []
+
+    if isinstance(serialized_obj["value"], list):
+        for index, value in enumerate(serialized_obj["value"]):
+            new_path = f"{parent_path}[{index}]"
+            paths.append(new_path)
+            if serialized_dict_is_nested_object(value):
+                paths.extend(get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(value, new_path))
+
+    elif serialized_dict_is_nested_object(serialized_obj):
+        for key, value in cast(
+            dict[str, SerializedObject], serialized_obj["value"]
+        ).items():
+            # Serialized dictionaries need to have a different new_path than nested
+            # classes
+            if serialized_obj["type"] == "dict":
+                processed_key = key
+                if isinstance(key, str):
+                    processed_key = f'"{key}"'
+                new_path = f"{parent_path}[{processed_key}]"
+            else:
+                new_path = f"{parent_path}.{key}" if parent_path != "" else key
+
+            paths.append(new_path)
+            if serialized_dict_is_nested_object(value):
+                paths.extend(get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(value, new_path))
+
+    return paths
+
+
+def generate_serialized_data_paths(
+    data: dict[str, SerializedObject],
+) -> list[str]:
+    """
+    Recursively extracts full access paths from a serialized DataService class instance.
+
+    Args:
+        data (dict[str, SerializedObject]):
+            The value of the "value" key of a serialized DataService class instance.
+
+    Returns:
+        list[str]:
+            A list of strings, each representing a full access path in the serialized
+            object.
+    """
+
+    paths: list[str] = []
+
+    for key, value in data.items():
+        paths.append(key)
+
+        if serialized_dict_is_nested_object(value):
+            paths.extend(get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(value, key))
+    return paths
+
+
+def serialized_dict_is_nested_object(serialized_dict: SerializedObject) -> bool:
+    value = serialized_dict["value"]
+    # We are excluding Quantity here as the value corresponding to the "value" key is
+    # a dictionary of the form {"magnitude": ..., "unit": ...}
+    return serialized_dict["type"] != "Quantity" and (isinstance(value, dict | list))

src/pydase/utils/serialization/types.py

@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import logging
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Literal, TypedDict
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    import pydase.units as u
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class SignatureDict(TypedDict):
+    parameters: dict[str, dict[str, Any]]
+    return_annotation: dict[str, Any]
+
+
+class SerializedObjectBase(TypedDict):
+    full_access_path: str
+    doc: str | None
+    readonly: bool
+
+
+class SerializedInteger(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: int
+    type: Literal["int"]
+
+
+class SerializedFloat(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: float
+    type: Literal["float"]
+
+
+class SerializedQuantity(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: u.QuantityDict
+    type: Literal["Quantity"]
+
+
+class SerializedBool(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: bool
+    type: Literal["bool"]
+
+
+class SerializedString(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: str
+    type: Literal["str"]
+
+
+class SerializedEnum(SerializedObjectBase):
+    name: str
+    value: str
+    type: Literal["Enum", "ColouredEnum"]
+    enum: dict[str, Any]
+
+
+class SerializedList(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: list[SerializedObject]
+    type: Literal["list"]
+
+
+class SerializedDict(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: dict[str, SerializedObject]
+    type: Literal["dict"]
+
+
+class SerializedNoneType(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: None
+    type: Literal["NoneType"]
+
+
+class SerializedNoValue(SerializedObjectBase):
+    value: None
+    type: Literal["None"]
+
+
+SerializedMethod = TypedDict(
+    "SerializedMethod",
+    {
+        "full_access_path": str,
+        "value": Literal["RUNNING"] | None,
+        "type": Literal["method"],
+        "doc": str | None,
+        "readonly": bool,
+        "async": bool,
+        "signature": SignatureDict,
+        "frontend_render": bool,
+    },
+)
+
+
+class SerializedException(SerializedObjectBase):
+    name: str
+    value: str
+    type: Literal["Exception"]
+
+
+DataServiceTypes = Literal["DataService", "Image", "NumberSlider", "DeviceConnection"]
+
+
+class SerializedDataService(SerializedObjectBase):
+    name: str
+    value: dict[str, SerializedObject]
+    type: DataServiceTypes
+
+
+SerializedObject = (
+    SerializedBool
+    | SerializedFloat
+    | SerializedInteger
+    | SerializedString
+    | SerializedList
