nabu 2024.1.0rc4__py3-none-any.whl → 2024.1.1__py3-none-any.whl

build/lib/build/lib/build/lib/build/lib/build/lib/build/lib/build/lib/nabu/stitching/config.py

@@ -0,0 +1,1286 @@
+# coding: utf-8
+# /*##########################################################################
+#
+# Copyright (c) 2016-2017 European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+# of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+# in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+# to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+# copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+# furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+# all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+#
+# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+# OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+# THE SOFTWARE.
+#
+# ###########################################################################*/
+
+__authors__ = ["H. Payno"]
+__license__ = "MIT"
+__date__ = "10/05/2022"
+
+
+from math import ceil
+from typing import Any, Iterable, Optional, Union, Sized
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+import numpy
+from pyunitsystem.metricsystem import MetricSystem
+from nxtomo.paths import nxtomo
+from tomoscan.factory import Factory
+from tomoscan.identifier import VolumeIdentifier, ScanIdentifier
+from tomoscan.esrf.scan.nxtomoscan import NXtomoScan
+from ..pipeline.config_validators import (
+    boolean_validator,
+    convert_to_bool,
+)
+from ..utils import concatenate_dict, convert_str_to_tuple
+from ..io.utils import get_output_volume
+from .overlap import OverlapStitchingStrategy
+from .utils import ShiftAlgorithm
+from .definitions import StitchingType
+from .alignment import AlignmentAxis1, AlignmentAxis2
+from pyunitsystem.metricsystem import MetricSystem
+
+
+KEY_IMG_REG_METHOD = "img_reg_method"
+
+KEY_WINDOW_SIZE = "window_size"
+
+KEY_LOW_PASS_FILTER = "low_pass"
+
+KEY_HIGH_PASS_FILTER = "high_pass"
+
+KEY_OVERLAP_SIZE = "overlap_size"
+
+KEY_SIDE = "side"
+
+OUTPUT_SECTION = "output"
+
+INPUTS_SECTION = "inputs"
+
+Z_PRE_PROC_SECTION = "z-preproc"
+
+Z_POST_PROC_SECTION = "z-postproc"
+
+INPUT_DATASETS_FIELD = "input_datasets"
+
+INPUT_PIXEL_SIZE_MM = "pixel_size"
+
+INPUT_VOXEL_SIZE_MM = "voxel_size"
+
+STITCHING_SECTION = "stitching"
+
+STITCHING_STRATEGY_FIELD = "stitching_strategy"
+
+STITCHING_TYPE_FIELD = "type"
+
+DATA_FILE_FIELD = "location"
+
+OVERWRITE_RESULTS_FIELD = "overwrite_results"
+
+DATA_PATH_FIELD = "data_path"
+
+AXIS_0_POS_PX = "axis_0_pos_px"
+
+AXIS_1_POS_PX = "axis_1_pos_px"
+
+AXIS_2_POS_PX = "axis_2_pos_px"
+
+AXIS_0_POS_MM = "axis_0_pos_mm"
+
+AXIS_1_POS_MM = "axis_1_pos_mm"
+
+AXIS_2_POS_MM = "axis_2_pos_mm"
+
+AXIS_0_PARAMS = "axis_0_params"
+
+AXIS_1_PARAMS = "axis_1_params"
+
+AXIS_2_PARAMS = "axis_2_params"
+
+FLIP_LR = "fliplr"
+
+FLIP_UD = "flipud"
+
+NEXUS_VERSION_FIELD = "nexus_version"
+
+OUTPUT_DTYPE = "data_type"
+
+OUTPUT_VOLUME = "output_volume"
+
+STITCHING_SLICES = "slices"
+
+CROSS_CORRELATION_SLICE_FIELD = "slice_index_for_correlation"
+
+RESCALE_FRAMES = "rescale_frames"
+
+RESCALE_PARAMS = "rescale_params"
+
+KEY_RESCALE_MIN_PERCENTILES = "rescale_min_percentile"
+
+KEY_RESCALE_MAX_PERCENTILES = "rescale_max_percentile"
+
+ALIGNMENT_AXIS_2_FIELD = "alignment_axis_2"
+
+ALIGNMENT_AXIS_1_FIELD = "alignment_axis_1"
+
+PAD_MODE_FIELD = "pad_mode"
+
+# SLURM
+
+SLURM_SECTION = "slurm"
+
+SLURM_PARTITION = "partition"
+
+SLURM_MEM = "memory"
+
+SLURM_COR_PER_TASKS = "cpu-per-task"
+
+SLURM_NUMBER_OF_TASKS = "n_tasks"
+
+SLURM_N_JOBS = "n_jobs"
+
+SLURM_OTHER_OPTIONS = "other_options"
+
+SLURM_PREPROCESSING_COMMAND = "python_venv"
+
+SLURM_MODULES_TO_LOADS = "modules"
+
+SLURM_CLEAN_SCRIPTS = "clean_scripts"
+
+# normalization by sample
+
+NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SECTION = "normalization_by_sample"
+
+NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_ACTIVE_FIELD = "active"
+
+NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_METHOD = "method"
+
+NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SIDE = "side"
+
+NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_MARGIN = "margin"
+
+NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_WIDTH = "width"
+
+# kernel extra options
+
+STITCHING_KERNELS_EXTRA_PARAMS = "stitching_kernels_extra_params"
+
+KEY_THRESHOLD_FREQUENCY = "threshold_frequency"
+
+
+CROSS_CORRELATION_METHODS_AXIS_0 = {
+    "": "",  # for display
+    ShiftAlgorithm.NABU_FFT.value: "will call nabu `find_shift_correlate` function - shift search in fourier space",
+    ShiftAlgorithm.SKIMAGE.value: "use scikit image `phase_cross_correlation` function in real space",
+    ShiftAlgorithm.NONE.value: "no shift research is done. will only get shift from motor positions",
+}
+
+CROSS_CORRELATION_METHODS_AXIS_2 = CROSS_CORRELATION_METHODS_AXIS_0.copy()
+CROSS_CORRELATION_METHODS_AXIS_2.update(
+    {
+        ShiftAlgorithm.CENTERED.value: "a fast and simple auto-CoR method. It only works when the CoR is not far from the middle of the detector. It does not work for half-tomography.",
+        ShiftAlgorithm.GLOBAL.value: "a slow but robust auto-CoR.",
+        ShiftAlgorithm.GROWING_WINDOW.value: "automatically find the CoR with a sliding-and-growing window. You can tune the option with the parameter 'cor_options'.",
+        ShiftAlgorithm.SLIDING_WINDOW.value: "semi-automatically find the CoR with a sliding window. You have to specify on which side the CoR is (left, center, right). Please see the 'cor_options' parameter.",
+        ShiftAlgorithm.COMPOSITE_COARSE_TO_FINE.value: "Estimate CoR from composite multi-angle images. Only works for 360 degrees scans.",
+        ShiftAlgorithm.SINO_COARSE_TO_FINE.value: "Estimate CoR from sinogram. Only works for 360 degrees scans.",
+    }
+)
+
+SECTIONS_COMMENTS = {
+    STITCHING_SECTION: "section dedicated to stich parameters\n",
+    OUTPUT_SECTION: "section dedicated to output parameters\n",
+    INPUTS_SECTION: "section dedicated to inputs\n",
+    SLURM_SECTION: "section didicated to slurm. If you want to run locally avoid setting 'partition or remove this section'",
+    NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SECTION: "section dedicated to normalization by a sample. If activate each frame can be normalized by a sample of the frame",
+}
+
+DEFAULT_SHIFT_ALG_AXIS_0 = "nabu-fft"
+DEFAULT_SHIFT_ALG_AXIS_2 = "sliding-window"
+
+_shift_algs_axis_0 = "\n            + ".join(
+    [f"{key}: {value}" for key, value in CROSS_CORRELATION_METHODS_AXIS_0.items()]
+)
+_shift_algs_axis_2 = "\n            + ".join(
