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

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
   - [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)
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@
 - [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
@@ -223,6 +225,7 @@ 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
@@ -638,6 +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.
@@ -796,6 +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.

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.tsx

@@ -1,43 +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 { setNestedValueByPath, State } from './utils/stateUtils';
-import { WebSettingsContext, WebSetting } from './WebSettings';
-import { SerializedValue, 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:
@@ -46,12 +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
@@ -59,49 +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
@@ -110,15 +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),
     );
   };
 
@@ -131,9 +156,9 @@ const App = () => {
 
     // Dispatching the update to the reducer
     dispatch({
-      type: 'UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE',
+      type: "UPDATE_ATTRIBUTE",
       fullAccessPath,
-      newValue
+      newValue,
     });
   }
 
@@ -149,7 +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>
@@ -188,7 +213,7 @@ const App = () => {
       <div className="App navbarOffset">
         <WebSettingsContext.Provider value={webSettings}>
           <GenericComponent
-            attribute={state as SerializedValue}
+            attribute={state as SerializedObject}
             isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
             addNotification={addNotification}
           />

frontend/src/WebSettings.tsx

@@ -1,9 +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

@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { runMethod } from '../socket';
-import { Form, Button, InputGroup } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+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 = {
+interface AsyncMethodProps {
   fullAccessPath: string;
-  value: 'RUNNING' | null;
-  docString?: 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 {
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ export const AsyncMethodComponent = React.memo((props: AsyncMethodProps) => {
     value: runningTask,
     addNotification,
     displayName,
-    id
+    id,
   } = props;
 
   // Conditional rendering based on the 'render' prop.
@@ -30,13 +31,13 @@ export const AsyncMethodComponent = React.memo((props: AsyncMethodProps) => {
     return null;
   }
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const formRef = useRef(null);
-  const name = fullAccessPath.split('.').at(-1);
+  const [spinning, setSpinning] = useState(false);
+  const name = fullAccessPath.split(".").at(-1)!;
   const parentPath = fullAccessPath.slice(0, -(name.length + 1));
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
     let message: string;
 
     if (runningTask === null) {
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ export const AsyncMethodComponent = React.memo((props: AsyncMethodProps) => {
       message = `${fullAccessPath} was started.`;
     }
     addNotification(message);
+    setSpinning(false);
   }, [props.value]);
 
   const execute = async (event: React.FormEvent) => {
@@ -57,15 +59,14 @@ export const AsyncMethodComponent = React.memo((props: AsyncMethodProps) => {
       method_name = `start_${name}`;
     }
 
-    const accessPath = [parentPath, method_name].filter((element) => element).join('.');
+    const accessPath = [parentPath, method_name].filter((element) => element).join(".");
+    setSpinning(true);
     runMethod(accessPath);
   };
 
   return (
     <div className="component asyncMethodComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <Form onSubmit={execute} ref={formRef}>
         <InputGroup>
           <InputGroup.Text>
@@ -73,10 +74,18 @@ export const AsyncMethodComponent = React.memo((props: AsyncMethodProps) => {
             <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
           </InputGroup.Text>
           <Button id={`button-${id}`} type="submit">
-            {runningTask === 'RUNNING' ? 'Stop ' : 'Start '}
+            {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

@@ -1,20 +1,21 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { ToggleButton } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { SerializedValue } from './GenericComponent';
-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 = {
+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: SerializedValue, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
   displayName: string;
   id: string;
-};
+}
 
 export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
   const {
@@ -25,15 +26,11 @@ export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
     addNotification,
     changeCallback = () => {},
     displayName,
-    id
+    id,
   } = props;
   // const buttonName = props.mapping ? (value ? props.mapping[0] : props.mapping[1]) : name;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
   useEffect(() => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${value}.`);
@@ -41,24 +38,22 @@ export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
 
   const setChecked = (checked: boolean) => {
     changeCallback({
-      type: 'bool',
+      type: "bool",
       value: checked,
       full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
       readonly: readOnly,
-      doc: docString
+      doc: docString,
     });
   };
 
   return (
-    <div className={'component 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={displayName}
         disabled={readOnly}
@@ -69,3 +64,5 @@ export const ButtonComponent = React.memo((props: ButtonComponentProps) => {
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+ButtonComponent.displayName = "ButtonComponent";

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

@@ -1,29 +1,39 @@
-import { useState } from 'react';
-import React from 'react';
-import { Card, Collapse } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { ChevronDown, ChevronRight } from 'react-bootstrap-icons';
-import { SerializedValue, GenericComponent } from './GenericComponent';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
+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 = {
+interface DataServiceProps {
   props: DataServiceJSON;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
   displayName: string;
   id: string;
-};
+}
 
-export type DataServiceJSON = Record<string, SerializedValue>;
+export type DataServiceJSON = Record<string, SerializedObject>;
 
 export const DataServiceComponent = React.memo(
   ({ props, isInstantUpdate, addNotification, displayName, id }: DataServiceProps) => {
-    const [open, setOpen] = useState(true);
+    // 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;
+    });
 
-    if (displayName !== '') {
+    // Update localStorage whenever the state changes
+    useEffect(() => {
+      localStorage.setItem(`dataServiceComponent-${id}-open`, JSON.stringify(open));
+    }, [open]);
+
+    if (displayName !== "") {
       return (
         <div className="component dataServiceComponent" id={id}>
           <Card>
-            <Card.Header onClick={() => setOpen(!open)} style={{ cursor: 'pointer' }}>
+            <Card.Header onClick={() => setOpen(!open)} style={{ cursor: "pointer" }}>
               {displayName} {open ? <ChevronDown /> : <ChevronRight />}
             </Card.Header>
             <Collapse in={open}>
@@ -55,5 +65,7 @@ export const DataServiceComponent = React.memo(
         </div>
       );
     }
-  }
+  },
 );
+
+DataServiceComponent.displayName = "DataServiceComponent";

frontend/src/components/DeviceConnection.tsx

@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
-import React from 'react';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-import { DataServiceComponent, DataServiceJSON } from './DataServiceComponent';
-import { MethodComponent } from './MethodComponent';
+import React from "react";
+import { LevelName } from "./NotificationsComponent";
+import { DataServiceComponent, DataServiceJSON } from "./DataServiceComponent";
+import { MethodComponent } from "./MethodComponent";
 
-type DeviceConnectionProps = {
+interface DeviceConnectionProps {
   fullAccessPath: string;
   props: DataServiceJSON;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
   displayName: string;
   id: string;
-};
+}
 
 export const DeviceConnectionComponent = React.memo(
   ({
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ export const DeviceConnectionComponent = React.memo(
     isInstantUpdate,
     addNotification,
     displayName,
-    id
+    id,
   }: DeviceConnectionProps) => {
     const { connected, connect, ...updatedProps } = props;
     const connectedVal = connected.value;
@@ -29,14 +29,14 @@ export const DeviceConnectionComponent = React.memo(
         {!connectedVal && (
           <div className="overlayContent">
             <div>
-              {displayName != '' ? displayName : 'Device'} is currently not available!
+              {displayName != "" ? displayName : "Device"} is currently not available!
             </div>
             <MethodComponent
               fullAccessPath={`${fullAccessPath}.connect`}
               docString={connect.doc}
               addNotification={addNotification}
-              displayName={'reconnect'}
-              id={id + '-connect'}
+              displayName={"reconnect"}
+              id={id + "-connect"}
               render={true}
             />
           </div>
@@ -50,5 +50,7 @@ export const DeviceConnectionComponent = React.memo(
         />
       </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

@@ -1,64 +1,40 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { InputGroup, Form, Row, Col } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { SerializedValue } from './GenericComponent';
-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";
 
-export type EnumSerialization = {
-  type: 'Enum' | 'ColouredEnum';
-  full_access_path: string;
-  name: string;
-  value: string;
-  readonly: boolean;
-  doc?: string | null;
-  enum: Record<string, string>;
-};
-
-type EnumComponentProps = {
-  attribute: EnumSerialization;
+interface EnumComponentProps extends SerializedEnum {
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
   displayName: string;
   id: string;
-  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedValue, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
-};
+  changeCallback: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+}
 
 export const EnumComponent = React.memo((props: EnumComponentProps) => {
-  const { attribute, addNotification, displayName, id } = props;
   const {
-    full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
+    addNotification,
+    displayName,
+    id,
     value,
-    doc: docString,
+    full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
     enum: enumDict,
-    readonly: readOnly
-  } = attribute;
+    doc: docString,
+    readonly: readOnly,
+    changeCallback,
+  } = props;
 
