Make widgets templates optional

README.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ This repo provides a template for creating Neurodata Extensions (NDX) for the
 [Neurodata Without Borders](https://nwb.org/)
  data standard.
 
-We currently support creating Neurodata Extensions only using Python 3.8+.
+This template currently supports creating Neurodata Extensions only using Python 3.8+.
 MATLAB support is in development.
 
 ## Getting started
@@ -59,6 +59,17 @@ By default, to aid with debugging, the project is configured NOT to run code cov
 
 https://github.com/nwb-extensions/ndx-template/blob/11ae225b3fd3934fa3c56e6e7b563081793b3b43/%7B%7B%20cookiecutter.namespace%20%7D%7D/pyproject.toml#L82-L83
 
+## Integrating with NWB Widgets
+
+When answering the cookiecutter prompts, you will be asked whether you would like to create templates for integration with [NWB Widgets](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/nwbwidgets), a library of plotting widgets for interactive visualization of NWB neurodata types within a Jupyter notebook. If you answer "yes", then an example widget and example notebook will be created for you. If you answer "no", but would like to add a widget later on, follow the instructions below:
+
+1. Create a directory named `widgets` in `src/pynwb/{your_python_package_name}/`.
+2. Copy [`__init__.py`](https://github.com/nwb-extensions/ndx-template/blob/main/%7B%7B%20cookiecutter.namespace%20%7D%7D/src/pynwb/%7B%7B%20cookiecutter.py_pkg_name%20%7D%7D/widgets/__init__.py) to that directory and adapt the contents to your extension.
+3. Copy [`tetrode_series_widget.py`](https://github.com/nwb-extensions/ndx-template/blob/main/%7B%7B%20cookiecutter.namespace%20%7D%7D/src/pynwb/%7B%7B%20cookiecutter.py_pkg_name%20%7D%7D/widgets/tetrode_series_widget.py) to that directory and adapt the contents to your extension.
+4. Create a directory named `notebooks` in the root of the repository.
+5. Copy [example.ipynb](https://github.com/nwb-extensions/ndx-template/blob/main/%7B%7B%20cookiecutter.namespace%20%7D%7D/notebooks/example.ipynb) to that directory and adapt the contents to your extension.
+6. Add `nwbwidgets` to `requirements-dev.txt`.
+
 ## Maintainers
 - [@rly](https://github.com/rly)
 - [@oruebel](https://github.com/oruebel)

cookiecutter.json

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
   "license": ["BSD-3", "MIT", "Apache Software License 2.0", "Other"],
   "py_pkg_name": "{{ cookiecutter.namespace|replace('-', '_') }}",
   "initialize_git": true,
+  "widgets": false,
   "_extensions": ["local_extensions.ZipExtension"],
   "__prompts__": {
     "namespace": "Select a name for your extension. It must start with 'ndx-'",
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@
     "release": "Select an initial release level",
     "license": "Select a license",
     "py_pkg_name": "Select a name for the Python package",
-    "initialize_git": "Initialize a git repository?"
+    "initialize_git": "Initialize a git repository?",
+    "widgets": "Create templates for integration with NWB Widgets (interactive visualization)?"
   }
 }

hooks/post_gen_project.py

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 from hdmf_docutils.init_sphinx_extension_doc import main as init_sphinx_extension_doc
+import shutil
 from subprocess import check_call
 import sys
 
@@ -43,11 +44,29 @@ def _initialize_git():
     check_call(["git", "branch", "-M", "main"])
 
 
+def _remove_widget_files():
+    # The template contains example files for NWB Widgets integration. Many extension creators
+    # do not plan to add widgets, so these files add clutter and potential confusion. If the
+    # user specifies that they do not want to add widgets, remove these files from the template.
+    # This is easier than adding the files only if they want to add widgets.
+    dirs_to_remove = {
+        "./notebooks",  # currently contains only widget demo -- be more specific if others exist
+        "src/pynwb/{{ cookiecutter.py_pkg_name }}/widgets"
+    }
+    for path in dirs_to_remove:
+        print(f"Deleting directory {path}")
+        shutil.rmtree(path)
+
+
 def main():
     """Run the post gen project hook main entry point."""
 
