Friday, December 7, 2007

Development Continues

Although this is a busy time of year, development of GradeL is still slowly proceding. Currently, I have added the ability to export the current marking period data to a tab-seperated file appropriate for importing into a spreadsheet program.

The program now also trims long student names so that they do not overrun the adjacent columns.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

GradeL 0.8.14 Released

This release includes several improvements and bugs fixes. I think that the weighted grades are finally under control. If you use weighted grades, please keep in mind that the extra credit is added on after the regular weighted grade is calculated. The extra credit will not exceed the weight you assign. For example, if a student earns all possible extra credit points and the weight is 0.03, then that students get 3% added to his marking period grade.

The rest of the changes are listed here:

gradel-0.8.14 - 31 Oct 2007

Bug Fixes:

----------
- Adjusted some text labels on forms so that text shows correctly.
- Header labels positioned correctly in both grade mode and attendance mode.
- Long assignment names no longer over-write points in Progress Report screen view and printout.
- Moving and sorting assignments now check validity prior to action.
- Weighted grades tweaked again. They seem to calculate correctly now.
Extra credit is added on after grade calculation per its weight.
- Attendance spreadsheet no longer crashes program when no days have been added.

Improved & Updated Features
---------------------------
- Improved appearance on many dialogs.
- Absences and tardies now included with progress reports.
- Student number now shows in attendance mode as well as grade mode when selected in Preferences.
- Recent Files selection added to File menu and start up dialog window.

As usual, you can download GradeL here.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Report Card Time!

Well, if your school calendar is anything like mine, report card time is fast approaching. Some bug reports have started trickling in, especially in reference to weighted grades and manipulating assignments. I plan to address these issues as soon as possible so that teachers aren't left in a bind as deadlines approach.

This is also a good time to remind everyone that GradeL is still in development. Some features seem to be pretty solid, especially the straight points grading system. However, some parts are still unstable. Users are advised to keep backup records to avoid disasters. Many users have stated that they are running GradeL side by side with various Windows programs as a trial run - not a bad idea!

I would like to see that GradeL advance to a point where it is stable and useful as an option for teachers looking for a desktop gradebook app that runs on Linux. Keep you fingers crossed! ;)

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Release of GradeL 0.8.13

GradeL 0.8.13 has been released. This release includes many of the fixes and enhancements discussed in recent postings. Additionally, a new Assignment Management dialog has been added that allows sorting, moving, adding, editing, and viewing grade distributions of assignments.

Here is a screenshot of the Assignment Management window:



This release also includes a binary deb package for easy installation on Ubuntu or Debian. For more details, see the ChangeLog or download GradeL today.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Saving Preferences

I've had various feature requests recently, but the two most requested are the weighted category fixed discussed in my last post, and the ability to save settings. I'm happy to report that the next release will automatically save preferences, grid size, and window location. Hopefully, I'll get 0.8.13 release soon. No firm date yet.

Monday, October 15, 2007

More Work on Weighted Categories

I think I have solved the problem of calculating weighted category grades when a category is not used. For example, at the beginning of the year, you may not have given a test yet and want to report an accurate grade for your students. The fix will be included in the next release of GradeL. Stay tuned...

Mailing List and New Bugs

I have several people emailing me individually with bug reports, questions, and comments. This communication is vital to the development of GradeL. I think it would benefit all GradeL users to be able to read and/or participate in these discussions as well, so I have set up a mailing list through SourceForge for GradeL users. The list should be ready shortly. Please use the list or the forum for questions related to GradeL.

As for new bugs, it seems that the Category Weights are giving some users the business. I have found a work-around that solves the problem, although I'd like to eliminate it all together. The Seating Chart feature still needs tweaking as well. The changes I implemented seem to have created other problems. Both of these issues will be addressed in the upcoming 0.8.13 release.

I have already implemented the sorting of assignments by date and plan to address the saving of preferences between sessions too. Stay tuned...

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Building a GradeL deb Package

Well, I finally read up on creating basic deb packages so I can build debs for each new release. Turns out it isn't that big of a deal. I used this How-To as a reference.

