Logbook Plug-in

[George64]

Installed the latest beta-release and that did do the trick. Thanks for you help!

[manimaul]

I've added logbook plugin to the opencpn.org/plugindownload page as a beta plugin. It would be cool if each plugin creator could keep their plugin up to date on this page. The page is easy to edit. PM or email me for creds to upload .dll and .so files to this page.

Thanks,

Will

[cagney]

Originally Posted by manimaul

I've added logbook plugin to the opencpn.org/plugindownload page as a beta plugin. It would be cool if each plugin creator could keep their plugin up to date on this page. The page is easy to edit. PM or email me for creds to upload .dll and .so files to this page.

Thanks,

Will

Good move Will.
Please be careful to state the architecture of the Linux plugins. The present plugins only works for 32 bits i386. We have a lot of users on amd 64 and before long we will probably see some arm users.

This error looks like this in the log

 Error: /usr/local/share/opencpn/plugins/libchartdldr_pi.so: wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32

for the chart update plugin.

Thomas

[blubaju]

Like the log in oCPN very much, could not try because 2.4 is sending me over rocks. Like the ideas of several enhancements to later copy and paste to a blog with pictures etc, but this should not be part of oCPN.

A function I would like this log to do:

entry is not only written in fixed (greater) time intervalls, but whenever something happens, a significant change to the former entry. like a course change, a sudden gust or any emergency manoever. it is then noted immideately. this will reduce file sizes considerably, on the other hand no important data will be missing and no discussions wether that gust was 30 or 60 knots.

In times of (nowadays) computer power this should not be such a problem.

Else thanks again for this wonderful project ;-)

[NEVERMIND]

Originally Posted by SethDart

Here is a new plugin for OpenCPN. It's often requested: a logbook plugin.

This is version 0.1 so be indulgent. It'll be enhanced upon request and suggestions.

The purpose is very simple: it receive NMEA sentences and writes values into a file on a regular interval. (Warning: It doesn't work with libgps/gpsd input because it's not NMEA, sorry)

For now, the sentences list cannot be changed, it's:
Date;Lat;Lon;COG;SOG;HDM;HDT;STW;AWA;AWS;TWA;TWS;D epth;Temp

The file is written in csv format (separator: semi-colon) That file can be opened with LibreOffice or any spreadsheet software of your choice. Then you're able to create nice graphs, stats...

The interval in minutes can be set from 1 to 60. I think it's enough. Smaller interval would create a very big file. There's no log rotation logic. The plugin just append to the end of the file. If the plugin is enabled, then it works automatically on the background when OpenCPN runs. No hassle

If any sentence is not received or the data is outdated (received more than 60 seconds ago) this field is empty.

I already coded min, max & average calculation for the sentences but it cannot be saved for now. I dunno how I can create a simple interface to select fields. Ideas welcome.

Please test and report. I'll try to provide .dll & .so tomorrow. Here's a compressed patch file (remove the .doc extension)

You should add:

add_subdirectory (logbook_pi)

to plugins/CMakeLists.txt to build this plugin.

Please test and report.

PS: I'll send a cmake patch to Dave to include any subdir in plugins/ (to avoid patch error if this file is changed by several plugins). Remove all add_subdirectory(...) and replace with:

FILE(GLOB PLUGINS *_pi)

FOREACH(PLUGIN ${PLUGINS})
     add_subdirectory (${PLUGIN})
ENDFOREACH(PLUGIN)

Hello SethDart,
How to retrieve data on open cpn: wind speed, deapth, ect ... for display in the dashboard?
Config:
Raymarine Electronics
Central SPX 30
AIS connected: ok
GPS connected: ok
Driver connected from the central upcoming test
All NMEA sentences coming on open cpn.
Thank you. Jp

[Netsurfer]

Hi,

to have something like a Logbook is a wish often expressed.
And the advantages of such a feature are clear as one may track a lot of information automatically instead of writing them by hand.

First of all I am of the opinion that the (later) usage of the recorded data is much more important than anything else when talking about a Logbook.

Therefor the usage of CSV format surely is one possible option but imho not the best as it is not very "flexible". And as this thread already shows the requirements/ needs are as varied as the number of users.

