Hello users, User chat - if that wasn't a give away, then I'll be blunt this is a little off topic - kind of ;>)
>From time to time I get the 'community' bug and make these odd postings to the list, given that OOoConn07 is now just around the corner - a good time for another one. That and I am sitting here waiting on feedback from a group of 20 people on a question that should have been put to rest days ago...ah, the human being what a marvelous collection of intricate, often chaotic behaviors. OK- so about software - specifically software that needs a data storage mechanism - that would be almost all of it. Recently found myself in need of a project planning application- ( I recall leaving the corporate world, in part, to avoid gantt charts and resource budgeting.... ) Well, to not drag this out ( I looked at a number of FOSS packages and my old reliable MS Project ) - I decided to use a package I have kind of been following for a while - not a full blown project planning application and not just a to-do list tracker. Chandler 0.7.01 ( http://chandlerproject.org/) Alright first thing is that version number ZERO.7 - A preview release, but one that the developers deemed ready to be put to the paces. A quick overview - Chandler is written in Python and uses the Apache Derby database. It can be run as a stand alone desktop application, a web application and can use a shared repository to publish read only or read/write "Collections" from ones personal repository. I am currently using it in all three modes. The projects development environment is pure Linux, MS Xp and Mac ports are part of the project and always available with each release, but they are ports. Now a couple of observations - First - if you think HSQLdb is a memory hog - you aint seen nothing till you fire up Derby. Startup time for the application - well, slow - you have to get that database engine up and running each time. The UI accounts for this and gives feed back to the user that it is working it's way along the needed paths. ( ALWAYS a good idea ) Data engine specific functions from the main user interface - File menu * Export / Import for iCal * Export / Import full collection and setting as a .chex file, which I believe is a Chandler proprietary format, but not sure yet. Tools > Repository: * Check * Check and repair * Compact * Index * Backup * Restore * New * Switch Tools > Logging * Open Log Window * Logging Setting ( Critical, Error, Warning, Info, Debug ) Info being the default logging level Tools > Settings * Export Scrubbed collections? ( again this is in the chex format, what is scrubbed - got me?) Data integrity - you know, I post a record and I expect it to be on disk - well, not so with Derby it seems. It does get there eventually - I'm just not sure when exactly - being that this is a Preview release I have manged to find a few ways to crash it - almost always the changes to the last ITEM or ITEMS in the database are gone. When did it become OK for databases to run IN-MEMORY and not ON-DISK anyway? Well, to wrap up - I have ended up registering with the project, registered with BugZilla there and entered my first couple of defect reports. Which prompted a quick reply from the developers and I am now running a snapshot build of the application that, at least for the ways I found in the "release package", does not crash. Have a wonderful day - and if you are gong to Barcelona...enjoy! Drew