+    | SerializedDict
+    | SerializedNoneType
+    | SerializedMethod
+    | SerializedException
+    | SerializedDataService
+    | SerializedEnum
+    | SerializedQuantity
+    | SerializedNoValue
+)

src/pydase/utils/serializer.py

@@ -1,391 +0,0 @@
-import inspect
-import logging
-import sys
-from collections.abc import Callable
-from enum import Enum
-from typing import Any
-
-import pydase.units as u
-from pydase.data_service.abstract_data_service import AbstractDataService
-from pydase.utils.helpers import (
-    get_attribute_doc,
-    get_component_classes,
-    get_data_service_class_reference,
-    parse_list_attr_and_index,
-)
-
-logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
-
-
-class SerializationPathError(Exception):
-    pass
-
-
-class SerializationValueError(Exception):
-    pass
-
-
-class Serializer:
-    @staticmethod
-    def serialize_object(obj: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        result: dict[str, Any] = {}
-        if isinstance(obj, AbstractDataService):
-            result = Serializer._serialize_data_service(obj)
-
-        elif isinstance(obj, list):
-            result = Serializer._serialize_list(obj)
-
-        elif isinstance(obj, dict):
-            result = Serializer._serialize_dict(obj)
-
-        # Special handling for u.Quantity
-        elif isinstance(obj, u.Quantity):
-            result = Serializer._serialize_quantity(obj)
-
-        # Handling for Enums
-        elif isinstance(obj, Enum):
-            result = Serializer._serialize_enum(obj)
-
-        # Methods and coroutines
-        elif inspect.isfunction(obj) or inspect.ismethod(obj):
-            result = Serializer._serialize_method(obj)
-
-        else:
-            obj_type = type(obj).__name__
-            value = obj
-            readonly = False
-            doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-            result = {
-                "type": obj_type,
-                "value": value,
-                "readonly": readonly,
-                "doc": doc,
-            }
-
-        return result
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_enum(obj: Enum) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        value = obj.name
-        readonly = False
-        doc = obj.__doc__
-        if sys.version_info < (3, 11) and doc == "An enumeration.":
-            doc = None
-        if type(obj).__base__.__name__ == "ColouredEnum":
-            obj_type = "ColouredEnum"
-        else:
-            obj_type = "Enum"
-
-        return {
-            "type": obj_type,
-            "value": value,
-            "readonly": readonly,
-            "doc": doc,
-            "enum": {
-                name: member.value for name, member in obj.__class__.__members__.items()
-            },
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_quantity(obj: u.Quantity) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        obj_type = "Quantity"
-        readonly = False
-        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-        value = {"magnitude": obj.m, "unit": str(obj.u)}
-        return {
-            "type": obj_type,
-            "value": value,
-            "readonly": readonly,
-            "doc": doc,
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_dict(obj: dict[str, Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        obj_type = "dict"
-        readonly = False
-        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-        value = {key: Serializer.serialize_object(val) for key, val in obj.items()}
-        return {
-            "type": obj_type,
-            "value": value,
-            "readonly": readonly,
-            "doc": doc,
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_list(obj: list[Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        obj_type = "list"
-        readonly = False
-        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-        value = [Serializer.serialize_object(o) for o in obj]
-        return {
-            "type": obj_type,
-            "value": value,
-            "readonly": readonly,
-            "doc": doc,
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_method(obj: Callable[..., Any]) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        obj_type = "method"
-        value = None
-        readonly = True
-        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-
-        # Store parameters and their anotations in a dictionary
-        sig = inspect.signature(obj)
-        parameters: dict[str, str | None] = {}
-
-        for k, v in sig.parameters.items():
-            annotation = v.annotation
-            if annotation is not inspect._empty:
-                if isinstance(annotation, type):
-                    # Handle regular types
-                    parameters[k] = annotation.__name__
-                else:
-                    # Union, string annotation, Literal types, ...
