Bauble News

0.8.5

2008-06-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

Bauble 0.8.5 has been released.

This version includes:

A Help menu with links to the website, the bug reporting page, the online docs and an about dialog.
The search results are now grouped and sorted by type.
InfoBox improvements. Everything that you enter in an editor should now show up in the InfoBox on the side when you select it in the search results. Also the InfoBox is now more interactive in more places, e.g. clicking on synonyms will now show and select the synonym in the search results.
Somehow the GPS datum entry on the accession editor was never connected properly. This should work now and show completions for all known GPS datums.
The lat/long entries on the accession editor are now more picky about what you can enter. Also, some of the error checking on Windows was disabled so this has been fixed.
As usual, other small code and gui tweaks.

Get it here.

0.8.4

2008-06-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Bauble 0.8.4 is now ready for download.

This version comes with a few small fixes and cleanups including:

Bauble should now let you know if you are opening an SQLite database that you don't have permission to read or write instead of just crashing
The installer is now a bit more robust and should now add icons and menu entries in Linux systems that support the freedesktop.org standards.
The date entries in the Accession editor now how a small button next to it that will automatically enter today's date.
Updated some of the bundled files in the Windows installer to fix a couple of annoying issues.
....and a couple of other minor issues.

Thanks to Mauro Cavalcanti for his bug reports and figuring out the menu and icons issues on Linux.

0.8.3

2008-05-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

I released version 0.8.3 today.

This version fixes a couple of annoying bugs with the editors but nothing critical. Also, now you can't make a Family, Genus or Species a synonym of itself.

Doc updates

2008-04-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

I was just looking over the web site and specifically the installation docs and I didn't realize how ridiculously there were out of date. I mean REALLY out of date. Like caveman out of date.

Well they've been brought up to the 21st century now. If you were having problems installing Bauble before using the documentation on the website then please try again. Sorry 'bout that.

0.8.2

2008-04-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

Bauble 0.8.2 has left the nest. This is a bugfix release for the 0.8 series. The main changes are slightly better Unicode handling and fixes for converting geographic coordinates.

The unfortunate thing is that prior to this version Bauble wasn't handling geographic coordinates (lat/long) properly in the the Accession editor. Most likely if you used Bauble to store coordinates for your collection records then they were saved incorrectly and you should enter them again. Sorry for the inconvenience.

0.8.1

2008-03-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

We released the 0.8.1 version of Bauble yesterday. This is a bug fix release for the 0.8 series. Though not critical, I recommend any one using Bauble 0.8 or previous versions to update to the newest version.

0.8.0

2008-03-03T12:22:00.001-08:00

Bauble 0.8.0 has been released.

Get it at the usual place.

0.8.0rc1

2008-02-29T14:57:00.000-08:00

We've released the first release candidate of the 0.8.0 stable series. I'll let this one settle in for a week or two before releasing either another release candidate or the final release.

Also, this release isn't entirely feature complete. All the infrastructure is there but I think at this points its best to get this version out into the wild. We can then improve on it incrementally with smaller point releases. Either way, its still a vast improvement over previous releases.

beta 3 and beta 4

2008-02-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

Beta 4 is now out and will probably be the last of the beta series. We will start releasing release candidates soon so stay tuned. This beta is mostly just fixes and cleanups. In particular the Windows installer wasn't working as expected so if Bauble didn't work for you on Window please try again. That's what beta releases are for I guess.

Beta 4 and future versions of Bauble now require SQLAlchemy 0.4.3 and Python 2.5.

0.8.0b2

2008-02-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

I've released 0.8.0b2, the second beta release in the 0.8 series. This version includes some interface cleanups that I've been meaning to do for a long time. For example the collection editor has been redesigned and the interface should now let you know what's happening when retrieving big search results instead of just appearing dead. Also fixed some more of the obscure errors that were lurking in the darkness.

