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 coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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 Grow Journal Program  1
#293403 - 10/07/09 06:39 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Well, since I develop software for a living I had an idea a few days ago that I've been mulling over. I know a lot of people keep grow journals to track plant growth, feedings, flowering times, etc to help dial in their grows.
So what I was thinking was writing a small VB.Net app with a SQL Server Express back end to help facilitate this. Just a way to keep a record of your grows and track their progress while saving the information so you can use it to improve later
What I would be needing would be willing beta testers. All you would need is a computer quick enough to run SQL Server Express, shouldn't need anything too crazy for that. Run the program, report bugs, offer suggestions for improvement etc. Real basic stuff, the program itself won't be too complex (at least in the start), just start off with a basic data entry and display forms to track growth and feedings.
Right now I have the following features in mind to start off with
Maintenance form to enter in strain information, nutrient lines, substrate mixtures, light setups, fan setups
Data Entry form to enter in information on watering schedules, feeding schedules, plant growth date entry to log flowering and veg times and a final entry for total yield
Data Analysis form to track how long a plant took in flower, overall yields, maybe track differences between the same strain with different nute lines etc (this part is a bit hazy right now)
So, would any of you guys be interested in something like this? It'd be free with minimal setup on your part. I'll provide tech support if needed and can help you configure SQL Server if I'm unable to write a script to install it for you.
Any thoughts, suggestions, etc are welcome 
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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FurrowedBrow
Free yourself from yourself
 
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 12,045
Loc: Carpal Tunnel
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#293433 - 10/07/09 07:25 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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I like it! But how is this different from creating an excel spreadsheet? with that you can change everything and make graphs and shit.
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: FurrowedBrow]
#293494 - 10/07/09 09:19 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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This will be a quicker way of storing and retrieving the data, let the program do the work for you instead of making your own spreadsheet. It's a lot easier to pick something from combo box and type in a few numbers then fuck with an excel spreadsheet.
Graphing isn't much of a problem for me to implement with this either, in fact i think grabbing the data would be much easier with a SQL query that's built in, or built dynamically, then formatting an excel spreadsheet.
Plus, writing software is fun :P
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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Dr. Penguin
Registered: 05/19/08
Posts: 1,036
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#294355 - 10/09/09 07:37 AM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Psssssst code it in C (or any other cross platform language). I want to play too but us linux kids get excluded from that sort of fun.
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 smoked_out_haze
artwork. dope.
Registered: 09/13/09
Posts: 62
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: Dr. Penguin]
#294497 - 10/09/09 03:01 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Quote:
Dr. Penguin said:
Psssssst code it in C (or any other cross platform language). I want to play too but us linux kids get excluded from that sort of fun.
C isn't really cross platform when you get into GUI programming. Just install vmware or virtualbox and find a "spare" windows license to make a windows box. I do this for all of my windows needs and it works perfect. Way better than trying to fuck with wine, IMO.
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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I might be able to do it in C#, but then again that would still require the .net framework to be installed. I'd code it in java, but writing software with a gui front end in java is a.) ugly as sin and b.) a fucking nightmare to code.
I chose VB because frankly winforms apps are best suited for that language, it's the language I code in every day, and it just looks nicer.
Sorry man 
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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smoked_out_haze
artwork. dope.
Registered: 09/13/09
Posts: 62
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#294591 - 10/09/09 05:56 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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If you made the source available Linux users could use mono to build their own copy. But then they gotta change the database to mysql or something so I guess that idea isn't too useful to non-programmers 
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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well, maybe not. I could at some point code in some cross compatibility for a mysql back end.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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eTarded
Clubbed to Death...
Registered: 08/05/09
Posts: 73
Last seen: 14 years, 11 months
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#294799 - 10/10/09 11:11 AM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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I would definitely be down to test this out. I used to keep written records of my first grows, filled up like three notebooks with shit lol.
Let me know when you finish the program.
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: eTarded]
#294855 - 10/10/09 12:48 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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will do, just got back from a morning of errands, now I'm watching some football and drawing out the database design. Should have a rough skeleton of the program finished by tonight. And if all goes well I should have my first build ready by the end of next week.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#294938 - 10/10/09 03:21 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Here's a quick screenie of what I've got so far. Just finished the plant entry and nutrient entry forms as well as laying out the structure for the mdi parent (main form) form.
Ignore the button pics for the add nutes and plants buttons. Just needed to put something in there as a placeholder. I'll find some icons somewhere that are more appropriate.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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Dr. Penguin
Registered: 05/19/08
Posts: 1,036
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#295793 - 10/12/09 08:09 AM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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That looks awesome so far coda. I can't wait to try it out. 
