Unify Signals/Channels around auto-naming, plot-by-channel, and shared vars

Devices: auto-name from OS-reported port description (Device Manager /
udev string) instead of a generic label; default Serial #Channels 1;
consistent simulate-mode checkbox across backends; inline device rename.

Channels: calibration/filters move out of Signals into a Channel
"Operation" (adds Scale/Offset alongside the existing math kinds);
single-physical-source Channels get an embedded Filters block; new
Channels auto-name/auto-ID from their source and reject duplicate
names/IDs on apply; "Create Channel" button on each Signal row; renamed
"Sources" -> "Signals" in the Channels UI; Signals' READ/WRITE dir badge
(was silently-broken IN/OUT) now reflects the real writable flag.

Plot: default layout is one pane per Channel (not per device, not raw
Signals) titled by channel name; "+ Add Channel" is a checkbox dialog
instead of an inline dropdown; traces get up/down reorder; live unit
changes (e.g. a Mark-10 gauge switching lb/kgF/N/ozF) propagate to an
open pane's axis label without clobbering a manually-typed one.

Control Panel: hardware assignment now picks from the same writable-
Signals list instead of a separate device/channel combo with a
hardcoded Arduino pin list; stale visual indicator when a control's
target device/channel disconnects or disappears; documented the `vars`
bridge (Control Panel On Action Script <-> Channel scripts) in both
directions' help text and script templates.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2 files changed, 34 insertions, 10 deletions

diff --git a/devices/arduino_device.py b/devices/arduino_device.py
index 2f5e8e6..3ad0c7b 100644
--- a/devices/arduino_device.py
+++ b/devices/arduino_device.py
@@ -112,9 +112,14 @@ class ArduinoDevice(BaseDevice):
                 color=_DO_COLORS[i % len(_DO_COLORS)],
             ))
 
+        _desc = ArduinoLayer.describe_port(port) if not simulate else ""
+        if _desc:
+            _name = _desc if port in _desc else f"{_desc} ({port})"
+        else:
+            _name = f"Arduino ({port})"
         info = DeviceInfo(
             device_id=device_id,
-            name="Arduino",
+            name=_name,
             device_type=self.DEVICE_TYPE,
             description=(f"Arduino — {len(self._analog_pins)} analog, "
                          f"{len(self._di_pins)} DI, {len(self._do_pins)} DO"),
diff --git a/devices/serial_device.py b/devices/serial_device.py
index fb131aa..61c3a64 100644
--- a/devices/serial_device.py
+++ b/devices/serial_device.py
@@ -52,6 +52,27 @@ _LABEL_FOR: Dict[str, str] = {v: k for k, v in _FORMAT_LABELS.items()}
 _GENERIC_FORMATS  = {"key:val", "csv", "json"}
 _PROTOCOL_FORMATS = {"scpi", "modbus_rtu", "mark10", "cml"}
 
+# parse_format → auto-name label — fallback only, used when the OS can't
+# describe the port (simulation mode, or the device isn't enumerable)
+_AUTO_NAME_LABEL: Dict[str, str] = {
+    "mark10":     "Mark-10 USB Device",
+    "scpi":       "SCPI Serial Device",
+    "modbus_rtu": "Modbus Serial Device",
+    "cml":        "CML Serial Device",
+}
+
+
+def _auto_name(parse_format: str, port: str, simulate: bool = False) -> str:
+    """Prefer the OS-reported device description (same string Windows Device
+    Manager / Linux udev shows for this port) over a generic protocol label,
+    so the auto-assigned name matches what the operator sees outside the app."""
+    if not simulate:
+        desc = ArduinoLayer.describe_port(port)
+        if desc:
+            return desc if port in desc else f"{desc} ({port})"
+    label = _AUTO_NAME_LABEL.get(parse_format, "USB Serial Device")
+    return f"{label} ({port})"
+
 # Index into the config-widget stacked panel
 _STACK_IDX = {
     "key:val":    0,
@@ -78,7 +99,7 @@ class SerialDevice(BaseDevice):
         parse_format:    str        = "key:val",
         simulate:        bool       = True,
         # ── Generic stream options ──────────────────────────────────────
-        num_channels:    int        = 4,
+        num_channels:    int        = 1,
         channel_names:   List[str]  = None,
         units:           List[str]  = None,
         # ── SCPI ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -116,7 +137,7 @@ class SerialDevice(BaseDevice):
         channels = self._build_channel_configs()
         info = DeviceInfo(
             device_id=device_id,
-            name="Serial / UART",
+            name=_auto_name(parse_format, port, simulate),
             device_type=self.DEVICE_TYPE,
             description=self._description(),
             icon=self.ICON,
@@ -459,14 +480,12 @@ class SerialConfigWidget(QWidget):
         self._fmt_cb.currentIndexChanged.connect(self._on_fmt_changed)
         conn_form.addRow("Protocol / Format:", self._fmt_cb)
 
-        self._sim_cb = QComboBox()
-        self._sim_cb.addItems(["Simulate", "Real Hardware"])
-        self._sim_cb.setCurrentIndex(0 if self.device.simulate else 1)
+        self._sim_cb = QCheckBox("Simulation Mode (no hardware)")
+        self._sim_cb.setChecked(self.device.simulate)
         from core.app_settings import is_developer_mode
-        mode_lbl = QLabel("Mode:")
         dev_mode = is_developer_mode()
-        mode_lbl.setVisible(dev_mode); self._sim_cb.setVisible(dev_mode)
-        conn_form.addRow(mode_lbl, self._sim_cb)
+        self._sim_cb.setVisible(dev_mode)
+        conn_form.addRow(self._sim_cb)
 
         root.addWidget(conn_grp)
 
@@ -535,7 +554,7 @@ class SerialConfigWidget(QWidget):
             port=self._port_edit.text().strip() or "COM3",
             baud=int(self._baud_cb.currentText()),
             fmt=fmt,
-            simulate=(self._sim_cb.currentIndex() == 0),
+            simulate=self._sim_cb.isChecked(),
         )
         if fmt in _GENERIC_FORMATS:
             kwargs.update(self._generic_panel.collect())