This version also now includes support for the datum field in the accession editor. We've also added a private field for accessions which allows you to designate if the data represents information that is sensitive or that you might not want to share. Unfortunately, adding the private field also means that you will probably have problems if you are trying to connect to a Bauble database that was created with previous versions.

As usual there's lots of other fixes and improvements dotted around so go and download it at the usual place and let us know what you think.

0.8.0b1

2008-01-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

The first beta version of the 0.8 series has been released. This shiny new 2008 model sports more tests and better error handling, a (slightly) better report generator, improved ABCD export, editor tooltips. Bauble 0.8 also uses the new improved SQLAlchemy 0.4 which gives a lot of nice under-the-hood improvements and speed ups plus the usual round of tweaks and fixes.

Download it and try it - but keep it away from children.

Warning: This version has a new field for specifying the GPS datum in the collection records. This will cause errors if you edit a Bauble database created with earlier versions though it shouldn't harm your data.

The future

2007-12-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

I've been working on the next iteration of Bauble, version 0.8, trying to bring more polish and performance improvements with some need reorganization to the code. One big change has been moving all the database code to use SQLAlchemy 0.4. As it stands everything is pretty rock solid and I'll probably start releasing some beta versions sooner than later.

0.7.0

2007-11-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well that's it, 0.7.0 is out. It's been a long time coming.

Download it at the usual place -- http://bauble.belizebotanic.org/#download

0.7.0rc2

2007-10-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Just release 0.7.0rc2. This rc2 includes quite a few fixes and even a couple new features. Since we're getting closer to a full on 0.7.0 release I figure we should do a run down of what's new. I could just say "everything" and that would cover it but here's some of the highlights of changes since 0.6.5

More simplified, mature and stable code
Fully translatable into other languages, volunteer translators needed
New plugin style and plugin manager
Most long running operations now run inside a task so they don't block the interface
Faster, more powerful search queries
More information provided about search results in side bar
Easy way to search online for scientific names and collection records at Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), International Plant Names Index (IPNI), Botanic Gardens Conservation International(BGCI) and last but not least Google.
Lost of interface tweaks to make things more consistent
Remember search queries
When need Bauble will now ask you for and remember information about your institution
Better documentation

...and lots more other technical stuff you probably don't care about. In short, we're pretty proud of this one. A full 0.7.0 should be here shortly once we're convinced all major bugs have been squashed.

0.7.0rc1

2007-10-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

The first release candidate for the 0.7.0 release is out. We're getting ever closer to 0.7.0...can't you feel it?

0.7.0b3

2007-09-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

0.7.0b3 is hot off the presses in all its newness. Just a little bit more spit and polish until a full fledged 0.7 release. This beta is still pretty good so don't be afraid to go out and try it. Get it at http://bauble.belizebotanic.org/#download.

0.7.0b2

2007-04-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

I released 0.7.0b2. This is a pretty solid release and 0.7.0 is coming together nicely and hopefully will be out shortly.

Also, I pulled the 0.6.5 release from the website. Even though 0.7.0b2 is marked as a development release in reality it's superior to the 0.6 series across the board. And since noone else that I know of uses it anyways then I don't reckon it matters much.

I'll try and put together a list of all the new features in the 0.7.0 release once its finished. For now just content yourself that everything has improved in every way.

slow down old world

2007-04-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

In an effort to try and improve the release quality of Bauble I'm going to try a new staged release process. First I'll peak your interest with a couple of betas, get you all excited with a release candidate or two and finally when you can't stand it any longer I'll cut a proper release when the time is right. I hope in this way each release will be it's best or at least better than the previous one.

To get started I've weened 0.7.0b1 from the nest. This will be the first release in the new 0.7 series of releases. This is a BETA release so don't expect wonders just yet. We've been using this code for a while now at Belize Botanic Gardens but your mileage may vary. The 0.7 series brings a lot of slick new feature and stability improvements. I won't get into all the details just yet. Try and it out and tell us what you think.

The latest goings on

2007-03-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to post an update to let the world know that Bauble is still moving forward.