+    if "{{ cookiecutter.widgets }}" == "True":
+        _remove_widget_files()
+
     _generate_doc()
     _create_extension_spec()
+
     if "{{ cookiecutter.initialize_git }}" == "True":
         _initialize_git()
 

tests/test_bake_project.py

@@ -30,6 +30,26 @@ def test_bake_project_extra(cookies):
     _check_gen_files(result.project_path, "ndx-test")
 
 
+def test_bake_project_widgets(cookies):
+    """Test evaluating the template with widgets."""
+    result = cookies.bake(extra_context={"widgets": "yes"})
+
+    assert result.exit_code == 0
+    assert result.exception is None
+
+    for expected_file in [
+        "notebooks/example.ipynb",
+        "src/pynwb/ndx_my_namespace/widgets/__init__.py",
+        "src/pynwb/ndx_my_namespace/widgets/tetrode_series_widget.py",
+        "src/pynwb/ndx_my_namespace/widgets/README.md",
+    ]:
+        expected_file = os.path.join(result.project_path, expected_file)
+        assert os.path.exists(expected_file), f"Missing file: {expected_file}"
+
+        with open(expected_file, "r") as fp:
+            assert fp.read().strip() != "", f"Empty file: {expected_file}"
+
+
 def _check_gen_files(project_dir: str, namespace: str):
     """Test that the correct files are generated after the template is evaluated."""
     for expected_file in [

{{ cookiecutter.namespace }}/NEXTSTEPS.md

@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ and any other packages required to develop, document, and run your extension.
 
 6. Define API classes for your new extension data types.
 
-    - As a starting point, `src/pynwb/__init__.py` includes an example for how to use
+    - As a starting point, `src/pynwb/{{ cookiecutter.py_pkg_name }}/__init__.py` includes an
+      example for how to use
       the `pynwb.get_class` to generate a basic Python class for your new extension data
       type. This class contains a constructor and properties for the new data type.
     - Instead of using `pynwb.get_class`, you can define your own custom class for the
@@ -28,7 +29,8 @@ and any other packages required to develop, document, and run your extension.
       [Extending NWB tutorial](https://pynwb.readthedocs.io/en/stable/tutorials/general/extensions.html)
       for more details.
 
-7. Define tests for your new extension data types in `src/pynwb/tests` or `src/matnwb/tests`.
+7. Define tests for your new extension data types in 
+`src/pynwb/{{ cookiecutter.py_pkg_name }}/tests` or `src/matnwb/tests`.
 A test for the example `TetrodeSeries` data type is provided as a reference and should be
 replaced or removed.
 
@@ -49,9 +51,10 @@ replaced or removed.
 )
 
 7. (Optional) Define custom visualization widgets for your new extension data types in
-`src/pynwb/widgets` so that the visualizations can be displayed with
+`src/pynwb/{{ cookiecutter.py_pkg_name }}/widgets` so that the visualizations can be displayed with
 [nwbwidgets](https://github.com/NeurodataWithoutBorders/nwbwidgets).
-You will also need to update the `vis_spec` dictionary in `__init__.py` so that
+You will also need to update the `vis_spec` dictionary in 
+`src/pynwb/{{ cookiecutter.py_pkg_name }}/widgets/__init__.py` so that
 nwbwidgets can find your custom visualizations.
 
 8. You may need to modify `pyproject.toml` and re-run `python -m pip install -e .` if you

{{ cookiecutter.namespace }}/requirements-dev.txt

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ codespell==2.3.0
 coverage==7.5.4
 hdmf==3.14.1
 hdmf-docutils==0.4.7
-nwbwidgets==0.11.3
+{%- if cookiecutter.widgets -%}nwbwidgets==0.11.3{% endif %}
 pre-commit==3.5.0  # latest pre-commit does not support py3.8
 pynwb==2.8.0
 pytest==8.2.2

{{ cookiecutter.namespace }}/src/pynwb/{{ cookiecutter.py_pkg_name }}/__init__.py

@@ -24,11 +24,5 @@
 # `@register_class("TetrodeSeries", "{{ cookiecutter.namespace }}")`
 TetrodeSeries = get_class("TetrodeSeries", "{{ cookiecutter.namespace }}")
 
-# NOTE: `widgets/tetrode_series_widget.py` adds a "widget"
-# attribute to the TetrodeSeries class. This attribute is used by NWBWidgets.
-# Delete the `widgets` subpackage or the `tetrode_series_widget.py` module
-# if you do not want to define a custom widget for your extension neurodata
-# type.
-
 # Remove these functions from the package
 del load_namespaces, get_class