I successfully created a deb for the latest development snapshot of GradeL and installed it on an Ubuntu Fiesty box. I even removed all traces of Gambas to test that the dependencies would be resolved. I'm happy to report that everything worked like a charm.

So, the plan will be to release both the source tarball (as usual) and the binary deb for easy installation on distros like Debian and Ubuntu. Look for a deb with the next release!

Errors in compile.sh and install.sh

There are a couple of typos in the compile.sh and install.sh scripts that will produce error messages in the terminal when you execute them. They are not fatal, just typos. This will be fixed in the next release.

Keep the bug reports coming!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

0.8.12 fixes crash when adding students!

After a report from a new user on the forum, I discovered a silly mistake that was locking up the program and the CPU after adding more than one student while creating a new class. This bug is fixed in GradeL 0.8.12.

The ChangeLog and website will be updated soon.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Release of GradeL 0.8.11

GradeL 0.8.11 has been released. This release contains many bug fixes and a few feature enhancements. See the ChangeLog for details.

Download Release 0.8.11 today.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Latest Development Build

For those interested, you can download the latest development build here: http://littlerun.com/software/gradel-0.8.11-091607.tar.gz

This version includes three important bug fixes:
  • Fixed crash in Single Student (MP) report.
  • Fixed crash in Attendance Code dialog when trying to EDIT without selecting a code.
  • Issue Date and Return Date no longer display nonsense data when there is no textbook issued (STUDENTS | EDIT menu).
The next release will include these changes plus any other bug fixes that are completed in the near future.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

0.8.10 Issues

There is at least one glitch in the latest release. The Single Student (MP) report crashes. This is caused by a typo in the code. If you want to fix it yourself, change line 2432 of file frmGol.class to:

ELSE IF cl.mymps[CurrentMP].Assignments.Length < 1 THEN

I forgot the "s" on Assignments.

This will be fixed in the next release. Keep the bug reports coming!

Friday, September 14, 2007

Release of GradeL 0.8.10

Gradel 0.8.10 was released today. This release fixes the big bugs in the comments feature and the dropped students feature.

GradeL was improperly saving comments to the wrong students. The program was also not reading dropped students properly, which resulted in class files not opening properly. If you encountered this problem recently, you should now be able to open your class files again.

As always, see the ChangeLog for details.

Download Release 0.8.10 today.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Warning about Dropped Students and Comments

I discovered two nasty bugs today. The first surfaces when you drop a student. They are not saved correctly and so the file will no re-open. The second deals with comments. Comments are not saved and reopened the same way and so the comments for a student get bumped to the student below.

I'm working on a fix. For now, I would not drop a student or apply any comments.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Release early and often, right?

The start of the new school year and daily use of GradeL has brought many bugs to the surface. I suspect that I'll be releasing more frequent updates for a while as the bugs get ironed out.

Release 0.8.9 (out today via SourceForge) also includes some minor feature enhancements such as tracking more information about textbooks checked out to students. For details, please see the ChangeLog.

Another bug fixed

A bug was discovered in the New Class Setup, which caused the program to crash. Basically, if you change the number of marking periods per semester and the number of semesters, the program crashed trying to open the Period Weights form.

This fix is included in the upcoming 0.8.9 release. You can download the preview snapshot here.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Fixing more bugs!

Spent some time this weekend tracking bugs in GradeL. I did find a few. I've also been adding some new features to certain areas of the program. Here is a snapshot of the current ChangeLog entry:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gradel-0.8.9 - 9 Sep 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bug Fixes:
----------
- Fixed crash in Seating Chart when resizing chart during move.
- Fixed bug in grid resize that prevented all students and assignments from appearing. VIEW | GRID SIZE now functions properly.

Improved & Updated Features
---------------------------
- Preferences now gives option to show student number with name on main screen.
- Student information now maintains textbook condition, issue and return dates.

You can download a development source snapshot here.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Enter 0.8.8!

Well, one small bug turned into two big ones. Thanks to reports from a user, I have corrected major crashes in GradeL 0.8.7. First, the program was crashing when using the Period Weights dialog. The program did not account for non-numerical data in the text field, even as a typo. This has been fixed.

Second, the program was crashing when users tried to View/Add Comments from the popupmenu with a right-click on a student's name. This has also been fixed.