Alot of work has gone into the upcoming 0.7 release. Many of the changes have been technical behind the scene type changes though there are some nice visual goodies as well. 0.7 will include support for international characters, translations, many performance improvements, GUI tweaks and better support for long running tasks and more testing to make sure everything works as expected.

This time around we'll release a couple of pre-release/release candidates/beta versions just to make sure we don't have any funny issues before naming a stable release. I want 0.7 to come as rock solid and stable as possible.

0.6.5

2007-01-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

This is mostly just a bug fix release and really the only thing that has changed is the formatter plugin. I didn't realize that the formatter was pretty much broken in previous versions due to some bad packaging. There were also some cases if non-ASCII characters were included in the data you were trying to format then you would get an error and Bauble would seem to freeze up. Everything should work now. I've also added extra checks and error message to let you know what the problem is when something fails.

Also drastically improved the speed of getting values from the database when formatting large reports.

Download it.

0.6.4

2006-12-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

- The Windows installer is now "batteries-included". GTK+ now comes bundled with the installer so there's no extra prerequisites for installing Bauble. (We don't count the XSL->PDF renderer for the formatter plugin.)
- The formatter can now format search results in a Tag.
- A couple cosmetic change on the editors for Win32

0.6.3

2006-12-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

Bauble 0.6.3 has been released. This is just a bug fix release and for one particulary nasty bug in particular that could cause you to lose an accession's collection or donation data.

Bugs fixed:
- not allowing an empty value for the accession date
- a species identification qualifier (e.g. aff., Incorrect, etc) is now included in the species name string
- remove the infraspecific epithet from a species name if the infraspecific rank or hybrid flags aren't set
- changed "Ok and Add..." accelerator to Ctrl-K from Ctrl-A to allow the standard Select All that's usually assigned to Ctrl-A
- focus issues on various editors
- fixed a cascading issue with accessions that would automatically delete the collection or donation information if the data was edited after the initial entry
- fixed changing the collector's ID in the accession editor
- hopefully those pesky messages when you close the Windows version of Bauble are all gone

I recommend to anyone using Bauble to upgrade their current version of 0.6.3. I reccommend to anyone not using Bauble to start using it immediately.

(what about 0.6.2 you ask....???....that shall forever remain a mystery clouded in secrecy wrapped in an enigma topped with ketchup otherwise know as catsup)

0.6.1

2006-11-17T15:28:00.000-08:00

0.6.1 is out the door. This release is just to fix the bug to include the default formatter plugin.

I knew it.

2006-11-12T14:58:00.000-08:00

It had to happen. Shortly after releasing 0.6.0 I found a bug where the formatter plugin wouldn't work when using py2exe. This only affects Bauble when installing from the Windows installer. All the other installers should work fine. It should be a pretty easy fix. For now I've removed the Windows installer from the Downloads section. Hopefully I'll have 0.6.1 out in a day or two to fix this problem.

0.6.0

2006-11-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Well, 0.6.0 has been released. This includes...

Editors that are a pleasure to use. The old table/spreadsheet style editors have been ripped out and flogged. The fancy new editors bring joy and pleasure.

The formatter plugin has been reworked so you can now create you're own formatters. The default formatter that comes with Bauble is still the same old XSL-PDF renderer that you've come to love.

We now use SQLAlchemy instead of SQLObject. Though this is more of a technical improvement than one a user might notice it does improve the overall experience when using Bauble and helps save the author(me) a lot of headache.

The information boxes that show up when you select an item in the search results have been improved and now show statistics on the number of plants and accessions when selecting family, genera or species types.

The search results now give more visual clues about the types they are showing like displaying the family of a genus or the vernacular names for a species. Also plants in the database that are marked 'Dead' are shown in a lighter shade of gray.

There have been tons and tons of improvement and bugfixes. A huge percentage of Bauble has been completely rewritten. Don't ask what percentage, just take my word for it.

If you've been waiting for the right time to use Bauble then now would be it.