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: Dr. Penguin]
#296038 - 10/12/09 04:40 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Yah, I'm going to work on the journal entry portion tonight I think. Then I have to plan out some analysis forms and the super early beta will be ready. Just realized I'm going to have to find out someway to detect the sql instance on the users computer and have it set the connection strings properly. There's got to be some way to do that, although it may require the use of a form within the program.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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Dr. Penguin
Registered: 05/19/08
Posts: 1,036
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#296173 - 10/12/09 10:03 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Obviously this will be a feature for further down the development pathway, but built in encryption and password protection of the database is of utmost importance. I must confess ignorance of Vb and server express but do they possess the capability to encrypt the data?
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TheFallenLion
Stranger
Registered: 10/19/09
Posts: 3
Last seen: 15 years, 1 month
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: Dr. Penguin]
#300154 - 10/19/09 11:23 AM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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I am so glad I found this post, I've been literally searching for four hours for software to do things exactly like this, I've found a Filemaker spreadsheet by Geeky Grower over at another forum I can tell you in-private. Which has a ton of features you could barrow with credit such as average height per day, average weight gain per day, etc etc. All great things to keep track of.
Then I found this program called CannaGrower, which had a very nice interface but wasn't flexible enough for me. for example Light types included were fluorescent, HPS and MH, however inputting Ceramic Metal Halide or LED was an impossibility, which you can thankfully avoid.
Then there was a program called Velvet which didn't so much analyze any data as so much as it was merely a reformatted notepad for data insertion.
I'd love to help you beta test, I have previous experience in beta testing other products, and I have quite a few ideas of weaknesses in the offerings I've seen, I could provide examples of these so that your product when ready for commercial release would be more fully featured, not that you couldn't do it yourself but it couldn't hurt either.
One example is... Geeky Growers sheet didn't have gram per watt analysis, but VelVet did. This is an example of a feature that should be a hard line requirement.
Seriously if you develop this right, from what I've seen there's a market for this type of product, that is ENTIRELY commercially untapped on the hobbyist or home gardening level.
UPDATE 1
Another thing I thought of was the ability to also as you track your fertilizing regime and supplements, also the ability to separately track your foliar feeding schedule.
I'm actually doing my own experiments with Sonic Bloom by Dan Carlson in my upcoming grow of White Russian, and I will be using Spray-N-Grow + Bill's Perfect Fertilizer + perhaps Coco-Wet if not just an organic dish soap so the above concerns me, and I'm sure it concerns many other growers.
I think it can be agreed many would consider an advanced crop management utility a wise investment.
Edited by TheFallenLion (10/19/09 11:39 AM)
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Quote:
Which has a ton of features you could barrow with credit such as average height per day, average weight gain per day, etc etc. All great things to keep track of.
average height I can see, but how do you weigh your buds when they're still on the plant? As it stands I don't know how in-depth this program will be. At the very least it's going to be extremely basic to start. Most likely it's going to be a " reformatted notepad for data insertion" to begin with along with some basic analysis. Just a way to track your plants progress over time along with what you fed and when.
Hell, I haven't even begun on the journal entry portion yet. By the time I get home from work these days the last thing I want to do is write more code. Hopefully my time will be a little more focused on this side project since there will be a code freeze in place at work for the next few weeks. I'd like to get the journal part out as quickly as possible. I'm also toying with the idea of switching the sql server to an access database as it's a lot easier for me to implement (and users to install). The only thing I'm worried about is it's space limitations. At some point the MDB file will fill up and the user will be forced to back up and truncate data.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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shrogrow
Stranger
Registered: 09/03/09
Posts: 54
Last seen: 14 years, 9 months
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#300785 - 10/20/09 08:00 AM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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Cool initiative coda! May I suggest making it a web application though. That way it would be platform independent, available anywhere you have a computer with Internet connection, and maybe even get integrated with The Growery!
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: shrogrow]
#300954 - 10/20/09 05:07 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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That would require an investment in a server, domain, and other assorted things that I just can't afford.
Besides, web development blows monkey cock.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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81renaissance
Coachella '13 KKOTY
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,182
Loc: State of Mind 
Last seen: 9 months, 7 days
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Re: Grow Journal Program [Re: coda]
#300966 - 10/20/09 05:26 PM (15 years, 1 month ago) |
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I'm lovin' this concept man!
Can't wait for it to be available.
Let us know when you're all done, I'm sure people will be all over you for it.
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"So it goes."
-Kurt Vonnegut
BlueBerry_Swisher said:I want French fries. No, I want a penis French. Thank you. I'm so excited. I can not contain myself. Now I eat chocolate. It is so good. I'm trying to rub it all over myself. And then lick. Now I need a hot shower. The end.
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coda
Registered: 04/20/08
Posts: 4,736
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Just spent some time whipping up a journal entry form. Still a bit rough around the edges, but this is going to be the general concept. I'll have to play with it a bit to see if another layout makes more sense.
I'll get to that part tomorrow, pushed off dinner for far too long now and it's almost bong hit o clock.
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MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.
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