+    [f"{key}: {value}" for key, value in CROSS_CORRELATION_METHODS_AXIS_2.items()]
+)
+
+HELP_SHIFT_PARAMS = f"""options for shifts algorithms as `key1=value1,key2=value2`. For now valid keys are:
+    - {KEY_OVERLAP_SIZE}: size to apply stitching. If not provided will take the largest size possible'.
+    - {KEY_IMG_REG_METHOD}: algorithm to use to find overlaps between the different sections. Possible values are \n        * for axis 0: {_shift_algs_axis_0}\n        * and for axis 2: {_shift_algs_axis_2}
+    - {KEY_LOW_PASS_FILTER}: low pass filter value for filtering frames before shift research
+    - {KEY_HIGH_PASS_FILTER}: high pass filter value for filtering frames before shift research"""
+
+
+def _str_to_dict(my_str: Union[str, dict]):
+    """convert a string as key_1=value_2;key_2=value_2 to a dict"""
+    if isinstance(my_str, dict):
+        return my_str
+    res = {}
+    for key_value in filter(None, my_str.split(";")):
+        key, value = key_value.split("=")
+        res[key] = value
+    return res
+
+
+def _dict_to_str(ddict: dict):
+    return ";".join([f"{str(key)}={str(value)}" for key, value in ddict.items()])
+
+
+def str_to_shifts(my_str: Optional[str]) -> Union[str, tuple]:
+    if my_str is None:
+        return None
+    elif isinstance(my_str, str):
+        my_str = my_str.replace(" ", "")
+        my_str = my_str.lstrip("[").lstrip("(")
+        my_str = my_str.rstrip("]").lstrip(")")
+        if my_str == "":
+            return None
+        try:
+            shift = ShiftAlgorithm.from_value(my_str)
+        except ValueError:
+            shifts_as_str = filter(None, my_str.replace(";", ",").split(","))
+            return [float(shift) for shift in shifts_as_str]
+        else:
+            return shift
+    elif isinstance(my_str, (tuple, list)):
+        return [float(shift) for shift in my_str]
+    else:
+        raise TypeError("Only str or tuple of str expected expected")
+
+
+def _valid_stitching_kernels_params(my_dict: Union[dict, str]):
+    if isinstance(my_dict, str):
+        my_dict = _str_to_dict(my_str=my_dict)
+
+    valid_keys = (KEY_THRESHOLD_FREQUENCY, KEY_SIDE)
+    for key in my_dict.keys():
+        if not key in valid_keys:
+            raise KeyError(f"{key} is a unrecognized key")
+    return my_dict
+
+
+def _valid_shifts_params(my_dict: Union[dict, str]):
+    if isinstance(my_dict, str):
+        my_dict = _str_to_dict(my_str=my_dict)
+
+    valid_keys = (
+        KEY_WINDOW_SIZE,
+        KEY_IMG_REG_METHOD,
+        KEY_OVERLAP_SIZE,
+        KEY_HIGH_PASS_FILTER,
+        KEY_LOW_PASS_FILTER,
+        KEY_SIDE,
+    )
+    for key in my_dict.keys():
+        if not key in valid_keys:
+            raise KeyError(f"{key} is a unrecognized key")
+    return my_dict
+
+
+def _slices_to_list_or_slice(my_str: Optional[str]) -> Union[str, slice]:
+    if my_str is None:
+        return None
+    if isinstance(my_str, (tuple, list)):
+        if len(my_str) == 2:
+            return slice(int(my_str[0]), int(my_str[1]))
+        elif len(my_str) == 3:
+            return slice(int(my_str[0]), int(my_str[1]), int(my_str[2]))
+        else:
+            raise ValueError("expect at most free values to define a slice")
+
+    assert isinstance(my_str, str), f"wrong type. Get {my_str}, {type(my_str)}"
+    my_str = my_str.replace(" ", "")
+    if ":" in my_str:
+        split_string = my_str.split(":")
+        start = int(split_string[0])
+        stop = int(split_string[1])
+        if len(split_string) == 2:
+            step = None
+        elif len(split_string) == 3:
+            step = int(split_string[2])
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"unable to interpret `slices` parameter: {my_str}")
+        return slice(start, stop, step)
+    else:
+        my_str.replace(",", ";")
+        return list(filter(None, my_str.split(";")))
+
+
+def _scalar_or_tuple_to_bool_or_tuple_of_bool(my_str: Union[bool, tuple, str], default=False):
+    if isinstance(my_str, bool):
+        return my_str
+    elif isinstance(my_str, str):
+        my_str = my_str.replace(" ", "")
+        my_str = my_str.lstrip("(").lstrip("[")
+        my_str = my_str.rstrip(")").lstrip("]")
+        my_str = my_str.replace(",", ";")
+        values = my_str.split(";")
+        values = tuple([convert_to_bool(value)[0] for value in values])
+    else:
+        values = my_str
+    if len(values) == 0:
+        return default
+    elif len(values) == 1:
+        return values[0]
+    else:
+        return values
+
+
+from nabu.stitching.sample_normalization import Method, SampleSide
+
+
+class NormalizationBySample:
+    def __init__(self) -> None:
+        self._active = False
+        self._method = Method.MEAN
+        self._margin = 0
+        self._side = SampleSide.LEFT
+        self._width = 30
+
+    def is_active(self):
+        return self._active
+
+    def set_is_active(self, active: bool):
+        assert isinstance(
+            active, bool
+        ), f"active is expected to be a bool. Get {type(active)} instead. Value == {active}"
+        self._active = active
+
+    @property
+    def method(self) -> Method:
+        return self._method
+
+    @method.setter
+    def method(self, method: Union[Method, str]) -> None:
+        self._method = Method.from_value(method)
+
+    @property
+    def margin(self) -> int:
+        return self._margin
+
+    @margin.setter
+    def margin(self, margin: int):
+        assert isinstance(margin, int), f"margin is expected to be an int. Get {type(margin)} instead"
+        self._margin = margin
+
+    @property
+    def side(self) -> SampleSide:
+        return self._side
+
+    @side.setter
+    def side(self, side: Union[SampleSide, str]):
+        self._side = SampleSide.from_value(side)
+
+    @property
+    def width(self) -> int:
+        return self._width
+
+    @width.setter
+    def width(self, width: int):
+        assert isinstance(width, int), f"width is expected to be an int. Get {type(width)} instead"
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_dict(my_dict: dict):
+        sample_normalization = NormalizationBySample()
+        # active
+        active = my_dict.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_ACTIVE_FIELD, None)
+        if active is not None:
+            active = active in (True, "True", 1, "1")
+            sample_normalization.set_is_active(active)
+
+        # method
+        method = my_dict.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_METHOD, None)
+        if method is not None:
+            sample_normalization.method = method
