Captains Log

Captains log will be a lightweight application for maintaining a journal or log file. I am developing it primarily for use during the development of software. Initially it is hoped to be a simple text file generator, with the user running at the end of the day or programming session to record bugs, fixes and changes. At any stage during the project, the user can output a report of the history of the projects development.

Features to be developed

• Maintain log entries in a general database form
• Multiple report output styles (including HTML output for auto updating web pages)
• Collapsible hierarchical view by date or subject
• Nested logs for dividing a project into separate tasks (sequential or concurrent)
• Entry search
• Data analysis eg time taken to fix bugs, implement a feature
• Application monitoring and auto record development eg add an entry every time project is compiled

Current Status

This project like many others is in the very early stages of development. It is hoped initially to design a prototype to maintain a simple database of entries with automatic date and time recording. Then the project will be expanded to focus more on software development style requirements. The next stage would be to add data analysis to find useful information like the average time to fix a bug or implement a feature. The final stage is to make the software intelligent like analysing current programs running and automatically load the appropriate log file. The goal of this project is primarily to log the progress of a project and secondly to provide an analysis of the information recorded such as the number of builds used, hours spent, average work times etc.