-                    parameters[k] = str(annotation)
-            else:
-                parameters[k] = None
-
-        return {
-            "type": obj_type,
-            "value": value,
-            "readonly": readonly,
-            "doc": doc,
-            "async": inspect.iscoroutinefunction(obj),
-            "parameters": parameters,
-        }
-
-    @staticmethod
-    def _serialize_data_service(obj: AbstractDataService) -> dict[str, Any]:
-        readonly = False
-        doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-        obj_type = "DataService"
-
-        # Get component base class if any
-        component_base_cls = next(
-            (cls for cls in get_component_classes() if isinstance(obj, cls)), None
-        )
-        if component_base_cls:
-            obj_type = component_base_cls.__name__
-
-        # Get the set of DataService class attributes
-        data_service_attr_set = set(dir(get_data_service_class_reference()))
-        # Get the set of the object attributes
-        obj_attr_set = set(dir(obj))
-        # Get the difference between the two sets
-        derived_only_attr_set = obj_attr_set - data_service_attr_set
-
-        value = {}
-
-        # Iterate over attributes, properties, class attributes, and methods
-        for key in sorted(derived_only_attr_set):
-            if key.startswith("_"):
-                continue  # Skip attributes that start with underscore
-
-            # Skip keys that start with "start_" or "stop_" and end with an async
-            # method name
-            if key.startswith(("start_", "stop_")) and key.split("_", 1)[1] in {
-                name
-                for name, _ in inspect.getmembers(
-                    obj, predicate=inspect.iscoroutinefunction
-                )
-            }:
-                continue
-
-            val = getattr(obj, key)
-
-            value[key] = Serializer.serialize_object(val)
-
-            # If there's a running task for this method
-            if key in obj._task_manager.tasks:
-                task_info = obj._task_manager.tasks[key]
-                value[key]["value"] = task_info["kwargs"]
-
-            # If the DataService attribute is a property
-            if isinstance(getattr(obj.__class__, key, None), property):
-                prop: property = getattr(obj.__class__, key)
-                value[key]["readonly"] = prop.fset is None
-                value[key]["doc"] = get_attribute_doc(prop)  # overwrite the doc
-
-        return {
-            "type": obj_type,
-            "value": value,
-            "readonly": readonly,
-            "doc": doc,
-        }
-
-
-def dump(obj: Any) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    return Serializer.serialize_object(obj)
-
-
-def set_nested_value_by_path(
-    serialization_dict: dict[str, Any], path: str, value: Any
-) -> None:
-    """
-    Set a value in a nested dictionary structure, which conforms to the serialization
-    format used by `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`, using a dot-notation path.
-
-    Args:
-        serialization_dict:
-            The base dictionary representing data serialized with
-            `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
-        path:
-            The dot-notation path (e.g., 'attr1.attr2[0].attr3') indicating where to
-            set the value.
-        value:
-            The new value to set at the specified path.
-
-    Note:
-        - If the index equals the length of the list, the function will append the
-          serialized representation of the 'value' to the list.
-    """
-
-    parent_path_parts, attr_name = path.split(".")[:-1], path.split(".")[-1]
-    current_dict: dict[str, Any] = serialization_dict
-
-    try:
-        for path_part in parent_path_parts:
-            current_dict = get_next_level_dict_by_key(
-                current_dict, path_part, allow_append=False
-            )
-            current_dict = current_dict["value"]
-
-        current_dict = get_next_level_dict_by_key(
-            current_dict, attr_name, allow_append=True
-        )
-    except (SerializationPathError, SerializationValueError, KeyError) as e:
-        logger.error(e)
-        return
-
-    # setting the new value
-    serialized_value = dump(value)
-    if "readonly" in current_dict:
-        if current_dict["type"] != "method":
-            current_dict["type"] = serialized_value["type"]
-        current_dict["value"] = serialized_value["value"]
-    else:
-        current_dict.update(serialized_value)
-
-
-def get_nested_dict_by_path(
-    serialization_dict: dict[str, Any],
-    path: str,
-) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    parent_path_parts, attr_name = path.split(".")[:-1], path.split(".")[-1]
-    current_dict: dict[str, Any] = serialization_dict
-
-    for path_part in parent_path_parts:
-        current_dict = get_next_level_dict_by_key(
-            current_dict, path_part, allow_append=False
-        )
-        current_dict = current_dict["value"]
-    return get_next_level_dict_by_key(current_dict, attr_name, allow_append=False)
-
-
-def get_next_level_dict_by_key(
-    serialization_dict: dict[str, Any],
-    attr_name: str,
-    *,
-    allow_append: bool = False,
-) -> dict[str, Any]:
-    """
-    Retrieve a nested dictionary entry or list item from a data structure serialized
-    with `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
-
-    Args:
-        serialization_dict: The base dictionary representing serialized data.