-  let { changeCallback } = props;
-  if (changeCallback === undefined) {
-    changeCallback = (value: SerializedValue) => {
-      setEnumValue(() => {
-        return String(value.value);
-      });
-    };
-  }
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-  const [enumValue, setEnumValue] = useState(value);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    setEnumValue(() => {
-      return value;
-    });
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${value}.`);
   }, [value]);
 
   return (
-    <div className={'component 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>
@@ -70,11 +46,9 @@ export const EnumComponent = React.memo((props: EnumComponentProps) => {
             // Display the Form.Control when readOnly is true
             <Form.Control
               style={
-                attribute.type == 'ColouredEnum'
-                  ? { backgroundColor: enumDict[enumValue] }
-                  : {}
+                props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? { backgroundColor: enumDict[value] } : {}
               }
-              value={attribute.type == 'ColouredEnum' ? enumValue : enumDict[enumValue]}
+              value={props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? value : enumDict[value]}
               name={fullAccessPath}
               disabled={true}
             />
@@ -82,27 +56,25 @@ export const EnumComponent = React.memo((props: EnumComponentProps) => {
             // Display the Form.Select when readOnly is false
             <Form.Select
               aria-label="example-select"
-              value={enumValue}
+              value={value}
               name={fullAccessPath}
               style={
-                attribute.type == 'ColouredEnum'
-                  ? { backgroundColor: enumDict[enumValue] }
-                  : {}
+                props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? { backgroundColor: enumDict[value] } : {}
               }
               onChange={(event) =>
                 changeCallback({
-                  type: attribute.type,
-                  name: attribute.name,
+                  type: props.type,
+                  name: props.name,
                   enum: enumDict,
                   value: event.target.value,
                   full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
-                  readonly: attribute.readonly,
-                  doc: attribute.doc
+                  readonly: props.readonly,
+                  doc: props.doc,
                 })
               }>
               {Object.entries(enumDict).map(([key, val]) => (
                 <option key={key} value={key}>
-                  {attribute.type == 'ColouredEnum' ? key : val}
+                  {props.type == "ColouredEnum" ? key : val}
                 </option>
               ))}
             </Form.Select>
@@ -111,4 +83,6 @@ export const EnumComponent = React.memo((props: EnumComponentProps) => {
       </Row>
     </div>
   );
-});
+}, propsAreEqual);
+
+EnumComponent.displayName = "EnumComponent";

frontend/src/components/GenericComponent.tsx

@@ -1,59 +1,67 @@
-import React, { useContext } from 'react';
-import { ButtonComponent } from './ButtonComponent';
-import { NumberComponent } from './NumberComponent';
-import { SliderComponent } from './SliderComponent';
-import { EnumComponent, EnumSerialization } 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 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'
-  | 'DeviceConnection'
-  | 'Enum'
-  | 'NumberSlider'
-  | 'Image'
-  | 'ColouredEnum';
-
-type ValueType = boolean | string | number | Record<string, unknown>;
-export type SerializedValue = {
-  type: AttributeType;
-  full_access_path: string;
-  name?: string;
-  value?: ValueType | ValueType[];
-  readonly: boolean;
-  doc?: string | null;
-  async?: boolean;
-  frontend_render?: boolean;
-  enum?: Record<string, string>;
-};
-type GenericComponentProps = {
-  attribute: SerializedValue;
+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, isInstantUpdate, addNotification }: GenericComponentProps) => {
     const { full_access_path: fullAccessPath } = attribute;
     const id = getIdFromFullAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
     const webSettings = useContext(WebSettingsContext);
-    let displayName = fullAccessPath.split('.').at(-1);
+
+    let displayName = createDisplayNameFromAccessPath(fullAccessPath);
 
     if (webSettings[fullAccessPath]) {
       if (webSettings[fullAccessPath].display === false) {
@@ -64,14 +72,7 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
       }
     }
 
-    function changeCallback(
-      value: SerializedValue,
-      callback: (ack: unknown) => void = undefined
-    ) {
-      updateValue(value, callback);
-    }
-
-    if (attribute.type === 'bool') {
+    if (attribute.type === "bool") {
       return (
         <ButtonComponent
           fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'float' || attribute.type === 'int') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "float" || attribute.type === "int") {
       return (
         <NumberComponent
           type={attribute.type}
@@ -99,15 +100,15 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'Quantity') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "Quantity") {
       return (
         <NumberComponent
           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}
@@ -115,16 +116,16 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'NumberSlider') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "NumberSlider") {
       return (
         <SliderComponent
           fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
-          docString={attribute.value['value'].doc}
+          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}
@@ -132,17 +133,17 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'Enum' || attribute.type === 'ColouredEnum') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "Enum" || attribute.type === "ColouredEnum") {
       return (
         <EnumComponent
-          attribute={attribute as EnumSerialization}
+          {...(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
@@ -159,7 +160,7 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           <AsyncMethodComponent
             fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
             docString={attribute.doc}
-            value={attribute.value as 'RUNNING' | null}
+            value={attribute.value as "RUNNING" | null}
             addNotification={addNotification}
             displayName={displayName}
             id={id}
@@ -167,7 +168,7 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           />
         );
       }
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'str') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "str") {
       return (
         <StringComponent
           fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
@@ -181,7 +182,7 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'DataService') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "DataService") {
       return (
         <DataServiceComponent
           props={attribute.value as DataServiceJSON}
@@ -191,7 +192,7 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'DeviceConnection') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "DeviceConnection") {
       return (
         <DeviceConnectionComponent
           fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
@@ -202,31 +203,42 @@ export const GenericComponent = React.memo(
           id={id}
         />
       );
-    } else if (attribute.type === 'list') {
+    } else if (attribute.type === "list") {
       return (
         <ListComponent
-          value={attribute.value as SerializedValue[]}
+          value={attribute.value}
           docString={attribute.doc}
           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
           fullAccessPath={fullAccessPath}
-          docString={attribute.value['value'].doc}
+          docString={attribute.value["value"].doc}
           displayName={displayName}
           id={id}
           addNotification={addNotification}
-          // Add any other specific props for the ImageComponent here
-          value={attribute.value['value']['value'] as string}
-          format={attribute.value['format']['value'] as string}
+          value={attribute.value["value"]["value"] as string}
+          format={attribute.value["format"]["value"] as string}
         />
       );
     } else {
       return <div key={fullAccessPath}>{fullAccessPath}</div>;
     }
-  }
+  },
 );
+
+GenericComponent.displayName = "GenericComponent";

frontend/src/components/ImageComponent.tsx

@@ -1,30 +1,27 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef, 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 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 = {
+interface ImageComponentProps {
   fullAccessPath: string;
   value: string;
-  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 { fullAccessPath, value, docString, format, addNotification, displayName, id } =
     props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(true);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
   useEffect(() => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed.`);
   }, [props.value]);
@@ -34,7 +31,7 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
       <Card>
         <Card.Header
           onClick={() => setOpen(!open)}
-          style={{ cursor: 'pointer' }} // Change cursor style on hover
+          style={{ cursor: "pointer" }} // Change cursor style on hover
         >
           {displayName}
           <DocStringComponent docString={docString} />
@@ -42,10 +39,10 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
         </Card.Header>
         <Collapse in={open}>
           <Card.Body>
-            {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-              <p>Render count: {renderCount.current}</p>
+            {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && (
+              <p>Render count: {renderCount}</p>
             )}
-            {format === '' && value === '' ? (
+            {format === "" && value === "" ? (
               <p>No image set in the backend.</p>
             ) : (
               <Image src={`data:image/${format.toLowerCase()};base64,${value}`}></Image>
@@ -56,3 +53,5 @@ export const ImageComponent = React.memo((props: ImageComponentProps) => {
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+ImageComponent.displayName = "ImageComponent";

frontend/src/components/ListComponent.tsx

@@ -1,35 +1,31 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import { SerializedValue, GenericComponent } from './GenericComponent';
-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 = {
-  value: SerializedValue[];
-  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 { value, docString, isInstantUpdate, addNotification, id } = props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
-
-  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}
             isInstantUpdate={isInstantUpdate}
             addNotification={addNotification}
@@ -39,3 +35,5 @@ export const ListComponent = React.memo((props: ListComponentProps) => {
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+ListComponent.displayName = "ListComponent";

frontend/src/components/MethodComponent.tsx

@@ -1,17 +1,19 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
-import { runMethod } from '../socket';
-import { Button, Form } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-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 = {
+interface MethodProps {
   fullAccessPath: string;
-  docString?: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
   displayName: string;
   id: string;
   render: boolean;
-};
+}
 
 export const MethodComponent = React.memo((props: MethodProps) => {
   const { fullAccessPath, docString, addNotification, displayName, id } = props;
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ export const MethodComponent = React.memo((props: MethodProps) => {
     return null;
   }
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const formRef = useRef(null);
 
   const triggerNotification = () => {
@@ -37,15 +39,9 @@ export const MethodComponent = React.memo((props: MethodProps) => {
     triggerNotification();
   };
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
   return (
     <div className="component methodComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <Form onSubmit={execute} ref={formRef}>
         <Button className="component" variant="primary" type="submit">
           {`${displayName} `}
@@ -54,4 +50,6 @@ export const MethodComponent = React.memo((props: MethodProps) => {
       </Form>
     </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

@@ -1,59 +1,58 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useState, useRef } from 'react';
-import { Form, InputGroup } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import '../App.css';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-import { SerializedValue } from './GenericComponent';
+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 = {
-  type: 'float' | 'int' | 'Quantity';
+interface NumberComponentProps {
+  type: "float" | "int" | "Quantity";
   fullAccessPath: string;
   value: number;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   unit?: string;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedValue, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => 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
 
@@ -69,14 +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;
@@ -90,18 +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 };
@@ -110,18 +109,18 @@ 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 };
@@ -131,12 +130,12 @@ const handleNumericKey = (
   key: string,
   value: string,
   selectionStart: number,
-  selectionEnd: number
+  selectionEnd: number,
 ) => {
   // Check if a number key or a decimal point key is pressed
-  if (key === '.' && value.includes('.')) {
+  if (key === "." && value.includes(".")) {
     // Check if value already contains a decimal. If so, ignore input.
-    console.warn('Invalid input! Ignoring...');
+    console.warn("Invalid input! Ignoring...");
     return { value, selectionStart };
   }
 
@@ -166,98 +165,111 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
     addNotification,
     changeCallback = () => {},
     displayName,
-    id
+    id,
   } = props;
 
   // 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(value.toString());
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
 
-  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 === '.' && (type === 'float' || type === 'Quantity')) {
+    } 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) {
-      let updatedValue: number | Record<string, unknown> = Number(newValue);
-      if (type === 'Quantity') {
-        updatedValue = {
-          magnitude: Number(newValue),
-          unit: unit
+    } 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({
-        type: type,
-        value: updatedValue,
-        full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
-        readonly: readOnly,
-        doc: docString
-      });
+
+      changeCallback(serializedObject);
       return;
     } else {
       console.debug(key);
@@ -266,20 +278,29 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
 
