01. System Tour and Happy Path
Why Start Here
A newcomer usually needs two things before anything else:
- a mental picture of what this app is supposed to simulate
- one successful path through the system
This page gives both.
The repo is easier to understand when you first see it as a believable operator workstation, not as a set of projects and abstractions.
What This App Simulates
At a high level, the application simulates a wafer-inspection workstation where an operator:
- connects to a machine
- loads a recipe
- homes the stage
- starts an inspection run
- watches telemetry, preview, diagnostics, and results
- stops, aborts, or faults the run if needed
- reviews the terminal summary and run history
That story was built across the first four slices:
- SLICE-001: First Strong Vertical Slice
- SLICE-002: Persistent Run History
- SLICE-003: JSON Recipe File Management
- SLICE-004: Operational Maturity
What You Should See In The UI
The main window is intentionally organized around operator and diagnostics concerns.
On the left, you get the main operator story:
- machine status
- commands
- recipe loading
- stage position
- active run view
- alarms
- last run summary
- run history
On the right, you get the diagnostics and engineering story:
- subsystem states
- safety signals
- fault injection controls
- simulator profile selection
- diagnostics timeline
- counters and supporting visibility
This is one of the repo’s strengths as a training system: the UI lets you see both the operator surface and the engineering surface without switching to another app.
Quick Visual Map
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| LEFT: Operator Surface | RIGHT: Diagnostics Surface |
|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Machine Status | Subsystem States |
| Commands | Safety Signals |
| Recipe | Fault Injection |
| Stage Position | Simulator Profile |
| Active Run | Diagnostics Timeline |
| Active Alarms | Counters / Runtime Visibility |
| Last Run Summary | |
| Run History | |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+The left side tells the operator story. The right side tells the engineering and troubleshooting story.
Happy Path Walkthrough
The best first run is:
- launch the app
- click
Connect - refresh and load a valid recipe
- click
Home - click
Start Run - let the run complete
- inspect
Last Run SummaryandRun History
Use the full exercise here:
What The Happy Path Teaches
This one path already teaches a surprising amount:
- command availability is derived from state, not hard-coded per button
- recipe selection and recipe loading are different concepts
- homing is a real operational prerequisite
- runs create durable summaries
- history is more than a visual log; it is persisted system memory
- diagnostics, metrics, and profiles matter even when nothing goes wrong
Suggested First Reading Order
If you are new, use this order:
- this page
- Scenario 01: Happy Path Inspection Run
- 02. Domain and State Model
- 03. Architecture Walkthrough
- 04. Workflow and Async Runtime
That gives you the product story before the deeper architecture.
Learning Paths By Role
Operator-Minded Learner
Start with:
- this page
- the scenario pack
- the diagnostics and fault scenarios
- the extension playbook only after you understand the operator flow
.NET or WPF Developer
Start with:
- this page
- 03. Architecture Walkthrough
- 04. Workflow and Async Runtime
- 05. Design Patterns and .NET Techniques
Architecture-Focused Learner
Start with:
- this page
- the architecture pack
- the runtime module
- the extension playbook
Related Pages
Read Next
The best next page is:
Diagram Brief
Title: Newcomer system tourPurpose: Give a first-look map of the main UI regions and the core happy-path operator journeyAudience: newcomer software or automation engineerNodes: Launch App, Connect, Refresh Catalog, Load Recipe, Home, Start Run, Observe Runtime, Review Summary, Review HistoryEdges: each operator step leads to the next, with the UI split between operator surface and diagnostics surfaceGrouping: Operator panel, diagnostics panel, happy-path journeyCaption: The fastest way to understand the repo is to follow one clean operator path from startup to completed runDestination file path:docs/diagrams/source/course-01-system-tour-and-happy-path.drawio