-        attr_name: The key name representing the attribute in the dictionary,
-            e.g. 'list_attr[0]' or 'attr'
-        allow_append: Flag to allow appending a new entry if `index` is out of range by
-            one.
-
-    Returns:
-        The dictionary or list item corresponding to the attribute and index.
-
-    Raises:
-        SerializationPathError: If the path composed of `attr_name` and `index` is
-                                invalid or leads to an IndexError or KeyError.
-        SerializationValueError: If the expected nested structure is not a dictionary.
-    """
-    # Check if the key contains an index part like 'attr_name[<index>]'
-    attr_name, index = parse_list_attr_and_index(attr_name)
-
-    try:
-        if index is not None:
-            serialization_dict = serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"][index]
-        else:
-            serialization_dict = serialization_dict[attr_name]
-    except IndexError as e:
-        if allow_append and index == len(serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"]):
-            # Appending to list
-            serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"].append({})
-            serialization_dict = serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"][index]
-        else:
-            raise SerializationPathError(
-                f"Error occured trying to change '{attr_name}[{index}]': {e}"
-            )
-    except KeyError:
-        raise SerializationPathError(
-            f"Error occured trying to access the key '{attr_name}': it is either "
-            "not present in the current dictionary or its value does not contain "
-            "a 'value' key."
-        )
-
-    if not isinstance(serialization_dict, dict):
-        raise SerializationValueError(
-            f"Expected a dictionary at '{attr_name}', but found type "
-            f"'{type(serialization_dict).__name__}' instead."
-        )
-
-    return serialization_dict
-
-
-def generate_serialized_data_paths(
-    data: dict[str, dict[str, Any]], parent_path: str = ""
-) -> list[str]:
-    """
-    Generate a list of access paths for all attributes in a dictionary representing
-    data serialized with `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`, excluding those that are
-    methods. This function handles nested structures, including lists, by generating
-    paths for each element in the nested lists.
-
-    Args:
-        data (dict[str, Any]): The dictionary representing serialized data, typically
-            produced by `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
-        parent_path (str, optional): The base path to prepend to the keys in the `data`
-            dictionary to form the access paths. Defaults to an empty string.
-
-    Returns:
-        list[str]: A list of strings where each string is a dot-notation access path
-        to an attribute in the serialized data. For list elements, the path includes
-        the index in square brackets.