     // Update the input value and maintain the cursor position
     if (isInstantUpdate) {
-      let updatedValue: number | Record<string, unknown> = Number(newValue);
-      if (type === 'Quantity') {
-        updatedValue = {
-          magnitude: Number(newValue),
-          unit: unit
+      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({
-        type: type,
-        value: updatedValue,
-        full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
-        readonly: readOnly,
-        doc: docString
-      });
+
+      changeCallback(serializedObject);
     }
 
     setInputString(newValue);
@@ -291,26 +312,35 @@ 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
-      let updatedValue: number | Record<string, unknown> = Number(inputString);
-      if (type === 'Quantity') {
-        updatedValue = {
-          magnitude: Number(inputString),
-          unit: unit
+      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({
-        type: type,
-        value: updatedValue,
-        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);
+      type === "int" ? parseInt(inputString) : parseFloat(inputString);
     // Only update the inputString if it's different from the prop value
     if (value !== numericInputString) {
       setInputString(value.toString());
@@ -319,7 +349,7 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
     // emitting notification
     let notificationMsg = `${fullAccessPath} changed to ${props.value}`;
     if (unit === undefined) {
-      notificationMsg += '.';
+      notificationMsg += ".";
     } else {
       notificationMsg += ` ${unit}.`;
     }
@@ -328,9 +358,7 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
 
   useEffect(() => {
     // Set the cursor position after the component re-renders
-    const inputElement = document.getElementsByName(
-      fullAccessPath
-    )[0] as HTMLInputElement;
+    const inputElement = document.getElementsByName(id)[0] as HTMLInputElement;
     if (inputElement && cursorPosition !== null) {
       inputElement.setSelectionRange(cursorPosition, cursorPosition);
     }
@@ -338,9 +366,7 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
 
   return (
     <div className="component numberComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <InputGroup>
         {displayName && (
           <InputGroup.Text>
@@ -352,13 +378,16 @@ export const NumberComponent = React.memo((props: NumberComponentProps) => {
           type="text"
           value={inputString}
           disabled={readOnly}
-          name={fullAccessPath}
+          onChange={() => {}}
+          name={id}
           onKeyDown={handleKeyDown}
           onBlur={handleBlur}
-          className={isInstantUpdate && !readOnly ? 'instantUpdate' : ''}
+          className={isInstantUpdate && !readOnly ? "instantUpdate" : ""}
         />
         {unit && <InputGroup.Text>{unit}</InputGroup.Text>}
       </InputGroup>
     </div>
   );
 });
+
+NumberComponent.displayName = "NumberComponent";

frontend/src/components/SliderComponent.tsx

@@ -1,28 +1,48 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef, 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 { SerializedValue } from './GenericComponent';
+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 = {
+interface SliderComponentProps {
   fullAccessPath: string;
   min: NumberObject;
   max: NumberObject;
   value: NumberObject;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   stepSize: NumberObject;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedValue, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => 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 {
     fullAccessPath,
@@ -35,72 +55,83 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
     addNotification,
     changeCallback = () => {},
     displayName,
-    id
+    id,
   } = props;
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  });
-
   useEffect(() => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${value.value}.`);
-  }, [props.value]);
+  }, [props.value.value]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath}.min changed to ${min.value}.`);
-  }, [props.min]);
+  }, [props.min.value, props.min.type]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath}.max changed to ${max.value}.`);
-  }, [props.max]);
+  }, [props.max.value, props.max.type]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath}.stepSize changed to ${stepSize.value}.`);
-  }, [props.stepSize]);
+  }, [props.stepSize.value, props.stepSize.type]);
 
-  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];
     }
-    changeCallback({
-      type: value.type,
-      value: newNumber,
-      full_access_path: `${fullAccessPath}.value`,
-      readonly: value.readonly,
-      doc: docString
-    });
+
+    let serializedObject: SerializedObject;
+    if (value.type === "Quantity") {
+      serializedObject = {
+        type: "Quantity",
+        value: {
+          magnitude: newNumber,
+          unit: value.value.unit,
+        } as QuantityMap,
+        full_access_path: `${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);
   };
 
   const handleValueChange = (
     newValue: number,
     name: string,
-    valueObject: NumberObject
+    valueObject: NumberObject,
   ) => {
-    changeCallback({
-      type: valueObject.type,
-      value: newValue,
-      full_access_path: `${fullAccessPath}.${name}`,
-      readonly: valueObject.readonly
-    });
-  };
-
-  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 (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,
+      };
     }
-
-    return [numberMagnitude, numberReadOnly, numberUnit];
+    changeCallback(serializedObject);
   };
 
   const [valueMagnitude, valueReadOnly, valueUnit] = deconstructNumberDict(value);
@@ -110,9 +141,7 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
 
   return (
     <div className="component sliderComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
 
       <Row>
         <Col xs="auto" xl="auto">
@@ -123,7 +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}
@@ -134,7 +163,7 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
             step={stepSizeMagnitude}
             marks={[
               { value: minMagnitude, label: `${minMagnitude}` },
-              { value: maxMagnitude, label: `${maxMagnitude}` }
+              { value: maxMagnitude, label: `${maxMagnitude}` },
             ]}
           />
         </Col>
@@ -144,12 +173,12 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
             fullAccessPath={`${fullAccessPath}.value`}
             docString={docString}
             readOnly={valueReadOnly}
-            type="float"
+            type={value.type}
             value={valueMagnitude}
             unit={valueUnit}
             addNotification={() => {}}
             changeCallback={changeCallback}
-            id={id + '-value'}
+            id={id + "-value"}
           />
         </Col>
         <Col xs="auto">
@@ -179,14 +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', min)}
+                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), "min", min)}
               />
             </Col>
 
@@ -196,7 +225,7 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
                 type="number"
                 value={maxMagnitude}
                 disabled={maxReadOnly}
-                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), 'max', max)}
+                onChange={(e) => handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), "max", max)}
               />
             </Col>
 
@@ -207,7 +236,7 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
                 value={stepSizeMagnitude}
                 disabled={stepSizeReadOnly}
                 onChange={(e) =>
-                  handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), 'step_size', stepSize)
+                  handleValueChange(Number(e.target.value), "step_size", stepSize)
                 }
               />
             </Col>
@@ -216,4 +245,6 @@ export const SliderComponent = React.memo((props: SliderComponentProps) => {
       </Collapse>
     </div>
   );
-});
+}, propsAreEqual);
+
+SliderComponent.displayName = "SliderComponent";

frontend/src/components/StringComponent.tsx

@@ -1,23 +1,24 @@
-import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { Form, InputGroup } from 'react-bootstrap';
-import { DocStringComponent } from './DocStringComponent';
-import '../App.css';
-import { LevelName } from './NotificationsComponent';
-import { SerializedValue } from './GenericComponent';
+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 = {
+interface StringComponentProps {
   fullAccessPath: string;
   value: string;
   readOnly: boolean;
-  docString: string;
+  docString: string | null;
   isInstantUpdate: boolean;
   addNotification: (message: string, levelname?: LevelName) => void;
-  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedValue, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
+  changeCallback?: (value: SerializedObject, callback?: (ack: unknown) => void) => void;
   displayName: string;
   id: string;
-};
+}
 
 export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
   const {
@@ -28,16 +29,12 @@ export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
     addNotification,
     changeCallback = () => {},
     displayName,
-    id
+    id,
   } = props;
 
-  const renderCount = useRef(0);
+  const renderCount = useRenderCount();
   const [inputString, setInputString] = useState(props.value);
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    renderCount.current++;
-  }, [isInstantUpdate, inputString, renderCount]);
-
   useEffect(() => {
     // Only update the inputString if it's different from the prop value
     if (props.value !== inputString) {
@@ -46,21 +43,27 @@ export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
     addNotification(`${fullAccessPath} changed to ${props.value}.`);
   }, [props.value]);
 
-  const handleChange = (event) => {
+  const handleChange = (event: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
     setInputString(event.target.value);
     if (isInstantUpdate) {
-      changeCallback(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) {
+  const handleKeyDown = (event: React.KeyboardEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
+    if (event.key === "Enter" && !isInstantUpdate) {
       changeCallback({
-        type: 'str',
+        type: "str",
         value: inputString,
         full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
         readonly: readOnly,
-        doc: docString
+        doc: docString,
       });
       event.preventDefault();
     }
@@ -69,20 +72,18 @@ export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
   const handleBlur = () => {
     if (!isInstantUpdate) {
       changeCallback({
-        type: 'str',
+        type: "str",
         value: inputString,
         full_access_path: fullAccessPath,
         readonly: readOnly,
-        doc: docString
+        doc: docString,
       });
     }
   };
 
   return (
     <div className="component stringComponent" id={id}>
-      {process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development' && (
-        <div>Render count: {renderCount.current}</div>
-      )}
+      {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && <div>Render count: {renderCount}</div>}
       <InputGroup>
         <InputGroup.Text>
           {displayName}
@@ -90,15 +91,17 @@ export const StringComponent = React.memo((props: StringComponentProps) => {
         </InputGroup.Text>
         <Form.Control
           type="text"
-          name={fullAccessPath}
+          name={id}
           value={inputString}
           disabled={readOnly}
           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