+
+        # margin
+        margin = my_dict.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_MARGIN, None)
+        if margin is not None:
+            sample_normalization.margin = int(margin)
+
+        # side
+        side = my_dict.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SIDE, None)
+        if side is not None:
+            sample_normalization.side = side
+
+        # width
+        width = my_dict.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_WIDTH, None)
+        if width is not None:
+            sample_normalization.width = int(width)
+
+        return sample_normalization
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict:
+        return {
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_ACTIVE_FIELD: self.is_active(),
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_METHOD: self.method.value,
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_MARGIN: self.margin,
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SIDE: self.side.value,
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_WIDTH: self.width,
+        }
+
+    def __eq__(self, __value: object) -> bool:
+        if not isinstance(__value, NormalizationBySample):
+            return False
+        else:
+            return self.to_dict() == __value.to_dict()
+
+
+@dataclass
+class SlurmConfig:
+    "configuration for slurm jobs"
+    partition: str = ""  # note: must stay empty to make by default we don't use slurm (use by the  configuration file)
+    mem: str = "128"
+    n_jobs: int = 1
+    other_options: str = ""
+    preprocessing_command: str = ""
+    modules_to_load: tuple = tuple()
+    clean_script: bool = ""
+    n_tasks: int = 1
+    n_cpu_per_task: int = 4
+
+    def __post_init__(self) -> None:
+        # make sure either 'modules' or 'preprocessing_command' is provided
+        if len(self.modules_to_load) > 0 and self.preprocessing_command not in (None, ""):
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Either modules {SLURM_MODULES_TO_LOADS} or preprocessing_command {SLURM_PREPROCESSING_COMMAND} can be provided. Not both."
+            )
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict:
+        "dump configuration to dict"
+        return {
+            SLURM_PARTITION: self.partition if self.partition is not None else "",
+            SLURM_MEM: self.mem,
+            SLURM_N_JOBS: self.n_jobs,
+            SLURM_OTHER_OPTIONS: self.other_options,
+            SLURM_PREPROCESSING_COMMAND: self.preprocessing_command,
+            SLURM_MODULES_TO_LOADS: self.modules_to_load,
+            SLURM_CLEAN_SCRIPTS: self.clean_script,
+            SLURM_NUMBER_OF_TASKS: self.n_tasks,
+            SLURM_COR_PER_TASKS: self.n_cpu_per_task,
+        }
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_dict(config: dict):
+        return SlurmConfig(
+            partition=config.get(
+                SLURM_PARTITION, None
+            ),  # warning: never set a default value. Would generate infinite loop from slurm call
+            mem=config.get(SLURM_MEM, "32GB"),
+            n_jobs=int(config.get(SLURM_N_JOBS, 10)),
+            other_options=config.get(SLURM_OTHER_OPTIONS, ""),
+            n_tasks=config.get(SLURM_NUMBER_OF_TASKS, 1),
+            n_cpu_per_task=config.get(SLURM_COR_PER_TASKS, 4),
+            preprocessing_command=config.get(SLURM_PREPROCESSING_COMMAND, ""),
+            modules_to_load=convert_str_to_tuple(config.get(SLURM_MODULES_TO_LOADS, "")),
+            clean_script=convert_to_bool(config.get(SLURM_CLEAN_SCRIPTS, False))[0],
+        )
+
+
+def _cast_shift_to_str(shifts: Union[tuple, str, None]) -> str:
+    if shifts is None:
+        return ""
+    elif isinstance(shifts, ShiftAlgorithm):
+        return shifts.value
+    elif isinstance(shifts, str):
+        return shifts
+    elif isinstance(shifts, (tuple, list)):
+        return ";".join([str(value) for value in shifts])
+
+
+@dataclass
+class StitchingConfiguration:
+    """
+    bass class to define stitching configuration
+    """
+
+    axis_0_pos_px: Union[tuple, str, None]
+    "position along axis 0 in absolute. unit: px"
+    axis_1_pos_px: Union[tuple, str, None]
+    "position along axis 1 in absolute. unit: px"
+    axis_2_pos_px: Union[tuple, str, None]
+    "position along axis 2 in absolute. unit: px"
+
+    axis_0_pos_mm: Union[tuple, str, None] = None
+    "position along axis 0 in absolute. unit: mm"
+    axis_1_pos_mm: Union[tuple, str, None] = None
+    "position along axis 0 in absolute. unit: mm"
+    axis_2_pos_mm: Union[tuple, str, None] = None
+    "position along axis 0 in absolute. unit: mm"
+
+    axis_0_params: dict = None
+    axis_1_params: dict = None
+    axis_2_params: dict = None
+    slurm_config: SlurmConfig = None
+    flip_lr: Union[tuple, bool] = False
+    "flip frame left-right. For scan this will be append to the NXtransformations of the detector"
+    flip_ud: Union[tuple, bool] = False
+    "flip frame up-down. For scan this will be append to the NXtransformations of the detector"
+
+    overwrite_results: bool = False
+    stitching_strategy: OverlapStitchingStrategy = OverlapStitchingStrategy.COSINUS_WEIGHTS
+    stitching_kernels_extra_params: dict = None
+
+    slice_for_cross_correlation: Union[str, int] = "middle"
+
+    # opts for rescaling frame during stitching
+    rescale_frames: bool = False
+    rescale_params: dict = None
+
+    normalization_by_sample: NormalizationBySample = None
+
+    @property
+    def stitching_type(self):
+        raise NotImplementedError("Base class")
+
+    def __post_init__(self):
+        if self.normalization_by_sample is None:
+            self.normalization_by_sample = NormalizationBySample()
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_description_dict() -> dict:
+        def get_pos_info(axis, unit, alternative):
+            return f"position over {axis} in {unit}. If provided {alternative} must be set to blank. If none provided then will try to get information from existing metadata"
+
+        def get_default_shift_params(window_size=None, shift_alg=None) -> str:
+            return ";".join(
+                [
+                    f"{KEY_WINDOW_SIZE}={window_size or ''}",
+                    f"{KEY_IMG_REG_METHOD}={shift_alg or ''}",
+                ]
+            )
+
+        return {
+            STITCHING_SECTION: {
+                STITCHING_TYPE_FIELD: {
+                    "default": StitchingType.Z_PREPROC.value,
+                    "help": f"stitching to be applied. Must be in {StitchingType.values()}",