-    """
-
-    paths: list[str] = []
-    for key, value in data.items():
-        new_path = f"{parent_path}.{key}" if parent_path else key
-        paths.append(new_path)
-        if serialized_dict_is_nested_object(value):
-            if isinstance(value["value"], list):
-                for index, item in enumerate(value["value"]):
-                    indexed_key_path = f"{new_path}[{index}]"
-                    paths.append(indexed_key_path)
-                    if serialized_dict_is_nested_object(item):
-                        paths.extend(
-                            generate_serialized_data_paths(
-                                item["value"], indexed_key_path
-                            )
-                        )
-                continue
-            paths.extend(generate_serialized_data_paths(value["value"], new_path))
-    return paths
-
-
-def serialized_dict_is_nested_object(serialized_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> bool:
-    return (
-        serialized_dict["type"] != "Quantity"
-        and isinstance(serialized_dict["value"], dict)
-    ) or isinstance(serialized_dict["value"], list)

tests/client/test_client.py

@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+import threading
+from collections.abc import Generator
+from typing import Any
+
+import pydase
+import pytest
+from pydase.client.proxy_loader import ProxyAttributeError
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
+def pydase_client() -> Generator[pydase.Client, None, Any]:
+    class SubService(pydase.DataService):
+        name = "SubService"
+
+    subservice_instance = SubService()
+
+    class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self._name = "MyService"
+            self._my_property = 12.1
+            self.sub_service = SubService()
+            self.list_attr = [1, 2]
+            self.dict_attr = {
+                "foo": subservice_instance,
+                "dotted.key": subservice_instance,
+            }
+
+        @property
+        def my_property(self) -> float:
+            return self._my_property
+
+        @my_property.setter
+        def my_property(self, value: float) -> None:
+            self._my_property = value
+
+        @property
+        def name(self) -> str:
+            return self._name
+
+        def my_method(self, input_str: str) -> str:
+            return input_str
+
+    server = pydase.Server(MyService(), web_port=9999)
+    thread = threading.Thread(target=server.run, daemon=True)
+    thread.start()
+
+    client = pydase.Client(hostname="localhost", port=9999)
+
+    yield client
+
+    server.handle_exit()
+    thread.join()
+
+
+def test_property(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.my_property == 12.1
+    pydase_client.proxy.my_property = 2.1
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.my_property == 2.1
+
+
+def test_readonly_property(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.name == "MyService"
+    with pytest.raises(ProxyAttributeError):
+        pydase_client.proxy.name = "Hello"
+
+
+def test_method_execution(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.my_method("My return string") == "My return string"
+    assert (
+        pydase_client.proxy.my_method(input_str="My return string")
+        == "My return string"
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+        pydase_client.proxy.my_method("Something", 2)
+
+    with pytest.raises(TypeError):
+        pydase_client.proxy.my_method(kwarg="hello")
+
+
+def test_nested_service(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.sub_service.name == "SubService"
+    pydase_client.proxy.sub_service.name = "New name"
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.sub_service.name == "New name"
+
+
+def test_list(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 2]
+
+    pydase_client.proxy.list_attr.append(1)
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 2, 1]
+
+    pydase_client.proxy.list_attr.extend([123, 2.1])
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 2, 1, 123, 2.1]
+
+    pydase_client.proxy.list_attr.insert(1, 1.2)
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 1.2, 2, 1, 123, 2.1]
+
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr.pop() == 2.1
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 1.2, 2, 1, 123]
+
+    pydase_client.proxy.list_attr.remove(1.2)
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 2, 1, 123]
+
+    pydase_client.proxy.list_attr[1] = 1337
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == [1, 1337, 1, 123]
+
+    pydase_client.proxy.list_attr.clear()
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.list_attr == []
+
+
+def test_dict(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    pydase_client.proxy.dict_attr["foo"].name = "foo"
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.dict_attr["foo"].name == "foo"
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.dict_attr["dotted.key"].name == "foo"
+
+    # pop will not return anything as the server object was deleted
+    assert pydase_client.proxy.dict_attr.pop("dotted.key") is None
+
+    # pop will remove the dictionary entry on the server
+    assert list(pydase_client.proxy.dict_attr.keys()) == ["foo"]
+
+
+def test_tab_completion(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
+    # Tab completion gets its suggestions from the __dir__ class method
+    assert all(
+        x in pydase_client.proxy.__dir__()
+        for x in [
+            "list_attr",
+            "my_method",
+            "my_property",
+            "name",
+            "sub_service",
+        ]
+    )

tests/components/test_device_connection.py

@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import asyncio
+import logging
+
+import pydase
+import pydase.components.device_connection
+import pytest
+from pytest import LogCaptureFixture
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_reconnection(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class MyService(pydase.components.device_connection.DeviceConnection):
+        def __init__(
+            self,
+        ) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self._reconnection_wait_time = 0.01
