free logbook software for pilots

"Grumman-581" wrote in message ...

Well, *my* computer based logbook has the capability to display GPS log
files on a map for each flight so that you can actually see where you really
flew vs where you planned to fly...



Where did your logbook come from?

In article .com,
"Pilson" wrote:

Hi I,just thought Id spread the word of some software Im working on for
my final year project at Uni...
Id really appreciate feedback from pilots and students, It suits my
needs perfectly but It mightnt suit everyone so if anyone tries it and
thinks it is missing something then please post a feature request and
Ill write it in for the next release.

The latest release (v 0.1.2) is available at:
http://sort.ucd.ie/frs/?group_id=170

You might want to state what operating system it is written for and any
other software it may require to run propperly.

".Blueskies." wrote in message
m...
Where did your logbook come from?

I'm a software developer, I wrote it myself... I wanted full control over
how each entry is stored on my computer so that I am not orphaned by some
other developer that no longer supports some particular product... I figured
that if I can do telemetry software for the Space Shuttle, I could do a
simple log book...

Wow what a bunch of uptight gits.
The reason my post was not properly constructed was because I spent the
entire day staring at a computer screen writing free software for an
unappreciative public and wound up with a pounding headache. My
concentration was poor at that point and I did not realise the grammar
was going to provoke such harsh critisism. It was simply a 'quick' way
of getting my message out and trust me, I have no problems with English
and grammar.

Pilson wrote:

Wow what a bunch of uptight gits.
The reason my post was not properly constructed was because I spent the
entire day staring at a computer screen writing free software for an
unappreciative public and wound up with a pounding headache. My
concentration was poor at that point and I did not realise the grammar
was going to provoke such harsh critisism. It was simply a 'quick' way
of getting my message out and trust me, I have no problems with English
and grammar.

oops I misspelled criticism. - sue me

"Pilson" wrote in message
ups.com...
Wow what a bunch of uptight gits.
The reason my post was not properly constructed was because I spent the
entire day staring at a computer screen writing free software for an
unappreciative public and wound up with a pounding headache. My
concentration was poor at that point and I did not realise the grammar
was going to provoke such harsh critisism. It was simply a 'quick' way
of getting my message out and trust me, I have no problems with English
and grammar.


I'll bet that this message took no more time or effort than the original.

Don't let the turkeys get you down. Some people do things and some
people just watch people do things. Wait and see how many people
download it.

Pilson wrote:
Wow what a bunch of uptight gits.
The reason my post was not properly constructed was because I spent the
entire day staring at a computer screen writing free software for an
unappreciative public and wound up with a pounding headache. My
concentration was poor at that point and I did not realise the grammar
was going to provoke such harsh critisism. It was simply a 'quick' way
of getting my message out and trust me, I have no problems with English
and grammar.

Jules wrote:
Don't let the turkeys get you down. Some people do things and some
people just watch people do things. Wait and see how many people
download it.

I agree with this poster. As a programmer myself, I'm well aware that
writing software takes a lot of effort, and those who make it available
for free are doing a great service to the general public.


Now as to some constructive criticism: your interface follows a bit of
an outdated model, in that you get a list of buttons that go to the
individual functions, click on them, perform a function, and then when
done return to the application again.

A better model is to have your app seperated into a control section
(menu and/or toolbar) and then have a content area that will change
depending on menu selections. For simple things like Pilot info, you
can pop up a seperate dialog.

Also, when viewing the logbook table, most of the abbreviations aren't
long enough to convey their meaning.

Other than that though, it looks like a good project so far. Wish it
would have been a Linux/UNIX variant , as there's very noticeable
lack of logbook software (free or otherwise) for the platform. I've
been working on one myself using C and the GTK2 toolkit but have been
running into a bit of trouble getting the database backend (Itzam) to
behave correctly (I've been trying to avoid using a full fledged
database and keep it embedded, but I might have to scrap that idea and
move to something like MySQL). If I ever get my version up and going
I'll be releasing it under the GPL liscense.

Good luck on your project and your future career.

Mike Gaskins

"Mike Gaskins" wrote in message
ups.com...
I've been working on one myself using C and the GTK2 toolkit
but have been running into a bit of trouble getting the database
backend (Itzam) to behave correctly (I've been trying to avoid
using a full fledged database and keep it embedded, but I might
have to scrap that idea and move to something like MySQL).

There are not so many flight records that need to be accessed randomly that
they need a relational database like MySQL... You might want to consider a
series of just flat files, binary if necessary... You should have full
control of how your data is stored so that you don't have to worry about
subsequent releases of the database being different enough that you would
have to modify your code...

Thanks Mike.

The abbreviated fields are explained in little pictures above the
table. I had the full description above each field at one point and
decided to cut them down because it just looked far too wide and ugly.

Good point about the interface. I decided to go with that one as I
wanted a simple program with a simple interface to encourage use. It is
a bit late in the project for me to change it now. After I submit it to
the department I will release the source code so people can change it
for themselves :-) I have to move on to the next stage now of writing a
program in c++ to visualize data from a gps handset and then writing a
small flight sim in flash. I went with windows over linux as I figured
most 'pilots' would be running windows...

Good luck with your program too! I have not seen any such software for
linux either. There is a good compromise between simple text files and
mysql called SQLite. It is open source too!

thanks,
Keith.