@@ -1,30 +1,30 @@
-import { io } from 'socket.io-client';
-import { SerializedValue } from './components/GenericComponent';
-import { serializeDict, serializeList } from './utils/serializationUtils';
+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 updateValue = (
-  serializedObject: SerializedValue,
-  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void
+  serializedObject: SerializedObject,
+  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void,
 ) => {
   if (callback) {
     socket.emit(
-      'update_value',
-      { access_path: serializedObject['full_access_path'], value: serializedObject },
-      callback
+      "update_value",
+      { access_path: serializedObject["full_access_path"], value: serializedObject },
+      callback,
     );
   } else {
-    socket.emit('update_value', {
-      access_path: serializedObject['full_access_path'],
-      value: serializedObject
+    socket.emit("update_value", {
+      access_path: serializedObject["full_access_path"],
+      value: serializedObject,
     });
   }
 };
@@ -33,22 +33,22 @@ export const runMethod = (
   accessPath: string,
   args: unknown[] = [],
   kwargs: Record<string, unknown> = {},
-  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void
+  callback?: (ack: unknown) => void,
 ) => {
   const serializedArgs = serializeList(args);
   const serializedKwargs = serializeDict(kwargs);
 
   if (callback) {
     socket.emit(
-      'trigger_method',
+      "trigger_method",
       { access_path: accessPath, args: serializedArgs, kwargs: serializedKwargs },
-      callback
+      callback,
     );
   } else {
-    socket.emit('trigger_method', {
+    socket.emit("trigger_method", {
       access_path: accessPath,
       args: serializedArgs,
-      kwargs: serializedKwargs
+      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

@@ -1,101 +1,97 @@
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
+
 const serializePrimitive = (
   obj: number | boolean | string | null,
-  accessPath: string
-) => {
-  let type: string;
-
-  if (typeof obj === 'number') {
-    type = Number.isInteger(obj) ? 'int' : 'float';
+  accessPath: string,
+): SerializedObject => {
+  if (typeof obj === "number") {
     return {
       full_access_path: accessPath,
       doc: null,
       readonly: false,
-      type,
-      value: obj
+      type: Number.isInteger(obj) ? "int" : "float",
+      value: obj,
     };
-  } else if (typeof obj === 'boolean') {
-    type = 'bool';
+  } else if (typeof obj === "boolean") {
     return {
       full_access_path: accessPath,
       doc: null,
       readonly: false,
-      type,
-      value: obj
+      type: "bool",
+      value: obj,
     };
-  } else if (typeof obj === 'string') {
-    type = 'str';
+  } else if (typeof obj === "string") {
     return {
       full_access_path: accessPath,
       doc: null,
       readonly: false,
-      type,
-      value: obj
+      type: "str",
+      value: obj,
     };
   } else if (obj === null) {
-    type = 'NoneType';
     return {
       full_access_path: accessPath,
       doc: null,
       readonly: false,
-      type,
-      value: null
+      type: "None",
+      value: null,
     };
   } else {
-    throw new Error('Unsupported type for serialization');
+    throw new Error("Unsupported type for serialization");
   }
 };
 
-export const serializeList = (obj: unknown[], accessPath: string = '') => {
+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' ||
+      typeof item === "number" ||
+      typeof item === "boolean" ||
+      typeof item === "string" ||
       item === null
     ) {
       serializePrimitive(
         item as number | boolean | string | null,
-        `${accessPath}[${index}]`
+        `${accessPath}[${index}]`,
       );
     }
   });
 
   return {
     full_access_path: accessPath,
-    type: 'list',
+    type: "list",
     value,
     readonly: false,
-    doc
+    doc,
   };
 };
-export const serializeDict = (
-  obj: Record<string, unknown>,
-  accessPath: string = ''
-) => {
+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}"]`;
+  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);
-    }
+      // 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;
-  }, {});
+      return acc;
+    },
+    {} as Record<string, SerializedObject>,
+  );
 
   return {
     full_access_path: accessPath,
-    type: 'dict',
+    type: "dict",
     value,
     readonly: false,
-    doc
+    doc,
   };
 };

frontend/src/utils/stateUtils.ts

@@ -1,107 +1,175 @@
-import { SerializedValue } from '../components/GenericComponent';
+import { SerializedObject } from "../types/SerializedObject";
 
-export type State = {
+export interface State {
   type: string;
-  value: Record<string, SerializedValue> | null;
+  name: string;
+  value: Record<string, SerializedObject> | 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 = "0.8.1"
+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"
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@ uvicorn = "^0.27.0"
 toml = "^0.10.2"
 python-socketio = "^5.8.0"
 confz = "^2.0.0"
-pint = "^0.22"
-pillow = "^10.0.0"
+pint = "^0.24"
 websocket-client = "^1.7.0"
 aiohttp = "^3.9.3"
 

src/pydase/client/proxy_loader.py

@@ -75,6 +75,37 @@ def update_value(
         )
 
 
+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,
@@ -266,7 +297,17 @@ class ProxyLoader:
         sio_client: socketio.AsyncClient,
         loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop,
     ) -> Any:
-        return loads(serialized_object)
+        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(

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/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/data_service/data_service.py

@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ class DataService(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"

src/pydase/data_service/data_service_observer.py

@@ -37,8 +37,9 @@ 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)
 

src/pydase/data_service/state_manager.py

@@ -7,9 +7,10 @@ from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, cast
 
 from pydase.data_service.data_service_cache import DataServiceCache
 from pydase.utils.helpers import (
-    get_object_attr_from_path,
+    get_object_by_path_parts,
     is_property_attribute,
-    parse_list_attr_and_index,
+    parse_full_access_path,
+    parse_serialized_key,
 )
 from pydase.utils.serialization.deserializer import loads
 from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import (
@@ -236,44 +237,32 @@ class StateManager:
     def __update_attribute_by_path(
         self, path: str, serialized_value: SerializedObject
     ) -> None:
-        parent_path, attr_name = ".".join(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 = f"{parent_path}.{attr_name}" if parent_path != "" else attr_name
+        path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+        target_obj = get_object_by_path_parts(self.service, path_parts[:-1])
 
         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(self.service, parent_path)
-
+        # De-serialize the value
         if attr_cache_type in ("ColouredEnum", "Enum"):
-            enum_attr = get_object_attr_from_path(target_obj, attr_name)
+            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:
-                    setattr(
-                        target_obj,
-                        attr_name,
-                        enum_attr.__class__[serialized_value["value"]],
-                    )
-                    return
+                    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
-                    pass
-
-        value = loads(serialized_value)
-
-        if attr_cache_type == "list":
-            list_obj = get_object_attr_from_path(target_obj, attr_name)
-            list_obj[index] = value
+                    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
@@ -283,20 +272,17 @@ class StateManager:
         attributes default to being loadable.
         """
 
-        parent_path, attr_name = (
-            ".".join(full_access_path.split(".")[:-1]),
-            full_access_path.split(".")[-1],
-        )
-        parent_object = get_object_attr_from_path(self.service, parent_path)
+        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
 
@@ -314,6 +300,6 @@ class StateManager:
             logger.debug(
                 "Path %a could not be loaded. It does not correspond to an attribute of"
                 " the class. Ignoring value from JSON file...",
-                attr_name,
+                path_parts[-1],
             )
             return False

src/pydase/data_service/task_manager.py

@@ -21,10 +21,6 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-class TaskDefinitionError(Exception):
-    pass
-
-
 class TaskStatus(Enum):
     RUNNING = "running"
 
@@ -107,12 +103,13 @@ class TaskManager:
             method = getattr(self.service, name)
             if inspect.iscoroutinefunction(method):
                 if function_has_arguments(method):
-                    raise TaskDefinitionError(
-                        "Asynchronous functions (tasks) should be defined without "
-                        f"arguments. The task '{method.__name__}' has at least one "
-                        "argument. Please remove the argument(s) from this function to "
-                        "use it."
+                    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(

src/pydase/frontend/asset-manifest.json

@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "files": {
-    "main.css": "/static/css/main.7ef670d5.css",
-    "main.js": "/static/js/main.27a065cb.js",
-    "index.html": "/index.html",
-    "main.7ef670d5.css.map": "/static/css/main.7ef670d5.css.map",
-    "main.27a065cb.js.map": "/static/js/main.27a065cb.js.map"
-  },
-  "entrypoints": [
-    "static/css/main.7ef670d5.css",
-    "static/js/main.27a065cb.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.27a065cb.js"></script><link href="/static/css/main.7ef670d5.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.27a065cb.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):

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}]")
@@ -149,8 +166,7 @@ class _ObservableList(ObservableObject, list[Any]):
 
     def append(self, __object: Any) -> None:
         self._notify_change_start("")
-        self._initialise_new_objects(f"[{len(self)}]", __object)
-        super().append(__object)
+        super().append(self._initialise_new_objects(f"[{len(self)}]", __object))
         self._notify_changed("", self)
 
     def clear(self) -> None:
@@ -224,7 +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],
@@ -233,24 +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):
@@ -262,3 +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/server/web_server/web_server.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ from pydase.data_service.data_service_observer import DataServiceObserver
 from pydase.server.web_server.sio_setup import (
     setup_sio_server,
 )
+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__
 
@@ -131,8 +132,18 @@ class WebServer:
             if path in current_web_settings:
                 continue
 
+            # 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": path.split(".")[-1],
+                "displayName": get_path_from_path_parts(display_name_parts),
                 "display": True,
             }
 

src/pydase/utils/decorators.py

@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import inspect
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from typing import Any
 
@@ -25,3 +26,17 @@ def frontend(func: Callable[..., Any]) -> Callable[..., Any]:
     # 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

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import inspect
 import logging
+import re
 from collections.abc import Callable
 from itertools import chain
 from typing import Any
@@ -7,6 +8,92 @@ 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,
@@ -30,6 +117,20 @@ def get_class_and_instance_attributes(obj: object) -> dict[str, Any]:
     return dict(chain(type(obj).__dict__.items(), obj.__dict__.items()))
 