+                    "type": "required",
+                },
+                STITCHING_STRATEGY_FIELD: {
+                    "default": "cosinus weights",
+                    "help": f"Policy to apply to compute the overlap area. Must be in {OverlapStitchingStrategy.values()}.",
+                    "type": "required",
+                },
+                CROSS_CORRELATION_SLICE_FIELD: {
+                    "default": "middle",
+                    "help": f"slice to use for image registration",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_0_POS_PX: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": get_pos_info(axis=0, unit="pixel", alternative=AXIS_0_POS_MM),
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_0_POS_MM: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": get_pos_info(axis=1, unit="millimeter", alternative=AXIS_0_POS_PX),
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_0_PARAMS: {
+                    "default": get_default_shift_params(window_size=50, shift_alg=DEFAULT_SHIFT_ALG_AXIS_0),
+                    "help": HELP_SHIFT_PARAMS,
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_1_POS_PX: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": get_pos_info(axis=1, unit="pixel", alternative=AXIS_1_POS_MM),
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_1_POS_MM: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": get_pos_info(axis=1, unit="millimeter", alternative=AXIS_1_POS_PX),
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_1_PARAMS: {
+                    "default": get_default_shift_params(),
+                    "help": f"same as {AXIS_0_PARAMS} but for axis 1",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_2_POS_PX: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": get_pos_info(axis=2, unit="pixel", alternative=AXIS_2_POS_MM),
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_2_POS_MM: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": get_pos_info(axis=2, unit="millimeter", alternative=AXIS_1_POS_PX),
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                AXIS_2_PARAMS: {
+                    "default": get_default_shift_params(window_size=200, shift_alg=DEFAULT_SHIFT_ALG_AXIS_2),
+                    "help": f"same as {AXIS_0_PARAMS} but for axis 2",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                FLIP_LR: {
+                    "default": False,
+                    "help": "sometime scan or volume can have a left-right flip in frame (projection/slice) space. For recent NXtomo it should be handled automatically. But for volume you might need to request some flip.",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                FLIP_UD: {
+                    "default": False,
+                    "help": "sometime scan or volume can have a up_down flip in frame (projection/slice) space. For recent NXtomo it should be handled automatically. But for volume you might need to request some flip.",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                RESCALE_FRAMES: {
+                    "default": False,
+                    "help": "rescale each frame before applying stithcing",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                RESCALE_PARAMS: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": f"parameters for rescaling frames as 'key1=value1;key_2=value2'. Valid Keys are {KEY_RESCALE_MIN_PERCENTILES} and {KEY_RESCALE_MAX_PERCENTILES}.",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                STITCHING_KERNELS_EXTRA_PARAMS: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": f"advanced parameters for some stitching kernels. must be provided as 'key1=value1;key_2=value2'. Valid keys for now are: {KEY_THRESHOLD_FREQUENCY}: threshold to be used by the {OverlapStitchingStrategy.IMAGE_MINIMUM_DIVERGENCE.value} to split images low and high frequencies in Fourier space.",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                ALIGNMENT_AXIS_2_FIELD: {
+                    "default": "center",
+                    "help": f"In case frame have different frame widths how to align them (so along volume axis 2). Valid keys are {AlignmentAxis2.values()}",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                PAD_MODE_FIELD: {
+                    "default": "constant",
+                    "help": f"pad mode to use for frame alignment. Valid values are 'constant', 'edge', 'linear_ramp', maximum', 'mean', 'median', 'minimum', 'reflect', 'symmetric', 'wrap', and 'empty'. See nupy.pad documentation for details",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+            },
+            OUTPUT_SECTION: {
+                OVERWRITE_RESULTS_FIELD: {
+                    "default": "1",
+                    "help": "What to do in the case where the output file exists.\nBy default, the output data is never overwritten and the process is interrupted if the file already exists.\nSet this option to 1 if you want to overwrite the output files.",
+                    "validator": boolean_validator,
+                    "type": "required",
+                },
+            },
+            INPUTS_SECTION: {
+                INPUT_DATASETS_FIELD: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": f"Dataset to stitch together. Must be volume for {StitchingType.Z_PREPROC.value} or NXtomo for {StitchingType.Z_POSTPROC.value}",
+                    "type": "required",
+                },
+                STITCHING_SLICES: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": f"slices to be stitched. Must be given along axis 0 for pre-processing (z) and along axis 1 for post-processing (y)",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+            },
+            SLURM_SECTION: {
+                SLURM_PARTITION: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": "slurm partition to be used. If empty will run locally",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_MEM: {
+                    "default": "32GB",
+                    "help": "memory to allocate for each job",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_N_JOBS: {
+                    "default": 10,
+                    "help": "number of job to launch (split computation on N parallel jobs). Once all are finished we will concatenate the result.",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_COR_PER_TASKS: {
+                    "default": 4,
+                    "help": "number of cor per task launched",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_NUMBER_OF_TASKS: {
+                    "default": 1,