See the ChangeLog for details or download release 0.8.8.

Take care!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

One small bug ...

There is one small bug in release 0.8.7. Although I removed the "Help" option from the Help drop-down menu, I did not remove the toolbar button. So, if you click that button, it will start your browser and report that the file could not be found, since I no longer provide the help files with the package. Of course, this will be fixed in the next release.

Release of GradeL 0.8.7

I finally found some time to complete the latest bug fixes and release an update to GradeL. Version 0.8.7 no longer includes local help. You will notice the "Help" option is no longer availalbe under the help menu. Bascially, I was unhappy with my progress on the help feature, so I hid it until I can work on updating it. For now, users should refer to the website gradel.sourceforge.net for information on GradeL.

Since the help is gone, GradeL can now be run directly from the source directory. Of course, you can still install it to the system using the install script.

For details on the 0.8.7 release, see the ChangeLog.

As usual, please keep the bug reports coming. With the start of school upon us, keeping GradeL functioning is my number one priority. Feature requests are also welcome.

Take care!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

0.8.6 Problems

The bug reports have started to roll in on version 0.8.6. For starters, I had to pull the binary tarballs from the download area because they were compiled incorrectly. The Gambas compiler (gbc) takes several arguments and it appears that I omitted the -p flag, which was causing a crash.

As for the source packages, they compile and run fine. Unfortunately, there are more bugs. The first known bug that I have been able to recreate is a crash after you make a new class and then try to right-click on a student name or in the student column. I have fixed this one and I'm continuing to weed out others.

The next release will only contain bug fixes. I just hope I can squash them all.

I'm sure that as users, these crashes and bugs are frustrating, but your participation in this project is valuable, as you provide me with a prospective that I obviously need. This is a part-time, open-source, and currently unstable piece of software, and I appreciate your patience.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

0.8.6 Released

I have uploaded release 0.8.6, which includes fixes to the critical bugs found in 0.8.5. It is recommended that you upgrade to this new version to avoid problems. As with the 0.8.5 release, I have included both binary and source packages, as well as stand-alone and installable versions.

0.8.5 Bugs

Woke up this morning to a couple of critical bugs reported by a user. From a programming prospective, these problems all arise from the same type of bug brought about by changes I made to the code. As you can probably guess, my testing was not adequate following these changes. I appreciate these reports and apologize for the inconvenience.
  • Bug #1 produces a crash when selecting SETUP -> ATTENDANCE CODES.

  • Bug #2 produces a crash when using the SETUP -> GRADING SCALE dialog.

  • Bug #3 produces a crash when using SETUP | SEATING CHART.

  • Bug #4 could crash program when printing an empty grid.

  • Bug #5 could crash program when double clicking the marking period label in upper right corner of window.
All of these bugs have been fixed. Fixes will be included in 0.8.6, which will probably be released later today.

Keep the reports coming!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

0.8.5 Package Options

This release (0.8.5) of GradeL includes four different packages:

Hopefully, these will better meet users needs. I have successfully created Ubuntu debs in the past and hope to add that package as well. I have no experience creating rpms, but if someone is willing to provide one, I can make it available as well.

Take care!

GradeL 0.8.5 Released

I uploaded the latest release of GradeL today. This release includes bug fixes and added features, some that were requested by GradeL users. While there are still many items on the to-do list, GradeL continues to evolve and improve. I've also spent considerable time cleaning up my sloppy code so that future improvements will be easier to implement. Users are encouraged to download this release, try it out, and report any issues via the forum or directly by email.

Here is the latest ChangeLog entry:

gradel-0.8.5 - 15 Aug 2007

Bug Fixes:
  • Program now shuts down properly when help is open.
  • If no browser selected in PREFERENCES, browser is not changed. gb.qt.kde.html no longer required. Component removed from project.
  • Program no longer crashes when adding or editing categories in Straight Points mode.
Improved & Updated Features
  • Multiple class files can now optionally be opened, each in a new GradeL window using FILE | OPEN IN NEW WINDOW. The windows can be navigated via a new "Window" menu.
  • View scrolls to the far right when new assignment added.
  • View scrolls down to the bottom when new student added.
  • Sort Students added to popup menu over student names column.
  • More clean-up of code, including removing "global" references in classes.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Progressing toward 0.8.4 ...