 
+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.
@@ -46,94 +147,8 @@ def get_object_attr_from_path(target_obj: Any, path: str) -> Any:
     Raises:
         ValueError: If a list index in the path is not a valid integer.
     """
-    path_list = path.split(".") if path != "" else []
-    for part in path_list:
-        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 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]:
@@ -154,12 +169,12 @@ def get_data_service_class_reference() -> Any:
 
 
 def is_property_attribute(target_obj: Any, access_path: str) -> bool:
-    parent_path, attr_name = (
-        ".".join(access_path.split(".")[:-1]),
-        access_path.split(".")[-1],
-    )
-    target_obj = get_object_attr_from_path(target_obj, parent_path)
-    return isinstance(getattr(type(target_obj), attr_name, None), property)
+    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:
@@ -169,20 +184,4 @@ def function_has_arguments(func: Callable[..., Any]) -> bool:
     parameters.pop("self", None)
 
     # Check if there are any parameters left which would indicate additional arguments.
-    if len(parameters) > 0:
-        return True
-    return False
-
-
-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
+    return len(parameters) > 0

src/pydase/utils/serialization/serializer.py

@@ -9,12 +9,13 @@ 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_list_attr_and_index,
-    render_in_frontend,
+    parse_full_access_path,
+    parse_serialized_key,
 )
 from pydase.utils.serialization.types import (
     DataServiceTypes,
@@ -166,10 +167,11 @@ class Serializer:
     def _serialize_dict(obj: dict[str, Any], access_path: str = "") -> SerializedDict:
         readonly = False
         doc = get_attribute_doc(obj)
-        value = {
-            key: Serializer.serialize_object(val, access_path=f'{access_path}["{key}"]')
-            for key, val in obj.items()
-        }
+        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",
@@ -301,7 +303,7 @@ def dump(obj: Any) -> SerializedObject:
 
 
 def set_nested_value_by_path(
-    serialization_dict: dict[str, SerializedObject], path: str, value: Any
+    serialization_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject], path: str, value: Any
 ) -> None:
     """
     Set a value in a nested dictionary structure, which conforms to the serialization
@@ -322,23 +324,24 @@ def set_nested_value_by_path(
           serialized representation of the 'value' to the list.
     """
 
-    parent_path_parts, attr_name = path.split(".")[:-1], path.split(".")[-1]
-    current_dict: dict[str, SerializedObject] = serialization_dict
+    path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+    current_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject] = serialization_dict
 
     try:
-        for path_part in parent_path_parts:
-            next_level_serialized_object = get_next_level_dict_by_key(
+        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[str, SerializedObject], next_level_serialized_object["value"]
+                dict[Any, SerializedObject],
+                next_level_serialized_object["value"],
             )
 
-        next_level_serialized_object = get_next_level_dict_by_key(
-            current_dict, attr_name, allow_append=True
+        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(e)
+        logger.error("Error occured trying to change %a: %s", path, e)
         return
 
     if next_level_serialized_object["type"] == "method":  # state change of task
@@ -360,149 +363,186 @@ def set_nested_value_by_path(
 
 
 def get_nested_dict_by_path(
-    serialization_dict: dict[str, SerializedObject],
+    serialization_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject],
     path: str,
 ) -> SerializedObject:
-    parent_path_parts, attr_name = path.split(".")[:-1], path.split(".")[-1]
-    current_dict: dict[str, SerializedObject] = serialization_dict
+    path_parts = parse_full_access_path(path)
+    current_dict: dict[Any, SerializedObject] = serialization_dict
 
-    for path_part in parent_path_parts:
-        next_level_serialized_object = get_next_level_dict_by_key(
+    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[str, SerializedObject], next_level_serialized_object["value"]
+            dict[Any, SerializedObject],
+            next_level_serialized_object["value"],
         )
-    return get_next_level_dict_by_key(current_dict, attr_name, allow_append=False)
+    return get_container_item_by_key(current_dict, path_parts[-1], allow_append=False)
 
 
-def get_next_level_dict_by_key(
-    serialization_dict: dict[str, SerializedObject],
-    attr_name: str,
+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 a nested dictionary entry or list item from a data structure serialized
-    with `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
+    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:
-        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.
+        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:
-        The dictionary or list item corresponding to the attribute and index.
+        SerializedObject
+            The dictionary or list item corresponding to the specified 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.
+        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.
     """
-    # Check if the key contains an index part like 'attr_name[<index>]'
-    attr_name, index = parse_list_attr_and_index(attr_name)
+    processed_key = parse_serialized_key(key)
 
     try:
-        if index is not None:
-            next_level_serialized_object = cast(
-                list[SerializedObject], serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"]
-            )[index]
-        else:
-            next_level_serialized_object = serialization_dict[attr_name]
-    except IndexError as e:
-        if (
-            index is not None
-            and allow_append
-            and index
-            == len(cast(list[SerializedObject], serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"]))
-        ):
-            # Appending to list
-            cast(list[SerializedObject], serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"]).append(
-                {
-                    "full_access_path": "",
-                    "value": None,
-                    "type": "None",
-                    "doc": None,
-                    "readonly": False,
-                }
-            )
-            next_level_serialized_object = cast(
-                list[SerializedObject], serialization_dict[attr_name]["value"]
-            )[index]
-        else:
-            raise SerializationPathError(
-                f"Error occured trying to change '{attr_name}[{index}]': {e}"
-            )
-    except KeyError:
-        if not allow_append:
-            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."
-            )
-        serialization_dict[attr_name] = {
-            "full_access_path": "",
-            "value": None,
-            "type": "None",
-            "doc": None,
-            "readonly": False,
-        }
-        next_level_serialized_object = serialization_dict[attr_name]
-
-    if not isinstance(next_level_serialized_object, dict):
-        raise SerializationValueError(
-            f"Expected a dictionary at '{attr_name}', but found type "
-            f"'{type(next_level_serialized_object).__name__}' instead."
+        return get_or_create_item_in_container(
+            container, processed_key, allow_add_key=allow_append
         )
-
-    return next_level_serialized_object
+    except IndexError as e:
+        raise SerializationPathError(f"Index '{processed_key}': {e}")
+    except KeyError as e:
+        raise SerializationPathError(f"Key '{processed_key}': {e}")
 
 
-def generate_serialized_data_paths(
-    data: dict[str, Any], parent_path: str = ""
+def get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(  # noqa: C901
+    serialized_obj: SerializedObject,
+    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.
+    Recursively extracts full access paths from a serialized object.
 
     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.
+        serialized_obj (SerializedObject):
+            The dictionary representing the serialization of an object. Produced by
+            `pydase.utils.serializer.Serializer`.
 
     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.
+        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():
-        new_path = f"{parent_path}.{key}" if parent_path else key
-        paths.append(new_path)
+        paths.append(key)
+
         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))
+            paths.extend(get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(value, key))
     return paths
 
 
 def serialized_dict_is_nested_object(serialized_dict: SerializedObject) -> bool:
-    return (
-        serialized_dict["type"] != "Quantity"
-        and isinstance(serialized_dict["value"], dict)
-    ) or isinstance(serialized_dict["value"], list)
+    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))

tests/client/test_client.py

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ 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__()
@@ -19,6 +21,10 @@ def pydase_client() -> Generator[pydase.Client, None, Any]:
             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:
@@ -104,6 +110,18 @@ def test_list(pydase_client: pydase.Client) -> None:
     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(

tests/data_service/test_data_service.py

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import pytest
 from pydase import DataService
 from pydase.data_service.data_service_observer import DataServiceObserver
 from pydase.data_service.state_manager import StateManager
-from pydase.data_service.task_manager import TaskDefinitionError
 from pydase.utils.decorators import FunctionDefinitionError, frontend
 from pytest import LogCaptureFixture
 
@@ -37,7 +36,8 @@ def test_unexpected_type_change_warning(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
 
 
 def test_basic_inheritance_warning(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    class SubService(DataService): ...
+    class SubService(DataService):
+        ...
 
     class SomeEnum(Enum):
         HI = 0
@@ -57,9 +57,11 @@ def test_basic_inheritance_warning(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
         def name(self) -> str:
             return self._name
 
-        def some_method(self) -> None: ...
+        def some_method(self) -> None:
+            ...
 
-        async def some_task(self) -> None: ...
+        async def some_task(self) -> None:
+            ...
 