+                    "help": "(for parallel execution when possible). Split each job into this number of tasks",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_OTHER_OPTIONS: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": "you can provide axtra options to slurm from this string",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_PREPROCESSING_COMMAND: {
+                    "default": "",
+                    "help": "python virtual environment to use",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+                SLURM_MODULES_TO_LOADS: {
+                    "default": "tomotools/stable",
+                    "help": "module to load",
+                    "type": "optional",
+                },
+            },
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SECTION: {
+                NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_ACTIVE_FIELD: {
+                    "default": False,
+                    "help": "should we apply frame normalization by a sample or not",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_METHOD: {
+                    "default": "median",
+                    "help": "method to compute the normalization value",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SIDE: {
+                    "default": "left",
+                    "help": "side to pick the sample",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_MARGIN: {
+                    "default": 0,
+                    "help": "margin (in px) between border and sample",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+                NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_WIDTH: {
+                    "default": 30,
+                    "help": "sample width (in px)",
+                    "type": "advanced",
+                },
+            },
+        }
+
+    def to_dict(self):
+        """dump configuration to a dict. Must be serializable because might be dump to HDF5 file"""
+        return {
+            SLURM_SECTION: self.slurm_config.to_dict() if self.slurm_config is not None else SlurmConfig().to_dict(),
+            STITCHING_SECTION: {
+                STITCHING_TYPE_FIELD: self.stitching_type.value,
+                CROSS_CORRELATION_SLICE_FIELD: str(self.slice_for_cross_correlation),
+                AXIS_0_POS_PX: _cast_shift_to_str(self.axis_0_pos_px),
+                AXIS_0_POS_MM: _cast_shift_to_str(self.axis_0_pos_mm),
+                AXIS_0_PARAMS: _dict_to_str(self.axis_0_params or {}),
+                AXIS_1_POS_PX: _cast_shift_to_str(self.axis_1_pos_px),
+                AXIS_1_POS_MM: _cast_shift_to_str(self.axis_1_pos_mm),
+                AXIS_1_PARAMS: _dict_to_str(self.axis_1_params or {}),
+                AXIS_2_POS_PX: _cast_shift_to_str(self.axis_2_pos_px),
+                AXIS_2_POS_MM: _cast_shift_to_str(self.axis_2_pos_mm),
+                AXIS_2_PARAMS: _dict_to_str(self.axis_2_params or {}),
+                STITCHING_STRATEGY_FIELD: OverlapStitchingStrategy.from_value(self.stitching_strategy).value,
+                FLIP_UD: self.flip_ud,
+                FLIP_LR: self.flip_lr,
+                RESCALE_FRAMES: self.rescale_frames,
+                RESCALE_PARAMS: _dict_to_str(self.rescale_params or {}),
+                STITCHING_KERNELS_EXTRA_PARAMS: _dict_to_str(self.stitching_kernels_extra_params or {}),
+            },
+            OUTPUT_SECTION: {
+                OVERWRITE_RESULTS_FIELD: int(
+                    self.overwrite_results,
+                ),
+            },
+            NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SECTION: self.normalization_by_sample.to_dict(),
+        }
+
+
+@dataclass
+class ZStitchingConfiguration(StitchingConfiguration):
+    """
+    base class to define z-stitching parameters
+    """
+
+    slices: Union[
+        slice, tuple, None
+    ] = None  # slices to reconstruct. Over axis 0 for pre-processing, over axis 1 for post-processing. If None will reconstruct all
+
+    alignment_axis_2: AlignmentAxis2 = AlignmentAxis2.CENTER
+
+    pad_mode: str = "constant"  # pad mode to be used for alignment
+
+    def settle_inputs(self) -> None:
+        self.settle_slices()
+
+    def settle_slices(self) -> tuple:
+        raise ValueError("Base class")
+
+    def get_output_object(self):
+        raise ValueError("Base class")
+
+    def to_dict(self):
+        if isinstance(self.slices, slice):
+            slices = f"{self.slices.start}:{self.slices.stop}:{self.slices.step}"
+        elif self.slices in ("", None):
+            slices = ""
+        else:
+            slices = ";".join(str(s) for s in self.slices)
+        return concatenate_dict(
+            super().to_dict(),
+            {
+                INPUTS_SECTION: {
+                    STITCHING_SLICES: slices,
+                },
+                STITCHING_SECTION: {
+                    ALIGNMENT_AXIS_2_FIELD: self.alignment_axis_2.value,
+                    PAD_MODE_FIELD: self.pad_mode,
+                },
+            },
+        )
+
+
+@dataclass
+class PreProcessedZStitchingConfiguration(ZStitchingConfiguration):
+    """
+    base class to define z-stitching parameters
+    """
+
+    input_scans: tuple = ()  # tuple of ScanBase
+    output_file_path: str = ""
+    output_data_path: str = ""
+    output_nexus_version: Optional[float] = None
+    pixel_size: Optional[float] = None
+
+    @property
+    def stitching_type(self) -> StitchingType:
+        return StitchingType.Z_PREPROC
+
+    def get_output_object(self):
+        return NXtomoScan(
+            scan=self.output_file_path,
+            entry=self.output_data_path,
+        )
+
+    def settle_inputs(self) -> None:
+        super().settle_inputs()
+        self.settle_input_scans()
+
+    def settle_input_scans(self):
+        self.input_scans = [
+            Factory.create_tomo_object_from_identifier(identifier)
+            if isinstance(identifier, (str, ScanIdentifier))
+            else identifier
+            for identifier in self.input_scans
+        ]
+
+    def slice_idx_from_str_to_int(self, index):
+        if isinstance(index, str):
+            index = index.lower()
+            if index == "first":
+                return 0
+            elif index == "last":
+                return len(self.input_scans[0].projections) - 1
+            elif index == "middle":
+                return max(len(self.input_scans[0].projections) // 2 - 1, 0)
+        return int(index)
+
+    def settle_slices(self) -> tuple:
+        """
+        interpret the slices to be stitched if needed
+
