NM Collector Software Version 2.4.0 Much Faster

NM Collector Software Version 2.4.0 now available for download. Large collections will see an order of magnitude improvement in response times with this new release.  The database interface for Version 2.4.0 of NM Collector Software was rewritten to maximize performance.

Here are some results of a performance comparison of Version 2.4.0 with the previous 2.3.1 release.
Notes:

• Not all possible combinations of  (Computer | Data | Program | Operation) were tested
• However, performance benchmarking is not yet complete.  As more tests are conducted the results will be posted here.

Observations

In general, overall performance is improved for any size database. However, the bigger the database the bigger the performance improvement. In version 2.3.1 performance degraded exponentially as the database size increased to the point that it became essentially unusable for large databases. In version 2.4.0 performance degrades in a linear fashion resulting in orders of magnitude performance improvements for large databases.

Benchmark Computer Setups

The following two computers were used for benchmarking:

Computer 1:

• Toshiba Satellite Notebook Computer with AMD Dual Core M300 2 GHz Processor
• 32 bit Windows 7 Home Premium
• 3 Gig Memory

Computer 2:

• HP Pavillion Computer with AMD 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20 GHz Processor
• 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium
• 3 Gig Memory

Benchmark Data Setups

The following two databases were used for benchmark testing:

Data 1:

• Just under 500 items
• Most with one to four pictures each
• Pictures stored in the database (not the file system)

Data 2:

• Just over 150 items
• None with pictures

Benchmark Program Setups

The program was run under the following conditions:

Program 1:

• Executed from hard drive

Program 2:

• Executed from USB flash drive

Benchmark Results

Test Combination (Computer | Data | Program | Operation)	2.3.1 Times	2.4.0 Times
1 | 1 | 1 | load program	52 minutes	11 seconds
1 | 1 | 1 | close program	31 minutes	23 seconds
1 | 2 | 1 | load program	15 seconds	7 seconds
1 | 2 | 1 | close program	7 seconds	4 seconds
2 | 1 | 1 | load program	50 minutes	20 seconds
2 | 1 | 1 | close program	30 minutes	29 seconds
2 | 1 | 1 | tree indent
2 | 1 | 1 | open report
2 | 2 | 1 | load program	50 seconds	13 seconds
2 | 2 | 1 | close program	9 seconds	6 seconds
2 | 2 | 1 | tree indent	12 seconds	5 seconds
2 | 2 | 1 | open report	15 seconds	8 seconds

NM Collector Software Version 2.3 now available

 Changes in version 2.3.0 (see complete history of changes here)

• Clearly marked first field on Identification Tab as the Bar Code field
• Improvements to Events tab
• Improvements to Maintenance tab
• Clean up, reformat, and improve functionality of Collection Types and all List Edits Screens
• Fixed bug with one insert right after another losing data from previous
• Fixed issues with data not being saved unless tab was pressed after each entry
• Improved existing collection types by changing first [Bar Code] field to Unique ID
• Ammo
• Home Inventory
• Whistles
• Created new collection types for:
• Licenses
• Subscriptions
• Recipes
• Passwords
• Created new reports to more easily report out on new collection types:
• Simple Inventory (all Identification tab fields)
• Simple Inventory with Notes (all Identification tab fields plus Description tab Notes fields)

For more information please visit:  NM Collector Software JE Collecting Software

Updated Reports Available for Download

Just uploaded some report improvements. You can download the zip file and unzip them to your Reports folder in your NM Collector Installation directory.

http://www.nmcollectorsoftware.com/reports/UpdateReports.zip

Version 2.1.0 of NM Collector Software JE (any collection, any platform) is now available

The next version (2.1.0) of NM Collector Software JE (any collection, any platform) is now available.  Please visit http://www.nmcollectorsoftware.com/upgrade/index.htm for download links.  This new release deals with issues of performance facing collectors with very large collections and lots of pictures.  Prior to this release pictures could only be stored in the database causing very slow start up and shut down times for very large collections with lots of pictures.  The answer to this problem is to not store pictures in the database but to leave the pictures on the computer hard drive and store a path only to the pictures in the database.

In version 2.1.0 you can now choose where your pictures are stored.  Not only that, but you can have the program copy or migrate your pictures from your database to your file system and vise-versa.  If you copy your pictures they will remain in their original location after being copied to the new location.  If you migrate the pictures they will be deleted from their original location.  This provides an easy function by which you can take pictures that are scattered throughout your file system and migrate them to the same directory as NM Collector Software JE.  If that directory happens to be on a USB flash drive (which is the preferred method for running NM Collector Software) you will now have a copy of all of your pictures on the same USB flash drive.  Detailed step by step illustrated instructions for how to do this can be found in the examples provided at:  http://www.nmcollectorsoftware.com/examples/.

Of course, this release also provides new reports to support pictures located on the file system.  In addition, it provides other new features and bug fixes including the following:
* Eliminated excess save warnings when data had already been saved.
* Modified NM Gun Collector migration to default to storing pictures in the file system rather than the database.
* Provide guidance for when help won't load - seems to be a Mac only problem.

How to prevent lost data – Backup!!!

Your data is very important to me.  I write my software to protect it and it’s integrity as best as I can.  However, there is only so much I can do.  It is also important to note that your data is your responsibility and it is up to you to protect it.   One of the fundamental rules for the use of any computer system is to backup your data.

Unfortunately, I recently received the following message from a user of NM Collector JE after he “applied” the latest upgrade.

” Great Stuff.  I now have the new software but not my database.  I am getting to the stage where I will give up on your product if I can’t get my data back.  It will be more trouble than it is worth.”

My guess is, despite all of my warnings on the downloads page, he installed the full application (which includes the default database) and not the upgrade.  This would have replaced his data with the default data.  Please don’t do that!