     ServiceClass()
 
@@ -118,14 +120,7 @@ def test_protected_and_private_attribute_warning(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> N
     ) not in caplog.text
 
 
-def test_exposing_methods() -> None:
-    class ClassWithTask(pydase.DataService):
-        async def some_task(self, sleep_time: int) -> None:
-            pass
-
-    with pytest.raises(TaskDefinitionError):
-        ClassWithTask()
-
+def test_exposing_methods(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     with pytest.raises(FunctionDefinitionError):
 
         class ClassWithMethod(pydase.DataService):
@@ -133,6 +128,18 @@ def test_exposing_methods() -> None:
             def some_method(self, *args: Any) -> str:
                 return "some method"
 
+    class ClassWithTask(pydase.DataService):
+        async def some_task(self, sleep_time: int) -> None:
+            pass
+
+    ClassWithTask()
+
+    assert (
+        "Async function 'some_task' is defined with at least one argument. If you want "
+        "to use it as a task, remove the argument(s) from the function definition."
+        in caplog.text
+    )
+
 
 def test_dynamically_added_attribute(caplog: LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     class MyService(DataService):

tests/data_service/test_data_service_observer.py

@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 import logging
+from typing import Any
 
 import pydase
 import pytest
 from pydase.data_service.data_service_observer import DataServiceObserver
 from pydase.data_service.state_manager import StateManager
+from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import SerializationError
 
 logger = logging.getLogger()
 
@@ -122,3 +124,25 @@ def test_dynamic_list_entry_with_property(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> N
 
     assert "'list_attr[0].name' changed to 'Hello'" not in caplog.text
     assert "'list_attr[0].name' changed to 'Hoooo'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_private_attribute_does_not_have_to_be_serializable() -> None:
+    class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.publ_attr: Any = 1
+            self.__priv_attr = (1,)
+
+        def change_publ_attr(self) -> None:
+            self.publ_attr = (2,)  # cannot be serialized
+
+        def change_priv_attr(self) -> None:
+            self.__priv_attr = (2,)
+
+    service_instance = MyService()
+    pydase.Server(service_instance)
+
+    with pytest.raises(SerializationError):
+        service_instance.change_publ_attr()
+
+    service_instance.change_priv_attr()

tests/observer_pattern/observable/test_decorators.py

@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+import asyncio
+import threading
+
+import pydase
+import pytest
+from pydase.observer_pattern.observable.decorators import validate_set
+
+
+def linspace(start: float, stop: float, n: int):
+    if n == 1:
+        yield stop
+        return
+    h = (stop - start) / (n - 1)
+    for i in range(n):
+        yield start + h * i
+
+
+def asyncio_loop_thread(loop: asyncio.AbstractEventLoop) -> None:
+    asyncio.set_event_loop(loop)
+    loop.run_forever()
+
+
+def test_validate_set_precision(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class Service(pydase.DataService):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self._value_1 = 0.0
+            self._value_2 = 0.0
+
+        @property
+        def value_1(self) -> float:
+            return self._value_1
+
+        @value_1.setter
+        @validate_set(precision=None)
+        def value_1(self, value: float) -> None:
+            self._value_1 = round(value, 1)
+
+        @property
+        def value_2(self) -> float:
+            return self._value_2
+
+        @value_2.setter
+        @validate_set(precision=1e-1)
+        def value_2(self, value: float) -> None:
+            self._value_2 = round(value, 1)
+
+    service_instance = Service()
+    pydase.Server(service_instance)  # needed to initialise observer
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+        service_instance.value_1 = 1.12
+        assert "Failed to set value to 1.12 within 1 second. Current value: 1.1" in str(
+            exc_info
+        )
+
+    caplog.clear()
+
+    service_instance.value_2 = 1.12  # no assertion raised
+    assert service_instance.value_2 == 1.1  # noqa
+
+    assert "'value_2' changed to '1.1'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_validate_set_timeout(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class RemoteDevice:
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            self._value = 0.0
+            self.loop = asyncio.new_event_loop()
+            self._lock = asyncio.Lock()
+            self.thread = threading.Thread(
+                target=asyncio_loop_thread, args=(self.loop,), daemon=True
+            )
+            self.thread.start()
+
+        def __del__(self) -> None:
+            self.loop.call_soon_threadsafe(self.loop.stop)
+            self.thread.join()
+
+        @property
+        def value(self) -> float:
+            future = asyncio.run_coroutine_threadsafe(self._get_value(), self.loop)
+            return future.result()
+
+        async def _get_value(self) -> float:
+            return self._value
+
+        @value.setter
+        def value(self, value: float) -> None:
+            self.loop.create_task(self.set_value(value))
+
+        async def set_value(self, value) -> None:
+            for i in linspace(self._value, value, 10):
+                self._value = i
+                await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
+
+    class Service(pydase.DataService):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self._driver = RemoteDevice()
+
+        @property
+        def value_1(self) -> float:
+            return self._driver.value
+
+        @value_1.setter
+        @validate_set(timeout=0.5)
+        def value_1(self, value: float) -> None:
+            self._driver.value = value
+
+        @property
+        def value_2(self) -> float:
+            return self._driver.value
+
+        @value_2.setter
+        @validate_set(timeout=1)
+        def value_2(self, value: float) -> None:
+            self._driver.value = value
+
+    service_instance = Service()
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+        service_instance.value_1 = 2.0
+        assert "Failed to set value to 2.0 within 0.5 seconds. Current value:" in str(
+            exc_info
+        )
+
+    service_instance.value_2 = 3.0  # no assertion raised

tests/observer_pattern/observable/test_observable_dict.py

@@ -0,0 +1,214 @@
+import logging
+from typing import Any
+
+import pytest
+from pydase.observer_pattern.observable import Observable
+from pydase.observer_pattern.observer import Observer
+
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+
+class MyObserver(Observer):
+    def on_change(self, full_access_path: str, value: Any) -> None:
+        logger.info("'%s' changed to '%s'", full_access_path, value)
+
+
+def test_simple_class_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        dict_attr = {"first": "Hello"}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.dict_attr["first"] = "Ciao"
+    instance.dict_attr["second"] = "World"
+
+    assert "'dict_attr[\"first\"]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+    assert "'dict_attr[\"second\"]' changed to 'World'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_instance_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class NestedObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.name = "Hello"
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.dict_attr = {"first": NestedObservable()}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.dict_attr["first"].name = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'dict_attr[\"first\"].name' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_class_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class NestedObservable(Observable):
+        name = "Hello"
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        dict_attr = {"first": NestedObservable()}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.dict_attr["first"].name = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'dict_attr[\"first\"].name' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_nested_dict_instances(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    dict_instance = {"first": "Hello", "second": "World"}
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.nested_dict_attr = {"nested": dict_instance}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.nested_dict_attr["nested"]["first"] = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'nested_dict_attr[\"nested\"][\"first\"]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_dict_in_list_instance(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    dict_instance = {"first": "Hello", "second": "World"}
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.dict_in_list = [dict_instance]
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.dict_in_list[0]["first"] = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'dict_in_list[0][\"first\"]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_list_in_dict_instance(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    list_instance: list[Any] = [1, 2, 3]
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.list_in_dict = {"some_list": list_instance}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.list_in_dict["some_list"][0] = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'list_in_dict[\"some_list\"][0]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_key_type_error(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.dict_attr = {1.0: 1.0}
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
+        MyObservable()
+
+    assert (
+        "Invalid key type: 1.0 (float). In pydase services, dictionary keys must be "
+        "strings." in str(exc_info)
+    )
+
+
+def test_removed_observer_on_class_dict_attr(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class NestedObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.name = "Hello"
+
+    nested_instance = NestedObservable()
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        nested_attr = nested_instance
+        changed_dict_attr = {"nested": nested_instance}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.changed_dict_attr["nested"] = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'changed_dict_attr[\"nested\"]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+    caplog.clear()
+
+    assert nested_instance._observers == {
+        "nested_attr": [instance],
+    }
+
+    instance.nested_attr.name = "Hi"
+
+    assert "'nested_attr.name' changed to 'Hi'" in caplog.text
+    assert "'changed_dict_attr[\"nested\"].name' changed to 'Hi'" not in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_removed_observer_on_instance_dict_attr(
+    caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture,
+) -> None:
+    class NestedObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.name = "Hello"
+
+    nested_instance = NestedObservable()
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.nested_attr = nested_instance
+            self.changed_dict_attr = {"nested": nested_instance}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.changed_dict_attr["nested"] = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'changed_dict_attr[\"nested\"]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+    caplog.clear()
+
+    assert nested_instance._observers == {
+        "nested_attr": [instance],
+    }
+
+    instance.nested_attr.name = "Hi"
+
+    assert "'nested_attr.name' changed to 'Hi'" in caplog.text
+    assert "'changed_dict_attr[\"nested\"].name' changed to 'Hi'" not in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_dotted_dict_key(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.dict_attr = {"dotted.key": 1.0}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    instance.dict_attr["dotted.key"] = "Ciao"
+
+    assert "'dict_attr[\"dotted.key\"]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_pop(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    class NestedObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.name = "Hello"
+
+    nested_instance = NestedObservable()
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.dict_attr = {"nested": nested_instance}
+
+    instance = MyObservable()
+    MyObserver(instance)
+    assert instance.dict_attr.pop("nested") == nested_instance
+    assert nested_instance._observers == {}
+
+    assert f"'dict_attr' changed to '{instance.dict_attr}'" in caplog.text

tests/observer_pattern/observable/test_observable_object.py

@@ -69,66 +69,6 @@ def test_class_object_list_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     assert "'list_attr[0].name' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
 
 
-def test_simple_instance_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.dict_attr = {"first": "Hello"}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.dict_attr["first"] = "Ciao"
-    instance.dict_attr["second"] = "World"
-
-    assert "'dict_attr['first']' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-    assert "'dict_attr['second']' changed to 'World'" in caplog.text
-
-
-def test_simple_class_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        dict_attr = {"first": "Hello"}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.dict_attr["first"] = "Ciao"
-    instance.dict_attr["second"] = "World"
-
-    assert "'dict_attr['first']' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-    assert "'dict_attr['second']' changed to 'World'" in caplog.text
-
-
-def test_instance_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    class NestedObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.name = "Hello"
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.dict_attr = {"first": NestedObservable()}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.dict_attr["first"].name = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'dict_attr['first'].name' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-
-
-def test_class_dict_attribute(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    class NestedObservable(Observable):
-        name = "Hello"
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        dict_attr = {"first": NestedObservable()}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.dict_attr["first"].name = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'dict_attr['first'].name' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-
-
 def test_removed_observer_on_class_list_attr(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     class NestedObservable(Observable):
         name = "Hello"
@@ -141,46 +81,27 @@ def test_removed_observer_on_class_list_attr(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -
 
     instance = MyObservable()
     MyObserver(instance)
+
+    assert nested_instance._observers == {
+        "[0]": [instance.changed_list_attr],
+        "nested_attr": [instance],
+    }
+
     instance.changed_list_attr[0] = "Ciao"
 
     assert "'changed_list_attr[0]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
     caplog.clear()
 