+        Nore: if slices is an instance of slice will redefine start and stop to avoid having negative indexes
+
+        :return: (slices:[slice,Iterable], n_proj:int)
+        :rtype: tuple
+        """
+        slices = self.slices
+        if isinstance(slices, Sized) and len(slices) == 0:
+            # in this case will stitch them all
+            slices = None
+        if len(self.input_scans) == 0:
+            raise ValueError("No input scan provided")
+        if slices is None:
+            slices = slice(0, len(self.input_scans[0].projections), 1)
+            n_proj = slices.stop
+        elif isinstance(slices, slice):
+            # force slices indices to be positive
+            start = slices.start
+            if start < 0:
+                start += len(self.input_scans[0].projections) + 1
+            stop = slices.stop
+            if stop < 0:
+                stop += len(self.input_scans[0].projections) + 1
+            step = slices.step
+            if step is None:
+                step = 1
+            n_proj = ceil((stop - start) / step)
+            # update slices for iteration simplify things
+            slices = slice(start, stop, step)
+        elif isinstance(slices, (tuple, list)):
+            n_proj = len(slices)
+            slices = [self.slice_idx_from_str_to_int(s) for s in slices]
+        else:
+            raise TypeError(f"slices is expected to be a tuple or a lice. Not {type(slices)}")
+        self.slices = slices
+        return slices, n_proj
+
+    def to_dict(self):
+        if self.pixel_size is None:
+            pixel_size_mm = ""
+        else:
+            pixel_size_mm = self.pixel_size * MetricSystem.MILLIMETER.value
+        return concatenate_dict(
+            super().to_dict(),
+            {
+                Z_PRE_PROC_SECTION: {
+                    DATA_FILE_FIELD: self.output_file_path,
+                    DATA_PATH_FIELD: self.output_data_path,
+                    NEXUS_VERSION_FIELD: self.output_nexus_version,
+                },
+                INPUTS_SECTION: {
+                    INPUT_DATASETS_FIELD: ";".join(
+                        [str(scan.get_identifier()) for scan in self.input_scans],
+                    ),
+                    INPUT_PIXEL_SIZE_MM: pixel_size_mm,
+                },
+            },
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_description_dict() -> dict:
+        return concatenate_dict(
+            ZStitchingConfiguration.get_description_dict(),
+            {
+                Z_PRE_PROC_SECTION: {
+                    DATA_FILE_FIELD: {
+                        "default": "",
+                        "help": "output nxtomo file path",
+                        "type": "required",
+                    },
+                    DATA_PATH_FIELD: {
+                        "default": "",
+                        "help": "output nxtomo data path",
+                        "type": "required",
+                    },
+                    NEXUS_VERSION_FIELD: {
+                        "default": "",
+                        "help": "nexus version. If not provided will pick the latest one know",
+                        "type": "required",
+                    },
+                },
+            },
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_dict(config: dict):
+        if not isinstance(config, dict):
+            raise TypeError(f"config is expected to be a dict and not {type(config)}")
+        inputs_scans_str = config.get(INPUTS_SECTION, {}).get(INPUT_DATASETS_FIELD, None)
+        if inputs_scans_str in (None, ""):
+            input_scans = []
+        else:
+            input_scans = identifiers_as_str_to_instances(inputs_scans_str)
+
+        output_file_path = config.get(Z_PRE_PROC_SECTION, {}).get(DATA_FILE_FIELD, None)
+
+        nexus_version = config.get(Z_PRE_PROC_SECTION, {}).get(NEXUS_VERSION_FIELD, None)
+        if nexus_version in (None, ""):
+            nexus_version = nxtomo.LATEST_VERSION
+        else:
+            nexus_version = float(nexus_version)
+        pixel_size = config.get(INPUT_PIXEL_SIZE_MM, "").replace(" ", "")
+        if pixel_size == "":
+            pixel_size = None
+        else:
+            pixel_size = float(pixel_size) / MetricSystem.MM
+
+        return PreProcessedZStitchingConfiguration(
+            stitching_strategy=OverlapStitchingStrategy.from_value(
+                config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(
+                    STITCHING_STRATEGY_FIELD,
+                    OverlapStitchingStrategy.COSINUS_WEIGHTS,
+                ),
+            ),
+            axis_0_pos_px=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_0_POS_PX, None)),
+            axis_0_pos_mm=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_0_POS_MM, None)),
+            axis_0_params=_valid_shifts_params(_str_to_dict(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_0_PARAMS, {}))),
+            axis_1_pos_px=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_1_POS_PX, None)),
+            axis_1_pos_mm=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_1_POS_MM, None)),
+            axis_1_params=_valid_shifts_params(
+                _str_to_dict(
+                    config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_1_PARAMS, {}),
+                )
+            ),
+            axis_2_pos_px=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_2_POS_PX, None)),
+            axis_2_pos_mm=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_2_POS_MM, None)),
+            axis_2_params=_valid_shifts_params(
+                _str_to_dict(
+                    config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_2_PARAMS, {}),
+                )
+            ),
+            input_scans=input_scans,
+            output_file_path=output_file_path,
+            output_data_path=config.get(Z_PRE_PROC_SECTION, {}).get(DATA_PATH_FIELD, "entry_from_stitchig"),
+            overwrite_results=config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(OVERWRITE_RESULTS_FIELD, True),
+            output_nexus_version=nexus_version,
+            slices=_slices_to_list_or_slice(config[INPUTS_SECTION].get(STITCHING_SLICES, None)),
+            slurm_config=SlurmConfig.from_dict(config.get(SLURM_SECTION, {})),
+            slice_for_cross_correlation=config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(CROSS_CORRELATION_SLICE_FIELD, "middle"),
+            pixel_size=pixel_size,
+            flip_ud=_scalar_or_tuple_to_bool_or_tuple_of_bool(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(FLIP_UD, False)),
