November 2024 Update

November 2024 Update

Alex Dumouchelle

October, 31 2024

New UI and Database

Try it out - Install 0.0.4


Collaboration

For the first time in OpenMarch history (about one year), we have someone who’s made a significant contribution to the project!

First off, we have a logo now!

New logo

This also comes in an app icon version as well as some other reduced versions. This is all thanks to Ben Moulse and his amazing work/flexibility.

We also have a brand new UI brought to you by dukc which you can see in the update video (or install it yourself).

It has been such a relief to delegate a lot of these crucial tasks to some more capable hands. I truly believe the future of OpenMarch relies on dedicated people putting their own flare into the project. Thank you so much both dukc and Ben Moulse for the work you’ve put in so far!

What I did

I was also very busy this month. In fact, I reimplemented the entire database 🙃. I didn’t mean to do it and was really just trying to created a more flexible way to add database actions to the history stack. One thing lead to another and I basically gutted the old database monolith file that I was using before. Now, the database relies on generic function calls that standardize interactions and will make creating new tables much easier.

As far as the history stack, now everything is based on a trigger system that was inspired by this post on the official SQLite page. Now, all a developer needs to do to add undo/redo history capabilities to a table is call a function called createUndoTriggers().

Just an aside, if you haven’t listened to the Co-Recursive episode where they talk to Richard Hipp, the creator of SQLite, you need to.

In addition (wait for it), everything about these history functions and generic database functions are tested. Wow! That’s a big victory because previously, none of the database had any tests written for it. Better late than never I suppose, but it’s crazy I was flying blind for that long.

Changelog 0.0.4 - New UI and Database

Features

New UI

Thanks to the hard work of dukc, the UI has a new modern look. The new interface also brings the following:

  • Dark and light mode
  • Turning popup windows into side lists (so the user can still edit the canvas)
  • Ability to collapse the sidebar inspectors
  • A measure/page timeline that is actually readable
  • An overall better place to spend your time

Undo and Redo

Essentially everything that modifies the database can be undone and restored. Before, only the editing of Marchers, Pages, and MarcherPages were part of the history stack. Now you can do the following:

  • Undo and redo the creation, modification, and deletion of rows in every table
    • Marchers
    • Pages
    • MarcherPages
    • FieldProperties
    • Audio
    • Measures
  • There is now a limit to how many actions are saved so the file doesn’t take up infinite storage
    • Default is 500 actions

Quality of life

  • The first page now always exists and cannot be deleted
    • There was no reason for a user to make a 0-count page, as page 1 will always exist
  • The canvas shows up immediately on launch (thanks to the implementation of the permanent page 1)
  • There is now an app icon!

Developer Info

UI Standards

  • Standard components using Radix
  • Unified variables with tailwind

Database

  • DatabaseActions.ts - Standard database interactions
    • Rather than trying to force TableController objects, I’ve made a collection of functions in a file called DatabaseActions which standardize interactions with the database.
    • The decision to go functional as opposed to object-oriented was due to the hyper-customization each table needed in its own case.
  • History triggers
    • All actions performed on the database are automatically recorded using triggers at the SQLite level
    • To add a table to the history stack, call createUndoTriggers(db, tableName) from database.history.ts

Plans for December Update

NOW I’m ready to focus on UX stuff (I say that every month). I don’t think I ever stick to these goals.

  • Add curves
  • Ability to add measures manually
  • Indoor fields (at least a couple of them)
  • Create a roadmap for spring release
    • What else needs to be done?

Remember, you can always check the GitHub project to see what current issues are in the queue.