Shorthand notation

docs/source/tendencies.rst

@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ Most tendencies accept the following parameters to define their time interval. Y
 .. note::
     The :ref:`Piecewise Linear Tendency <piecewise-linear-tendency>` is an exception and derives its time interval solely from its ``time`` parameter list. It does *not* accept ``start``, ``duration``, or ``end``.
 
+.. _constant-tendency:
+
 Constant Tendency
 =================
 

docs/source/yaml_format.rst

@@ -108,11 +108,13 @@ a list of waveforms, or a single number (float or integer).
 
         Refer to the :ref:`Available Tendencies <available-tendencies>` documentation for details on the different tendency types and their parameters.
 
-    2.  **Constant Value:** A simple number (integer or float) defines a constant waveform over time.
+    2.  **Constant Value:** A bare number (integer or float) or string defines a constant waveform over time, equivalent to a single :ref:`constant tendency <constant-tendency>`.
 
         .. code-block:: yaml
 
-           ec_launchers/beam(1)/phase/angle: -1.65898 # Constant value
+           ec_launchers/beam(1)/phase/angle: -1.65898 # Constant float value
+           pulse_schedule/ec/mode: 3                  # Constant int value
+           core_sources/source(1)/identifier/name: ec  # Constant string value
 
     3.  **Empty Waveform:** An empty list ``[{}]`` defines a waveform that is constantly zero.
 

tests/test_yaml_parser.py

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 from pytest import approx
 
 from waveform_editor.configuration import WaveformConfiguration
-from waveform_editor.derived_waveform import DerivedWaveform
 from waveform_editor.tendencies.constant import ConstantTendency
 from waveform_editor.tendencies.linear import LinearTendency
 from waveform_editor.tendencies.periodic.sawtooth_wave import SawtoothWaveTendency
@@ -132,18 +131,26 @@ def test_scientific_notation(yaml_parser):
 
 
 def test_constant_shorthand_notation(yaml_parser):
-    """Test if shorthand notation is parsed correctly."""
+    """Test if shorthand notation is parsed as a constant tendency."""
 
-    waveforms = {"waveform: 5": 5, "waveform: 1.23": 1.23}
+    waveforms = {
+        "waveform: 5": (5, int),
+        "waveform: 1.23": (1.23, float),
+        "waveform: test": ("test", str),
+    }
 
-    for waveform, expected_value in waveforms.items():
+    for waveform, (expected_value, expected_type) in waveforms.items():
         waveform = yaml_parser.parse_waveform(waveform)
-        assert isinstance(waveform, DerivedWaveform)
-        assert waveform.yaml == expected_value
+        assert isinstance(waveform, Waveform)
+        assert len(waveform.tendencies) == 1
+        assert isinstance(waveform.tendencies[0], ConstantTendency)
+        assert waveform.value_type is expected_type
         assert not waveform.annotations
-        assert waveform.dependencies == set()
         assert not yaml_parser.parse_errors
 
+        _, values = waveform.get_value()
+        assert all(v == expected_value for v in values)
+
 
 def test_load_yaml(config):
     """Test if yaml is loaded correctly."""

waveform_editor/yaml/yaml_parser.py

@@ -165,6 +165,26 @@ def parse_waveform(self, yaml_str):
                     name=name,
                     dd_version=dd_version,
                 )
+            # Shorthand notation for waveforms containing a constant tendency, e.g.
+            #  ec_launchers/beam(1)/phase/angle: -1.65898  # float
+            #  pulse_schedule/ec/mode: 3                   # int
+            #  core_sources/source(1)/identifier/name: ec  # string
+            elif isinstance(waveform, (int, float)) or (
+                "'" not in waveform and '"' not in waveform
+            ):
+                waveform = Waveform(
+                    waveform=[
+                        {
+                            "user_type": "constant",
+                            "user_value": waveform,
+                            "line_number": line_number,
+                        }
+                    ],
+                    yaml_str=yaml_str,
+                    line_number=line_number,
+                    name=name,
+                    dd_version=dd_version,
+                )
             else:
                 waveform = DerivedWaveform(
                     yaml_str, name, self.config, dd_version=dd_version