+    assert nested_instance._observers == {
+        "nested_attr": [instance],
+    }
+
     instance.nested_attr.name = "Hi"
 
     assert "'nested_attr.name' changed to 'Hi'" in caplog.text
     assert "'changed_list_attr[0].name' changed to 'Hi'" not in caplog.text
 
 
-def test_removed_observer_on_instance_dict_attr(
-    caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture,
-) -> None:
-    class NestedObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.name = "Hello"
-
-    nested_instance = NestedObservable()
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.nested_attr = nested_instance
-            self.changed_dict_attr = {"nested": nested_instance}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.changed_dict_attr["nested"] = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'changed_dict_attr['nested']' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-    caplog.clear()
-
-    instance.nested_attr.name = "Hi"
-
-    assert "'nested_attr.name' changed to 'Hi'" in caplog.text
-    assert "'changed_dict_attr['nested'].name' changed to 'Hi'" not in caplog.text
-
-
 def test_removed_observer_on_instance_list_attr(
     caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture,
 ) -> None:
@@ -204,84 +125,16 @@ def test_removed_observer_on_instance_list_attr(
     assert "'changed_list_attr[0]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
     caplog.clear()
 
+    assert nested_instance._observers == {
+        "nested_attr": [instance],
+    }
+
     instance.nested_attr.name = "Hi"
 
     assert "'nested_attr.name' changed to 'Hi'" in caplog.text
     assert "'changed_list_attr[0].name' changed to 'Hi'" not in caplog.text
 
 
-def test_removed_observer_on_class_dict_attr(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    class NestedObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.name = "Hello"
-
-    nested_instance = NestedObservable()
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.nested_attr = nested_instance
-            self.changed_dict_attr = {"nested": nested_instance}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.changed_dict_attr["nested"] = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'changed_dict_attr['nested']' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-    caplog.clear()
-
-    instance.nested_attr.name = "Hi"
-
-    assert "'nested_attr.name' changed to 'Hi'" in caplog.text
-    assert "'changed_dict_attr['nested'].name' changed to 'Hi'" not in caplog.text
-
-
-def test_nested_dict_instances(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    dict_instance = {"first": "Hello", "second": "World"}
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.nested_dict_attr = {"nested": dict_instance}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.nested_dict_attr["nested"]["first"] = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'nested_dict_attr['nested']['first']' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-
-
-def test_dict_in_list_instance(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    dict_instance = {"first": "Hello", "second": "World"}
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.dict_in_list = [dict_instance]
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.dict_in_list[0]["first"] = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'dict_in_list[0]['first']' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-
-
-def test_list_in_dict_instance(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
-    list_instance: list[Any] = [1, 2, 3]
-
-    class MyObservable(Observable):
-        def __init__(self) -> None:
-            super().__init__()
-            self.list_in_dict = {"some_list": list_instance}
-
-    instance = MyObservable()
-    MyObserver(instance)
-    instance.list_in_dict["some_list"][0] = "Ciao"
-
-    assert "'list_in_dict['some_list'][0]' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
-
-
 def test_list_append(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     class OtherObservable(Observable):
         def __init__(self) -> None:
@@ -472,3 +325,51 @@ def test_list_remove(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
     # checks if observer key was updated correctly (was index 1)
     other_observable_instance_2.greeting = "Ciao"
     assert "'my_list[0].greeting' changed to 'Ciao'" in caplog.text
+
+
+def test_list_garbage_collection() -> None:
+    """Makes sure that the GC collects lists that are not referenced anymore."""
+
+    import gc
+    import json
+
+    list_json = """
+    [1]
+    """
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.list_attr = json.loads(list_json)
+
+    observable = MyObservable()
+    list_mapping_length = len(observable._list_mapping)
+    observable.list_attr = json.loads(list_json)
+
+    gc.collect()
+    assert len(observable._list_mapping) <= list_mapping_length
+
+
+def test_dict_garbage_collection() -> None:
+    """Makes sure that the GC collects dicts that are not referenced anymore."""
+
+    import gc
+    import json
+
+    dict_json = """
+    {
+        "foo": "bar"
+    }
+    """
+
+    class MyObservable(Observable):
+        def __init__(self) -> None:
+            super().__init__()
+            self.dict_attr = json.loads(dict_json)
+
+    observable = MyObservable()
+    dict_mapping_length = len(observable._dict_mapping)
+    observable.dict_attr = json.loads(dict_json)
+
+    gc.collect()
+    assert len(observable._dict_mapping) <= dict_mapping_length

tests/observer_pattern/observer/test_property_observer.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ def test_inherited_property_dependency_resolution() -> None:
         _name = "DerivedObservable"
 
     class MyObserver(PropertyObserver):
-        def on_change(self, full_access_path: str, value: Any) -> None: ...
+        def on_change(self, full_access_path: str, value: Any) -> None:
+            ...
 
     assert MyObserver(DerivedObservable()).property_deps_dict == {"_name": ["name"]}

tests/utils/serialization/test_serializer.py

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import asyncio
 import enum
 from enum import Enum
-from typing import Any
+from typing import Any, ClassVar
 
 import pydase
 import pydase.units as u
@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ from pydase.utils.serialization.serializer import (
     SerializationPathError,
     SerializedObject,
     dump,
+    generate_serialized_data_paths,
+    get_container_item_by_key,
+    get_data_paths_from_serialized_object,
     get_nested_dict_by_path,
-    get_next_level_dict_by_key,
     serialized_dict_is_nested_object,
     set_nested_value_by_path,
 )
@@ -27,6 +29,26 @@ class MyEnum(enum.Enum):
     FINISHED = "finished"
 
 
+class MySubclass(pydase.DataService):
+    attr3 = 1.0
+    list_attr: ClassVar[list[Any]] = [1.0, 1]
+    some_quantity: u.Quantity = 1.0 * u.units.A
+
+
+class ServiceClass(pydase.DataService):
+    attr1 = 1.0
+    attr2 = MySubclass()
+    enum_attr = MyEnum.RUNNING
+    attr_list: ClassVar[list[Any]] = [0, 1, MySubclass()]
+    dict_attr: ClassVar[dict[Any, Any]] = {"foo": 1.0, "bar": {"foo": "bar"}}
+
+    def my_task(self) -> None:
+        pass
+
+
+service_instance = ServiceClass()
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "test_input, expected",
     [
@@ -378,7 +400,7 @@ def test_dict_serialization() -> None:
 
     test_dict = {
         "int_key": 1,
-        "float_key": 1.0,
+        "1.0": 1.0,
         "bool_key": True,
         "Quantity_key": 1.0 * u.units.s,
         "DataService_key": MyClass(),
@@ -420,8 +442,8 @@ def test_dict_serialization() -> None:
                 "type": "bool",
                 "value": True,
             },
-            "float_key": {
-                "full_access_path": '["float_key"]',
+            "1.0": {
+                "full_access_path": '["1.0"]',
                 "doc": None,
                 "readonly": False,
                 "type": "float",
@@ -454,7 +476,8 @@ def test_derived_data_service_serialization() -> None:
         def name(self, value: str) -> None:
             self._name = value
 
-    class DerivedService(BaseService): ...
+    class DerivedService(BaseService):
+        ...
 
     base_service_serialization = dump(BaseService())
     derived_service_serialization = dump(DerivedService())
@@ -468,22 +491,125 @@ def test_derived_data_service_serialization() -> None:
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def setup_dict() -> dict[str, Any]:
-    class MySubclass(pydase.DataService):
-        attr3 = 1.0
-        list_attr = [1.0, 1]
-
-    class ServiceClass(pydase.DataService):
-        attr1 = 1.0
-        attr2 = MySubclass()
-        enum_attr = MyEnum.RUNNING
-        attr_list = [0, 1, MySubclass()]
-
-        def my_task(self) -> None:
-            pass
-
     return ServiceClass().serialize()["value"]  # type: ignore
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "serialized_object, attr_name, allow_append, expected",
+    [
+        (
+            dump(service_instance)["value"],
+            "attr1",
+            False,
+            {
+                "doc": None,
+                "full_access_path": "attr1",
+                "readonly": False,
+                "type": "float",
+                "value": 1.0,
+            },
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance.attr_list)["value"],
+            "[0]",
+            False,
+            {
+                "doc": None,
+                "full_access_path": "[0]",
+                "readonly": False,
+                "type": "int",
+                "value": 0,
+            },
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance.attr_list)["value"],
+            "[3]",
+            True,
+            {
+                # we do not know the full_access_path of this entry within the
+                # serialized object
+                "full_access_path": "",
+                "value": None,
+                "type": "None",
+                "doc": None,
+                "readonly": False,
+            },
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance.attr_list)["value"],
+            "[3]",
+            False,
+            SerializationPathError,
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance.dict_attr)["value"],
+            "['foo']",
+            False,
+            {
+                "full_access_path": '["foo"]',
+                "value": 1.0,
+                "type": "float",
+                "doc": None,
+                "readonly": False,
+            },
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance.dict_attr)["value"],
+            "['unset_key']",
+            True,
+            {
+                # we do not know the full_access_path of this entry within the
+                # serialized object
+                "full_access_path": "",
+                "value": None,
+                "type": "None",
+                "doc": None,
+                "readonly": False,
+            },
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance.dict_attr)["value"],
+            "['unset_key']",
+            False,
+            SerializationPathError,
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance)["value"],
+            "invalid_path",
+            True,
+            {
+                # we do not know the full_access_path of this entry within the
+                # serialized object
+                "full_access_path": "",
+                "value": None,
+                "type": "None",
+                "doc": None,
+                "readonly": False,
+            },
+        ),
+        (
+            dump(service_instance)["value"],
+            "invalid_path",
+            False,
+            SerializationPathError,
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_get_container_item_by_key(
+    serialized_object: dict[str, Any], attr_name: str, allow_append: bool, expected: Any
+) -> None:
+    if isinstance(expected, type) and issubclass(expected, Exception):
+        with pytest.raises(expected):
+            get_container_item_by_key(
+                serialized_object, attr_name, allow_append=allow_append
+            )
+    else:
+        nested_dict = get_container_item_by_key(
+            serialized_object, attr_name, allow_append=allow_append
+        )
+        assert nested_dict == expected
+
+
 def test_update_attribute(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
     set_nested_value_by_path(setup_dict, "attr1", 15)
     assert setup_dict["attr1"]["value"] == 15
@@ -565,8 +691,8 @@ def test_update_invalid_list_index(
 ) -> None:
     set_nested_value_by_path(setup_dict, "attr_list[10]", 30)
     assert (
-        "Error occured trying to change 'attr_list[10]': list index "
-        "out of range" in caplog.text
+        "Error occured trying to change 'attr_list[10]': Index '10': list index out of "
+        "range" in caplog.text
     )
 