+            flip_lr=_scalar_or_tuple_to_bool_or_tuple_of_bool(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(FLIP_LR, False)),
+            rescale_frames=convert_to_bool(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(RESCALE_FRAMES, 0))[0],
+            rescale_params=_str_to_dict(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(RESCALE_PARAMS, {})),
+            stitching_kernels_extra_params=_valid_stitching_kernels_params(
+                _str_to_dict(
+                    config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(STITCHING_KERNELS_EXTRA_PARAMS, {}),
+                )
+            ),
+            alignment_axis_2=AlignmentAxis2.from_value(
+                config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(ALIGNMENT_AXIS_2_FIELD, AlignmentAxis2.CENTER)
+            ),
+            pad_mode=config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(PAD_MODE_FIELD, "constant"),
+            normalization_by_sample=NormalizationBySample.from_dict(config.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SECTION, {})),
+        )
+
+
+@dataclass
+class PostProcessedZStitchingConfiguration(ZStitchingConfiguration):
+    """
+    base class to define z-stitching parameters
+    """
+
+    input_volumes: tuple = ()  # tuple of VolumeBase
+    output_volume: Optional[VolumeIdentifier] = None
+    voxel_size: Optional[float] = None
+    alignment_axis_1: AlignmentAxis1 = AlignmentAxis1.CENTER
+
+    @property
+    def stitching_type(self) -> StitchingType:
+        return StitchingType.Z_POSTPROC
+
+    def get_output_object(self):
+        return self.output_volume
+
+    def settle_inputs(self) -> None:
+        super().settle_inputs()
+        self.settle_input_volumes()
+
+    def settle_input_volumes(self):
+        self.input_volumes = [
+            Factory.create_tomo_object_from_identifier(identifier)
+            if isinstance(identifier, (str, VolumeIdentifier))
+            else identifier
+            for identifier in self.input_volumes
+        ]
+
+    def slice_idx_from_str_to_int(self, index):
+        if isinstance(index, str):
+            index = index.lower()
+            if index == "first":
+                return 0
+            elif index == "last":
+                return self.input_volumes[0].get_volume_shape()[1] - 1
+            elif index == "middle":
+                return max(self.input_volumes[0].get_volume_shape()[1] // 2 - 1, 0)
+        return int(index)
+
+    def settle_slices(self) -> tuple:
+        """
+        interpret the slices to be stitched if needed
+
+        Nore: if slices is an instance of slice will redefine start and stop to avoid having negative indexes
+
+        :return: (slices:[slice,Iterable], n_proj:int)
+        :rtype: tuple
+        """
+        slices = self.slices
+        if isinstance(slices, Sized) and len(slices) == 0:
+            # in this case will stitch them all
+            slices = None
+        if len(self.input_volumes) == 0:
+            raise ValueError("No input volume provided. Cannot settle slices")
+        if slices is None:
+            # before alignment was existing
+            # slices = slice(0, self.input_volumes[0].get_volume_shape()[1], 1)
+            slices = slice(
+                0,
+                max([volume.get_volume_shape()[1] for volume in self.input_volumes]),
+                1,
+            )
+            n_slices = slices.stop
+        if isinstance(slices, slice):
+            # force slices indices to be positive
+            start = slices.start
+            if start < 0:
+                start += max([volume.get_volume_shape()[1] for volume in self.input_volumes]) + 1
+            stop = slices.stop
+            if stop < 0:
+                stop += max([volume.get_volume_shape()[1] for volume in self.input_volumes]) + 1
+            step = slices.step
+            if step is None:
+                step = 1
+            n_slices = ceil((stop - start) / step)
+            # update slices for iteration simplify things
+            slices = slice(start, stop, step)
+        elif isinstance(slices, Iterable):
+            n_slices = len(slices)
+            slices = [self.slice_idx_from_str_to_int(s) for s in slices]
+        else:
+            raise TypeError(f"slices is expected to be a tuple or a slice. Not {type(slices)}")
+        self.slices = slices
+        return slices, n_slices
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_dict(config: dict):
+        if not isinstance(config, dict):
+            raise TypeError(f"config is expected to be a dict and not {type(config)}")
+        inputs_volumes_str = config.get(INPUTS_SECTION, {}).get(INPUT_DATASETS_FIELD, None)
+        if inputs_volumes_str in (None, ""):
+            input_volumes = []
+        else:
+            input_volumes = identifiers_as_str_to_instances(inputs_volumes_str)
+        overwrite_results = config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(OVERWRITE_RESULTS_FIELD, True) in ("1", True, "True", 1)
+        output_volume = config.get(Z_POST_PROC_SECTION, {}).get(OUTPUT_VOLUME, None)
+        if output_volume is not None:
+            output_volume = Factory.create_tomo_object_from_identifier(output_volume)
+            output_volume.overwrite = overwrite_results
+        voxel_size = config.get(INPUTS_SECTION, {}).get(INPUT_VOXEL_SIZE_MM, "")
+        voxel_size = voxel_size.replace(" ", "")
+        if voxel_size == "":
+            voxel_size = None
+        else:
+            voxel_size = float(voxel_size) * MetricSystem.MM
+
+        # on the next section the one with a default value qre the optionnal one
+        return PostProcessedZStitchingConfiguration(
+            stitching_strategy=OverlapStitchingStrategy.from_value(
+                config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(
+                    STITCHING_STRATEGY_FIELD,
+                    OverlapStitchingStrategy.COSINUS_WEIGHTS,
+                ),
+            ),
+            axis_0_pos_px=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_0_POS_PX, None)),
+            axis_0_pos_mm=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_0_POS_MM, None)),
+            axis_0_params=_valid_shifts_params(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_0_PARAMS, {})),
+            axis_1_pos_px=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_1_POS_PX, None)),
+            axis_1_pos_mm=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_1_POS_MM, None)),
+            axis_1_params=_valid_shifts_params(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_1_PARAMS, {})),