Here is the current ChangeLog for the upcoming release 0.8.4. I'm working to fix bugs and also implement better code (which may not be obvious to GradeL users).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gradel-0.8.4 - 15 Jul 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bug Fixes:
----------
- Program now shuts down properly when help is open.
- If no browser selected in PREFERENCES, browser is not changed.
- gb.qt.kde.html no longer required. Component removed from project.
- Program no longer crashes when adding or editing categories in Straight
Points mode.

Improved & Updated Features
---------------------------
- More clean-up of code, including removing "global" references in classes.
- Gradebook file name can be added to command line to automatically open
file, i.e. $ gradel gradel-sample.gdl
- View scrolls to the far right when new assignment added.
- View scrolls down to the bottom when new student added.
- Sort Students added to popup menu over student names column.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

GradeL 0.8.3 Released

0.8.3 has been released with bug fixes mentioned in the last post.

More bugs...

As is now common in the development of GradeL, no sooner do I release a new version then I discover a major bug. This one must have been around for several versions. There is a problem when you add assignments or attendance dates that reach the second to the last column form the right. This was crashing the program and rendering it basically useless.

I have fixed the bug and will be forced to release another version, 0.8.3, soon. Thanks for your patience.

P.S. I appreciate it when users report bugs, so please feel free to email or use the forum.

More Screenshots

I've added more screenshots to the GradeL website. Check them out here.

GradeL 0.8.2 Released

GradeL 0.8.2 has officially been released. Download it here. This version fixes several critical bugs and adds/improves some features as well. See the ChangeLog for details.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

More changes to 0.8.2

Well, thanks to bug reports from users and reviewing more of the code, I discovered two very problematic bugs and have fixed them. First, the program crashed when creating a class with one semester and one marking period at the time when students are added to the class. This problem was caused by a bug in the code that kept the number of marking periods constant at four for students. This now fixed and a user can create a class with one semester and one marking period.

The second bug is almost embarrassing. I simply failed to complete the code for adding and editing attendance codes. This feature is now complete. The updated changelog for upcoming version 0.8.2 is included here:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gradel-0.8.2 (beta?) - 11 Jul 2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed the "New" file bug in 0.8.1.
- Fix form title on Class Info dialog.
- Disable "Weight" label in Weigths Edit dialog in points mode.
- Remove error dialog when "Cancel" press on FILE | OPEN dialog.
- Changing the default semesters and marking periods no longer crashes program upon adding students.
- Adding and Editing Attendance codes via SETUP | ATTENDANCE CODES now works correctly!

Improved & Updated Features:
- Welcome dialog includes GradeL logo and Quit button.
- Add check for file-not-saved to FILE | NEW and FILE | OPEN actions.
- Add option to add students immediately after creating new class.
- Help now uses web browser, i.e. Firefox, Konqueor, Opera, Epiphany.
- Browser can be set in SETUP | PREFERENCES.
- Down Arrow functionality can be set in SETUP | PREFERENCES


As with my last post, you can download this new development snapshot, which includes these changes.

This version may end up being the final 0.8.2 release. We'll see...

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Latest changes for upcoming version 0.8.2

These are the current changes that have been made to GradeL since the last release:

gradel-0.8.2: 21 Jun 2007

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed the "New" file bug in 0.8.1.
- Fix form title on Class Info dialog.
- Disable "Weight" label in Weigths Edit dialog in points mode.
- Remove error dialog when "Cancel" press on FILE | OPEN dialog.

Improved & Updated Features:
- Welcome dialog includes GradeL logo and Quit button.
- Add check for file-not-saved to FILE | NEW and FILE | OPEN actions.
- Add option to add students immediately after creating new class.
- Help now uses web browser, i.e. Firefox, Konqueor, Opera, Epiphany.
- Browser can be set in SETUP | PREFERENCES.

Downlaod this snapshot

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Welcome

The GradeL Development blog will serve as a place to keep up on the progress of the Development of GradeL, A Gradebook Program for Linux. Not only will it allow GradeL users to track the development progress, it will also provide the developer(s) with documentation of the evolution of the program.