To get a maximum flexibility it might be preferable to choose some kind of XML format. So the lat/ lon values could be directly stored in a GPX compatible format.

XML format also could easily be processed by Javascript (e.g. by jquery) which leads me to the most important point again. I propose a web-application (for offline use of course) to access/ process the gathered data/ information which I hereby offer to code (in collaboration with the plug-in author).

I like the concept of recording/ tracking the available NMEA data - but it should be configurable which of the available sentences are being recorded.

One option which must on no account be missing is the possibility to add user input (water, fuel, engine, oil, etc. infos).

I also see no advantage in having just one single file. I would prefer one file for each day which could be named just by date (with post and/or prefix). This is by default also human readable and easy to sort.

If it would use a XML format then there needs to be an option in the plug-in to add/ edit/ delete desired "categories/ fields".

Gunther

PS: @Jean-Eude
Has the development of the Dashboard plug-in stopped? I am still missing the option to add the rest of the status bar information as dials to have them in a readable size and to get completely rid of the status bar.

[SethDart]

Hi Gunther,

Sorry, not much time available lately but I'm following all threads and will try to update both plugins soon. I broke my mast stay 1 month ago while at sea and took the opportunity of the lovely weather this last month to work on the boat most of my spare time ;-) to get it ready for next summer.

For the dashboard, here are the latest changes, made 3 weeks ago:

New instrument: Cursor position
Bug fix: HDT can be invalid

I'll push changes to this branch before sending the whole patch to Dave for mainline OpenCPN inclusion:
https://github.com/OpenCPN/OpenCPN/c.../Dashboard_WIP


Now about the logbook plugin, I liked CSV because it can be easily opened with OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice, MS Excel or any other spreadsheet tool to make graphs, statistics, extract and transform data. Sure XML is a good candidate but how will users open and process data except from just another tool to release (which you offer to do)? Maybe offer both? I'll think about that.

Daily log file vs. one single file is not clear to me: user would select a directory instead of a file, now what about overwritting existing file? How can we ensure the existing file was created by this plugin and contains valid data and can be appended safely... Asking user what to do is not really compatible with automated process we want to achieve. That's the only reason I chose one single file: the user has selected it, it's responsibility ; the plugin append to the file whatever data is inside.

As always, comments welcome :-)

Next version will have selectable field list plus user defined comment field. Probably in a few days: weather is becoming crappy :-(

[Netsurfer]

Jean-Eude,

Originally Posted by SethDart

I broke my mast stay 1 month ago while at sea ...

I'm sorry to hear that ...

For the dashboard, here are the latest changes, made 3 weeks ago:

New instrument: Cursor position
Bug fix: HDT can be invalid

I'll push changes to this branch before sending the whole patch to Dave for mainline OpenCPN inclusion:
https://github.com/OpenCPN/OpenCPN/c.../Dashboard_WIP

Cool - thanks.
I do not remember to watch the different branches for the plug-ins but I'll try to do so ...

Now about the logbook plugin, I liked CSV because it can be easily opened with OpenOffice.org/LibreOffice, MS Excel or any other spreadsheet tool to make graphs, statistics, extract and transform data.

I see it from the point of view of an unexperienced computer user. What can he do with the CVS data other than just open it in e.g. MS Excel?

Sure XML is a good candidate but how will users open and process data except from just another tool to release (which you offer to do)? Maybe offer both? I'll think about that.

Regarding the point mentioned above it might be the same no matter what format is used. Without any further processing the usefulness of the data tends versus zero.
And the scope for further processing of XML data is much wider than for CVS data. Apart from the fact that CVS is not very flexible. What if an user would like to add an additional information one day?

But your idea of offering both could also be an alternative. Or even split the information. NMEA data => CVS + User data => XML.

Daily log file vs. one single file is not clear to me: user would select a directory instead of a file,

Correct!

now what about overwritting existing file?

You have to rely on the system date/ time setting anyway.
So if
- file with todays date does not exist => create it
- file with todays date does exist => append data

How can we ensure the existing file was created by this plugin and contains valid data and can be appended safely...

