SimOpt Communication refactoring

[abeham]

A number of recent developments has made refactoring the communication branch worthwile:

1. There exist good libraries for converting data to and from e.g. JSON both on C# and Java which facilitates interlanguage communication. Even the new serialization in HeuristicLab 3.3 would allow for a JSON backend.
2. The whole statemachine idea was nice, but hardly ever practical or useful. Google's own take on such an interface (​protocol buffers) doesn't need a state machine. A simple set of messages should do it in our cases too.
3. I have more upcoming use for this, so I'd like more comfortable configuration and handling

After discussion with swagner on this issue it was decided to use and try protocol buffers. A new problem should be created called ExternalEvaluationProblem that would allow to configure the communication means and provide an operator for collecting values which can be configured by the user. This operator would create protocol buffer messages that are sent over a driver to the external process.

[abeham]

r3852

• Added project HeuristicLab.Problems.ExternalEvaluation

[abeham]

r3857

• Added protobuf-csharp-port to ExtLibs

[abeham]

r3859

• Updated external evaluation problem
• Added some Drivers
• Updated message

[abeham]

r3860

• see previous commit

[abeham]

r3861

• worked on external evaluation problem

[abeham]

r3862

• updated external evaluation problem
• included in build config

[abeham]

r3864

• Removed warning in ExternalEvaluationProblem
• Added views project for ExternalEvaluation
• Fixed class name of ExternalEvaluationProcessDriver

[abeham]

r3865

• Worked on view for ExternalEvaluationProcessDriver

[abeham]

r3870

• Updated external evaluation problem

[abeham]

r3872

• Updated ExternalEvaluationProblem
• Removed the custom crossover, manipulator, and solution creator (they're replaced with the UserDefined ones)
• Renamed all drivers to channels
• Added a client that takes the role of the previous driver
• Moved the BestScopeSolutionAnalyzer into Analysis (it's a generic operator after all)

[abeham]

r3881

• Added license headers to designer files
• Refactored message building, to be user customizable and better extendable
  • A SolutionMessageBuilder holds several Converters
  • A Converter specifies several types to convert and a conversion method
• ExternalEvaluator has the message builder as parameter and exposes it to the UI through the parameters collection
• The proto file has been updated to include a length field in the array variables
• Converters exist for all types in HeuristicLab.Data

[abeham]

r3883

• Added tcp channel for communicating messages
• Removed unnecessary enabled propagation in SolutionMessageBuilderView

[abeham]

r3890

• Fixed EvaluationTCPChannel
  • Message delimiter and message are sent in the same call to socket.Send
• Added EvaluationTCPChannelView

r3893

• Fixed a bug when calculating amount of encoded bytes of a varint32

[abeham]

r3895

• Improved exception handling and added the client by default

[abeham]

r3896

• Changed error display from message box to plugin infrastructure

[abeham]

r3897

• Added class diagram

[abeham]

r3898

• VS not saving project file automatically....

[abeham]

The ExternalEvaluation problem has been implemented and documentation written (DevelopersOptimizingExternalApplications). Further changes and requests should go into separate tickets.

[swagner]

Milestone Iteration 4 deleted

[swagner]

Milestone Current deleted