+            axis_2_pos_px=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_2_POS_PX, None)),
+            axis_2_pos_mm=str_to_shifts(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_2_POS_MM, None)),
+            axis_2_params=_valid_shifts_params(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(AXIS_2_PARAMS, {})),
+            input_volumes=input_volumes,
+            output_volume=output_volume,
+            overwrite_results=overwrite_results,
+            slices=_slices_to_list_or_slice(config[INPUTS_SECTION].get(STITCHING_SLICES, None)),
+            slurm_config=SlurmConfig.from_dict(config.get(SLURM_SECTION, {})),
+            voxel_size=voxel_size,
+            slice_for_cross_correlation=config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(CROSS_CORRELATION_SLICE_FIELD, "middle"),
+            flip_ud=_scalar_or_tuple_to_bool_or_tuple_of_bool(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(FLIP_UD, False)),
+            flip_lr=_scalar_or_tuple_to_bool_or_tuple_of_bool(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(FLIP_LR, False)),
+            rescale_frames=convert_to_bool(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(RESCALE_FRAMES, 0))[0],
+            rescale_params=_str_to_dict(config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(RESCALE_PARAMS, {})),
+            stitching_kernels_extra_params=_valid_stitching_kernels_params(
+                _str_to_dict(
+                    config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(STITCHING_KERNELS_EXTRA_PARAMS, {}),
+                )
+            ),
+            alignment_axis_1=AlignmentAxis1.from_value(
+                config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(ALIGNMENT_AXIS_1_FIELD, AlignmentAxis1.CENTER)
+            ),
+            alignment_axis_2=AlignmentAxis2.from_value(
+                config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(ALIGNMENT_AXIS_2_FIELD, AlignmentAxis2.CENTER)
+            ),
+            pad_mode=config[STITCHING_SECTION].get(PAD_MODE_FIELD, "constant"),
+            normalization_by_sample=NormalizationBySample.from_dict(config.get(NORMALIZATION_BY_SAMPLE_SECTION, {})),
+        )
+
+    def to_dict(self):
+        if self.voxel_size is None:
+            voxel_size_mm = ""
+        else:
+            voxel_size_mm = numpy.array(self.voxel_size) / MetricSystem.MM
+
+        return concatenate_dict(
+            super().to_dict(),
+            {
+                INPUTS_SECTION: {
+                    INPUT_DATASETS_FIELD: [volume.get_identifier().to_str() for volume in self.input_volumes],
+                    INPUT_VOXEL_SIZE_MM: voxel_size_mm,
+                },
+                Z_POST_PROC_SECTION: {
+                    OUTPUT_VOLUME: self.output_volume.get_identifier().to_str()
+                    if self.output_volume is not None
+                    else "",
+                },
+                STITCHING_SECTION: {
+                    ALIGNMENT_AXIS_1_FIELD: self.alignment_axis_1.value,
+                },
+            },
+        )
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def get_description_dict() -> dict:
+        return concatenate_dict(
+            ZStitchingConfiguration.get_description_dict(),
+            {
+                Z_POST_PROC_SECTION: {
+                    OUTPUT_VOLUME: {
+                        "default": "",
+                        "help": "identifier of the output volume. Like hdf5:volume:[file_path]?path=[data_path] for an HDF5 volume",
+                        "type": "required",
+                    },
+                },
+                STITCHING_SECTION: {
+                    ALIGNMENT_AXIS_1_FIELD: {
+                        "default": "center",
+                        "help": f"alignment to apply over axis 1 if needed. Valid values are {AlignmentAxis1.values()}",
+                        "type": "advanced",
+                    }
+                },
+            },
+        )
+
+
+def identifiers_as_str_to_instances(list_identifiers_as_str: str) -> tuple:
+    # convert str to a list of str that should represent identifiers
+    if isinstance(list_identifiers_as_str, str):
+        list_identifiers_as_str = list_identifiers_as_str.lstrip("[").lstrip("(")
+        list_identifiers_as_str = list_identifiers_as_str.rstrip("]").rstrip(")")
+        identifiers_as_str = convert_str_to_tuple(list_identifiers_as_str.replace(";", ","))
+    else:
+        identifiers_as_str = list_identifiers_as_str
+    if identifiers_as_str is None:
+        return tuple()
+    # convert identifiers as string to IdentifierType instances
+    return tuple(
+        [Factory.create_tomo_object_from_identifier(identifier_as_str) for identifier_as_str in identifiers_as_str]
+    )
+
+
+def dict_to_config_obj(config: dict):
+    if not isinstance(config, dict):
+        raise TypeError
+    stitching_type = config.get(STITCHING_SECTION, {}).get(STITCHING_TYPE_FIELD, None)
+    if stitching_type is None:
+        raise ValueError("Unagle to find stitching type from config dict")
+    else:
+        stitching_type = StitchingType.from_value(stitching_type)
+        if stitching_type is StitchingType.Z_POSTPROC:
+            return PostProcessedZStitchingConfiguration.from_dict(config)
+        elif stitching_type is StitchingType.Z_PREPROC:
+            return PreProcessedZStitchingConfiguration.from_dict(config)
+        else:
+            raise NotImplementedError(f"stitching type {stitching_type.value} not handled yet")
+
+
+def get_default_stitching_config(stitching_type: Optional[Union[StitchingType, str]]) -> tuple:
+    """
+    Return a default configuration for doing stitching.
+
+    :param stitching_type: if None then return a configuration were use can provide inputs for any
+                           of the stitching.
+                           Else return config dict dedicated to a particular stitching
+    :return: (config, section comments)
+    """
+    if stitching_type is None:
+        return concatenate_dict(z_postproc_stitching_config, z_preproc_stitching_config)
+
+    stitching_type = StitchingType.from_value(stitching_type)
+    if stitching_type is StitchingType.Z_POSTPROC:
+        return z_postproc_stitching_config
+    elif stitching_type is StitchingType.Z_PREPROC:
+        return z_preproc_stitching_config
+    else:
+        raise NotImplementedError
+
+
+z_preproc_stitching_config = PreProcessedZStitchingConfiguration.get_description_dict()
+
+z_postproc_stitching_config = PostProcessedZStitchingConfiguration.get_description_dict()