+
+        def connect(self) -> None:
+            self._connected = True
+
+    service_instance = MyService()
+
+    assert service_instance._connected is False
+
+    service_instance._task_manager.start_autostart_tasks()
+
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.01)
+    assert service_instance._connected is True

tests/components/test_image.py

@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+import logging
+
+import pydase
+import pydase.components
+from pydase.data_service.data_service_observer import DataServiceObserver
+from pydase.data_service.state_manager import StateManager
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import dump
+from pytest import LogCaptureFixture
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+def test_image_functions(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.my_image = pydase.components.Image()
+
+    service_instance = MyService()
+    state_manager = StateManager(service_instance)
+    DataServiceObserver(state_manager)
+
+    service_instance.my_image.load_from_url("https://picsum.photos/200")
+
+    caplog.clear()
+
+
+def test_image_serialization() -> None:
+    class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.my_image = pydase.components.Image()
+
+    assert dump(MyService()) == {
+        "full_access_path": "",
+        "name": "MyService",
+        "type": "DataService",
+        "value": {
+            "my_image": {
+                "full_access_path": "my_image",
+                "name": "Image",
+                "type": "Image",
+                "value": {
+                    "format": {
+                        "full_access_path": "my_image.format",
+                        "type": "str",
+                        "value": "",
+                        "readonly": True,
+                        "doc": None,
+                    },
+                    "load_from_base64": {
+                        "full_access_path": "my_image.load_from_base64",
+                        "type": "method",
+                        "value": None,
+                        "readonly": True,
+                        "doc": None,
+                        "async": False,
+                        "signature": {
+                            "parameters": {
+                                "value_": {
+                                    "annotation": "<class 'bytes'>",
+                                    "default": {},
+                                },
+                                "format_": {
+                                    "annotation": "str | None",
+                                    "default": {
+                                        "type": "NoneType",
+                                        "value": None,
+                                        "readonly": False,
+                                        "doc": None,
+                                    },
+                                },
+                            },
+                            "return_annotation": {},
+                        },
+                        "frontend_render": False,
+                    },
+                    "load_from_matplotlib_figure": {
+                        "full_access_path": "my_image.load_from_matplotlib_figure",
+                        "type": "method",
+                        "value": None,
+                        "readonly": True,
+                        "doc": None,
+                        "async": False,
+                        "signature": {
+                            "parameters": {
+                                "fig": {"annotation": "Figure", "default": {}},
+                                "format_": {
+                                    "annotation": "<class 'str'>",
+                                    "default": {
+                                        "type": "str",
+                                        "value": "png",
+                                        "readonly": False,
+                                        "doc": None,
+                                    },
+                                },
+                            },
+                            "return_annotation": {},
+                        },
+                        "frontend_render": False,
+                    },
+                    "load_from_path": {
+                        "full_access_path": "my_image.load_from_path",
+                        "type": "method",
+                        "value": None,
+                        "readonly": True,
+                        "doc": None,
+                        "async": False,
+                        "signature": {
+                            "parameters": {
+                                "path": {
+                                    "annotation": "pathlib.Path | str",
+                                    "default": {},
+                                }
+                            },
+                            "return_annotation": {},
+                        },
+                        "frontend_render": False,
+                    },
+                    "load_from_url": {
+                        "full_access_path": "my_image.load_from_url",
+                        "type": "method",
+                        "value": None,
+                        "readonly": True,
+                        "doc": None,
+                        "async": False,
+                        "signature": {
+                            "parameters": {
+                                "url": {"annotation": "<class 'str'>", "default": {}}
+                            },
+                            "return_annotation": {},
+                        },
+                        "frontend_render": False,
+                    },
+                    "value": {
+                        "full_access_path": "my_image.value",
+                        "type": "str",
+                        "value": "",
+                        "readonly": True,
+                        "doc": None,
+                    },
+                },
+                "readonly": False,
+                "doc": None,
+            }
+        },
+        "readonly": False,
+        "doc": None,
+    }