I asked a few questions to better understand the situation – it’s always possible he really did not lose his data – but he just responded with more vitriol towards me.  From his perspective it is entirely my fault that he lost his data.   He would not accept responsibility for his own data.

Of course he could have been nicer but the point is something went wrong and it seems he lost his data.    I can certainly sympathize with him as the whole point of the software is to gather data in a usable form and retain it for future reference.  Gathering quality data takes work and it is a tragedy to lose the fruits of your labor.

I hope that is not true of you.  Please, if you value your work and your efforts then protect your data.  There are many ways to backup and recover your data.  I am posting some of them in a new topic entitled “How to backup and recover your data” in my new “Best Practices” forum which is one of the NM Collector Software forums.

Please read it and be prepared.  I hope you never lose your data like this poor soul did but, if for some unexpected reason you do, please be ready to recover it with a backup plan!!!

Happy computing.

Clay

longevity

I just received the following email regarding NM Gun Collector Software which I think deserves to be shared with others:

“I have been using Penguin software in the past which is not supported on Vista so I must go through this again. I realize that you do not have a crystal ball but is it your intentions to continue to support your software with the ever changing technological world we are in today?”

This is spot on as to why I changed from a Microsoft-based software development environment to a Java-based software development environment.  My old NM Gun Collector Software was written using the latest Microsoft technology available in 1999.  Microsoft promised developers using their technology that their applications  would continue to run in future Microsoft Operating systems into perpetuity.  Well, that turned out to be only partially true.

The advent of Microsoft Windows Vista resulted in changes to the installation model for applications that broke the installation of NM Gun Collector Software.   At the time, the Microsoft solution for fixing the problem entailed purchasing the latest Microsoft Development tools (at great expense), which in trun required migrating the old applications into that new development environment (requiring a very large software re-development effort), and finally redeploying the newly redeveloped application using the new Microsoft development environment.

This was too much for me to bear.  Besides the simple fact of feeling betrayed by Microsoft (which should be no surprise to anyone but I am always an optimist and tend to believe the promises of others) if I was to go through all of that effort why would I commit once again to an environment that I could not be sure would be supported in future versions of Windows?  Since I would have to redevelop my application anyway why not take another look at the available development environments with an eye towards the future?  Well, that is exactly what I did.

As a result, I decided to create NM Collector Software JE (Java Edition) as a Java application.  This offers many advantages including the easy availability of many free or low cost software development environments, the ability to deploy NM Collector Software JE to  multiple platforms (including Windows, Mac, and Linux), and the promise of longevity.  Sure, as java grows and changes I might have to tweak my application to continue to fit within the Java environment but NEVER AGAIN will I have to recreate it from scratch as Microsoft forced me to do.

However, over the many years that it has been available,  Java has stabilized so much that I do not expect to have to make a lot of changes to my application to keep it running long into the future.  So, in conclusion, here is the email response I gave to the person who asked the question:

“No for NM Gun Collector Software (the page you contacted me from).  Because it is Microsoft based the technology has proven to be unstable over time.

“Yes for  NM Collector Software JE (Java Edition).  That is exactly why I abandoned Microsoft technology in favor of Java.  Java allows me to continue to support  NM Collector Software JE not only across multiple operating systems but into the foreseeable future as well.”

You might think that as a result I left my thousands of NM Gun Collector Software customers in the same situation this poor Penguin software customer is in.  Well, if so, you would be wrong.  One of my primary goals in writing NM Collector Software JE was to provide a path for my existing customers to migrate their data into the new system so they would not have to do it manually.  Early on in the development of NM Collector Software JE I was able to meet that goal ( please see http://www.nmcollectorsoftware.com/support/Import.htm for more details ) and several of my customers have already used it.

Why have only a few done it?  Because they love NM Gun Collector Software so much they do whatever they can to keep it working on new systems.  In fact, I have helped them to come up with work arounds so as to keep it running in Vista and Windows 7.  However, I don’t know how long we can keep that up so they now have a proven path to move their data to NM Collector Software JE when they can no longer keep NM Gun Collector working on future versions of Microsoft Windows.

Clay

Complaints are welcome and encouraged

 The other night while watching TV a Dominos Pizza commercial came up where they encouraged customers to complain so they can improve their pizza.  That is my attitude towards my collecting software.  If you have issues with NM Collector Software please let me know so I can improve it!

There are many ways to let me know including my public support forum.  In it are two sub forums of particular importance for improvement.  One is for reporting bugs and the other is for submitting enhancement requests.  I value both!  Please use these forums!  Don’t be afraid to post suggestions or complaints publicly so other people can read and comment on them as well.  This will help me gauge what will be of the most value in future releases.

As for bugs, no matter how hard I try to eradicate them some inevitably make it through.  NM Collector Software is not simplistic so it is very complicated code to provide the rich features that set it apart from the rest.  However, that also increases the chances that some bugs will get through.  Help me stamp them out by reporting any that you find!  Publicly reporting them is the best so that others can be easily made aware of the bugs and any workarounds to use until they can be fixed.

Enhancement requests are how I get new ideas that I might not have thought of myself!  I may not be able to incorporate all of them (for various reasons including technical and/or philosophical) but I value the suggestions.  Even though I may not be able to incorporate a suggestion directly it may lead to other improvements that I might not have thought of otherwise.  Please send your suggestions in!

I know that my software can not be everything to everybody and there is no way that I can please everyone.  However, I do value feedback from multiple perspectives – every one has something to contribute, and, within reason, I do try to please every one who has decided to invest their time and money in my software.

Thanks in advance for your continued support in making NM Collector Software better!  Also, please feel free to leave your comments here as well!

Clay