See above.
I do not see what will be the difference compared to the one file solution?

Asking user what to do is not really compatible with automated process we want to achieve. That's the only reason I chose one single file: the user has selected it, it's responsibility ; the plugin append to the file whatever data is inside.

Same with multiple files based on the systems date setting

Next version will have selectable field list plus user defined comment field. Probably in a few days: weather is becoming crappy :-(

IMHO the easiest way to look at the data would be to display them in a browser (which I guess we can assume is available on nearly every system). And if we bundle OpenCPN with the jquery library (which would also be very helpful for a more interactive help) we also can rely on Javascript and jquery for processing the data. This will allow for a wide range of filtering the data to display and its presentation.

Gunther

[Sheer2Magic]

Hi all,

New to the forum and have been using OpenCP. I'd like to install the logbook plug-in but have no idea how to go about it!

Can someone "walk me through" the process of getting the plug-in installed and working in OpenCP

Thanks

Ray Pink
S/V Sheer Magic

[HappySeagull]

Originally Posted by Sheer2Magic

Hi all,

New to the forum and have been using OpenCP. I'd like to install the logbook plug-in but have no idea how to go about it!

Can someone "walk me through" the process of getting the plug-in installed and working in OpenCP

Thanks

Ray Pink
S/V Sheer Magic

go here
About Plugins | Official OpenCPN Homepage
and then here

PlugIns | Official OpenCPN Homepage download the plugin and copy it into the plugins folder in ...Program Files/OpenCPN/plugins (or the like on your system!)then start OpenCPN ,click the wrench(settings),then plugins tab and look for your new plugin...go from there.

[jimthom]

Hi Seth;

I'm using all the latest versions of OpenCPN and log plugin; running win7/64bit. Just having the log plugin in the plugin directory keeps OpenCPN from loading. When I remove it from the plugin folder OpenCPN works fine. Does the GPS need to be running when I open OpenCPN?

Thank you
Jim

[Sheer2Magic]

Hi HappySeagull

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I read both articles, downloaded the plug-in, expanded it, and copied it to the plug-in folder of OpenCPN.

I then oened OpenCPN and clicked on the wrench button, and the clicked on the plug-in tab. In there I only have dashboard and gribs .... no logbook ?

Anything that I should have done? By the way the icons for dashboard, grib and logbook are all exactly alike in the plug-in folder.

Thanks for your help

Ray

[HappySeagull]

	
	

			
				

					Originally Posted by Sheer2Magic
					
				
				
Hi HappySeagull
 
Thanks for the prompt reply.
 
I read both articles, downloaded the plug-in, expanded it, and copied it to the plug-in folder of OpenCPN.
 
I then oened OpenCPN and clicked on the wrench button, and the clicked on the plug-in tab. In there I only have dashboard and gribs .... no logbook ?
 
Anything that I should have done? By the way the icons for dashboard, grib and logbook are all exactly alike in the plug-in folder.
 
Thanks for your help
 
Ray
			
		

well that's darned odd,Ray...It sounds like you've done everything.The plugins have the extension ".dll" -the tag on the end,if you like,so their icons would look the same..but hey, FIRST,what version of OpenCPN are you using? on what OS?I've been assuming windows".
In this case,don't let windose coddle you too much...A .dll will look like risky business to Microsoft in her MotherHen Mode so be sure she hasn't drowned them while you weren't looking.

here's some pix from my XP to hope yours looks like this.A chalice to strain for,a goal on-high.You might have "nicer" graphics in a newer version but essentially the same...I,know,it sounds like you've done everything so why doesn't it look like this?


see?Logbook highlighted,ready to enable.You do have to enable them...?sorry,I'm grasping at straws ,without a clue yet why they aren't good to go.


in C:\Program Files\OpenCPN\plugins

here are some dlls resting altogether(the COF is for the WMM plugin)Be sure they are not in subfolders.

[Sheer2Magic]

Hi HappySeagull,

I'm running 2.3.1 on Windows Vista.

Ray

[Sheer2Magic]

Hi HappySeagull,

Im running 2.3.1 on Windows Vista

Ray