Analyzers made since #3794 cannot be opened with older si versions

[chrishalcrow]

In #3794, we changed return_scaled to return_in_uv. This includes in the analyzer's settings.json. So any analyzer made after #3794 no longer has a return_scaled setting.

Before #3794, the function load_from_binary_folder does a return_scaled = settings["return_scaled"]. Since the settings.json doesn't have return_scaled, this crashes.

Hence, once it comes out, if an analyzer is made using version 103 it won't be loadable by 102.

Maybe this was known before we merged, but I think it might be too much deprecation all at once? Thoughts?

[alejoe91]

we definitely need a back-compatibillity fix! @chrishalcrow wanna give it a go?

[chrishalcrow]

Just to make sure: it's a forwards-compatibility fix. Making sure that newer analyzers can still be opened with older spikeinterface versions.

[zm711]

This happened with another element previously. I think like nbefore /nafter when we switched the kwargs. We definitely had to make a tweak, but that was back compatibility which is definitely easier. In this case could we save the same value return_scaled and return_in_uV for now to be safe? Technically we need to handle the backward compatibility too? Because if we have an old analyzer it won't have the return_in_uV kwarg which might lead to buggy loading behavior right?

[h-mayorquin]

Why do we want to support backporting? isn't it easier to just update?

[h-mayorquin]

[it is an earnest question btw, not rhetorical]

[alejoe91]

Ah I misunderstood then!! I agree with @h-mayorquin that in that case upgrading is the simplest option, so IMO it's ok that a new sorting analyzer cannot be opened with an old SI version

[chrishalcrow]

Ok, cool. Just wanted to check before 103 release.

My argument for forwards-compatibility for the SortingAnalyzer is: we're suggesting (or maybe I'm suggesting) that the SortingAnalyzer can be used as a base class for other tools in the ecosystem. Already there's spikeinterface-gui, sortingview. UnitMatch has a script that starts from an analyzer etc.

So, suppose you're developing some tool. If it was easy to introduce a dependency that forces spikeinterface to be in version < 103, you wouldn't be able to load the analyzers you make from an updated environment. I thought it might be easy to introduce such a dependency. But now that I'm trying, it's quite hard. So: probably not a problem!

[h-mayorquin]

Closing then?