Diving Log 5.0 – Overview

This post should give you a quick overview of Diving Log 5.0, the challenges and why this is not a normal update.

Diving Log 4.0, the current version, is developed in Visual Basic 6. It runs great on current Windows versions, even on the upcoming Windows 7, but it is an outdated development language. Diving Log 5.0 will be based on .NET Framework 2.0 which is now installed on almost every computer. This is a modern programming language and IDE and offers really great tools and makes fast development possible. But there is no simple conversion from VB6 to .NET, so I have to code everything I’ve done in the past 10 years again in .NET. This sounds in the beginning worst than it is because it won’t take 10 more years to do this, but it’s also not an easy task which is done in a few weeks.

A simple manual 1:1 conversion would be possible relative quickly, but then all the old stuff would be dragged into the new language. Often you see only after you’ve developed a feature and worked on it over the time that there were made some design errors in the beginning which makes it hard to further improve or change this feature. But now I have the chance to do the things better from beginning, because I know already how the final result will look like. So I not only convert everything 1:1, I’ll make use of the new possibilities of the .NET framework and improve every single existing feature. I’ll have an eye on performance, so a feature should not only work, it should work as fast as possible. All this stuff takes more time than a simple 1:1 conversion, but it’s worth the time and we will have a very solid platform for a long time.

This is the reason I still can’t provide a release date other than “later this year”, I’m sorry! I want to make it right, not fast. But you can be sure I’m focusing now primary on version 5.0 and to get a beta version out. This is the reason I started this blog. And you’re already using a lot of 5.0 code in version 4.0 (the items  which require already the .NET framework):

  • All dive computer downloaders
  • Some import functions (everything below the “BFT Tiger” import in the vertical menu)
  • Some export functions (UDCF, UDDF, DAN)
  • Photo manager
  • Dilogs manager
  • iPhone synchronization

These features are 5.0 features, but already released for version 4.0 so you can make use of them. The last 4 weeks I was working hard on the new logbook window, the heart of Diving Log and the window with most features and code. And this is the window with most planned improvements. I want to point out some of them in next blog posts and provide already some early screenshots.

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2 Responses to “Diving Log 5.0 – Overview”

  1. Eric says:

    Great to hear about your progress! I’ve subscribed to your RSS feed, so I won’t miss anything. I’m looking forward to the beta!

  2. divinglog says:

    Hi Eric

    Thank you for your comment and for subscribing! I’ve changed now the comment system so they will appear immediately.

    Sven