Uncle Unc

The log file reading module has been improved considerably, with some of the work being of benefit to the generic paging mechanisms too (for example, the splitting of large views into 'pages', like a number of popular search engines). A GUI page toolbar has been added to allow easy navigation between pages of a view.

There are a few new GUI components for the Sirius client, although they are not enabled by default. A filtering mechanism has been added, with a range of sample filter types. This is not yet incorporated into the GUI. The system now can boot itself from an XML script as an alternative to a Python script, and uses the XML method when packaged in a jar file. The Sirius client can now be launched from a jar file either on the command line or via JNLP (e.g. WebStart), in an effort to move towards a pain-free install of binaries.

Many new features have been added to the 'Sirius' gui client, including a toolbar, better synchronisation between panels, ability to open multiple windows, and themeable icons. A lot of reworking has been done behind the scenes on the GUI client towards making the download and install as effortless as possible.

This release includes some more tidying up and completion of the new base framework code. Method invocations that return objects not directly viewable now get captured by a 'scrapbook' view and can be inspected using the reflection-based object wrapping capabilities. Paging (the splitting of views containing many items into smaller pages a la Web search engine results) has been reimplemented in a way that works easily with the Sirius GUI client.

The refactoring of the core components has been largely completed, resulting in a much more stable and useable system. Minor updates have been made to the database and logging modules. Two sets of high-quality icons have been contributed, giving the GUI client a fresh new look.