 
@@ -580,26 +706,6 @@ def test_update_class_attribute_inside_list(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
     assert setup_dict["attr_list"]["value"][2]["value"]["attr3"]["value"] == 50  # noqa
 
 
-def test_get_next_level_attribute_nested_dict(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    nested_dict = get_next_level_dict_by_key(setup_dict, "attr1")
-    assert nested_dict == setup_dict["attr1"]
-
-
-def test_get_next_level_list_entry_nested_dict(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    nested_dict = get_next_level_dict_by_key(setup_dict, "attr_list[0]")
-    assert nested_dict == setup_dict["attr_list"]["value"][0]
-
-
-def test_get_next_level_invalid_path_nested_dict(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    with pytest.raises(SerializationPathError):
-        get_next_level_dict_by_key(setup_dict, "invalid_path")
-
-
-def test_get_next_level_invalid_list_index(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
-    with pytest.raises(SerializationPathError):
-        get_next_level_dict_by_key(setup_dict, "attr_list[10]")
-
-
 def test_get_attribute(setup_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
     nested_dict = get_nested_dict_by_path(setup_dict, "attr1")
     assert nested_dict["value"] == 1.0
@@ -871,3 +977,89 @@ def test_dynamically_add_attributes(test_input: Any, expected: dict[str, Any]) -
 
     set_nested_value_by_path(serialized_object, "new_attr", test_input)
     assert serialized_object == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "obj, expected",
+    [
+        (
+            service_instance.attr2,
+            [
+                "attr3",
+                "list_attr",
+                "list_attr[0]",
+                "list_attr[1]",
+                "some_quantity",
+            ],
+        ),
+        (
+            service_instance.dict_attr,
+            [
+                '["foo"]',
+                '["bar"]',
+                '["bar"]["foo"]',
+            ],
+        ),
+        (
+            service_instance.attr_list,
+            [
+                "[0]",
+                "[1]",
+                "[2]",
+                "[2].attr3",
+                "[2].list_attr",
+                "[2].list_attr[0]",
+                "[2].list_attr[1]",
+                "[2].some_quantity",
+            ],
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(obj: Any, expected: list[str]) -> None:
+    assert get_data_paths_from_serialized_object(dump(obj=obj)) == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "obj, expected",
+    [
+        (
+            service_instance,
+            [
+                "attr1",
+                "attr2",
+                "attr2.attr3",
+                "attr2.list_attr",
+                "attr2.list_attr[0]",
+                "attr2.list_attr[1]",
+                "attr2.some_quantity",
+                "attr_list",
+                "attr_list[0]",
+                "attr_list[1]",
+                "attr_list[2]",
+                "attr_list[2].attr3",
+                "attr_list[2].list_attr",
+                "attr_list[2].list_attr[0]",
+                "attr_list[2].list_attr[1]",
+                "attr_list[2].some_quantity",
+                "dict_attr",
+                'dict_attr["foo"]',
+                'dict_attr["bar"]',
+                'dict_attr["bar"]["foo"]',
+                "enum_attr",
+                "my_task",
+            ],
+        ),
+        (
+            service_instance.attr2,
+            [
+                "attr3",
+                "list_attr",
+                "list_attr[0]",
+                "list_attr[1]",
+                "some_quantity",
+            ],
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_generate_serialized_data_paths(obj: Any, expected: list[str]) -> None:
+    assert generate_serialized_data_paths(dump(obj=obj)["value"]) == expected

tests/utils/test_helpers.py

@@ -1,10 +1,113 @@
+from typing import Any
 
+import pydase
 import pytest
 from pydase.utils.helpers import (
+    get_object_by_path_parts,
+    get_path_from_path_parts,
     is_property_attribute,
+    parse_full_access_path,
+    parse_serialized_key,
 )
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "serialized_key, expected",
+    [
+        ("attr_name", "attr_name"),
+        ("[0]", 0),
+        ("[0.0]", 0.0),
+        ('["some_key"]', "some_key"),
+        ('["12.34"]', "12.34"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_parse_serialized_key(serialized_key: str, expected: str) -> None:
+    assert parse_serialized_key(serialized_key) == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "full_access_path, expected",
+    [
+        ("attr_name", ["attr_name"]),
+        ("parent.attr_name", ["parent", "attr_name"]),
+        ("nested.parent.attr_name", ["nested", "parent", "attr_name"]),
+        ("nested.parent.attr_name", ["nested", "parent", "attr_name"]),
+        ("attr_name[0]", ["attr_name", "[0]"]),
+        ("parent.attr_name[0]", ["parent", "attr_name", "[0]"]),
+        ("attr_name[0][1]", ["attr_name", "[0]", "[1]"]),
+        ('attr_name[0]["some_key"]', ["attr_name", "[0]", '["some_key"]']),
+        (
+            'dict_attr["some_key"].attr_name["other_key"]',
+            ["dict_attr", '["some_key"]', "attr_name", '["other_key"]'],
+        ),
+        ("dict_attr[2.1]", ["dict_attr", "[2.1]"]),
+    ],
+)
+def test_parse_full_access_path(full_access_path: str, expected: list[str]) -> None:
+    assert parse_full_access_path(full_access_path) == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "path_parts, expected",
+    [
+        (["attr_name"], "attr_name"),
+        (["parent", "attr_name"], "parent.attr_name"),
+        (["nested", "parent", "attr_name"], "nested.parent.attr_name"),
+        (["nested", "parent", "attr_name"], "nested.parent.attr_name"),
+        (["attr_name", "[0]"], "attr_name[0]"),
+        (["parent", "attr_name", "[0]"], "parent.attr_name[0]"),
+        (["attr_name", "[0]", "[1]"], "attr_name[0][1]"),
+        (["attr_name", "[0]", '["some_key"]'], 'attr_name[0]["some_key"]'),
+        (
+            ["dict_attr", '["some_key"]', "attr_name", '["other_key"]'],
+            'dict_attr["some_key"].attr_name["other_key"]',
+        ),
+        (["dict_attr", "[2.1]"], "dict_attr[2.1]"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_get_path_from_path_parts(path_parts: list[str], expected: str) -> None:
+    assert get_path_from_path_parts(path_parts) == expected
+
+
+class SubService(pydase.DataService):
+    name = "SubService"
+    some_int = 1
+    some_float = 1.0
+
+
+class MyService(pydase.DataService):
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        super().__init__()
+        self.some_float = 1.0
+        self.subservice = SubService()
+        self.list_attr = [1.0, SubService()]
+        self.dict_attr = {"foo": SubService(), "dotted.key": "float_as_key"}
+
+
+service_instance = MyService()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "path_parts, expected",
+    [
+        (["some_float"], service_instance.some_float),
+        (["subservice"], service_instance.subservice),
+        (["list_attr", "[0]"], service_instance.list_attr[0]),
+        (["list_attr", "[1]"], service_instance.list_attr[1]),
+        (["dict_attr", '["foo"]'], service_instance.dict_attr["foo"]),
+        (["dict_attr", '["foo"]', "name"], service_instance.dict_attr["foo"].name),  # type: ignore
+        (["dict_attr", '["dotted.key"]'], service_instance.dict_attr["dotted.key"]),
+    ],
+)
+def test_get_object_by_path_parts(path_parts: list[str], expected: Any) -> None:
+    assert get_object_by_path_parts(service_instance, path_parts) == expected
+
+
+def test_get_object_by_path_parts_error(caplog: pytest.LogCaptureFixture) -> None:
+    assert get_object_by_path_parts(service_instance, ["non_existent_attr"]) is None
+    assert "Attribute 'non_existent_attr' does not exist in the object." in caplog.text
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "attr_name, expected",
     [
@@ -12,13 +115,29 @@ from pydase.utils.helpers import (
         ("my_property", True),
         ("my_method", False),
         ("non_existent_attr", False),
+        ("nested_class_instance", False),
+        ("nested_class_instance.my_property", True),
+        ("list_attr", False),
+        ("list_attr[0]", False),
+        ("list_attr[0].my_property", True),
+        ("dict_attr", False),
+        ("dict_attr['foo']", False),
+        ("dict_attr['foo'].my_property", True),
     ],
 )
 def test_is_property_attribute(attr_name: str, expected: bool) -> None:
+    class NestedClass:
+        @property
+        def my_property(self) -> str:
+            return "I'm a nested property"
+
     # Test Suite
     class DummyClass:
         def __init__(self) -> None:
             self.regular_attribute = "I'm just an attribute"
+            self.nested_class_instance = NestedClass()
+            self.list_attr = [NestedClass()]
+            self.dict_attr = {"foo": NestedClass()}
 
         @property
         def my_property(self) -> str: