Tackling something more enjoyable to warm up

Jeez.. two months without a post. Doesn't look too good does it? I've decided pursue a project that's a little more enjoyable to me to get back in the wxPython swing of things. So tonight I started coding up a simple GUI front end that will control UFRaw-batch. This is a great program that I'm using to convert my camera's raw files into jpeg on Linux. However it appears there is no GUI interface available when you want to use it to convert a bunch of images in batch mode. So my pet project for the next short while will be to create one (for myself at least). I'm calling it RawBatch for the time being.

My aim is to make it a simple to use application that's very straightforward to use. I've coded up the main screen although I haven't hooked up the file-open dialog with the list of files yet. And of course I haven't yet actually performed any operations on the raw files I can now select. All in due time. Heck, it's only been one night! :) Here's a screenshot of the main window at this point:

Oh yeah...it's gotta be cross platform too...

Almost forgot. When I build a GUI for this thing - probably 3 years from now at the rate I'm going ;) - it will be cross platform. So I intend to use wxPython for this job. I've used it in the past for developing a small timesheet processing program here at work and I was pleased with the results. I've ran it on both Linux and XP and it looks fine (and native) on each.

Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day.....or 12 days...

Geez.. 12 days since first posting but I have at least coded the beginnings of a function library for the simply supported beam analysis. And better still, I've actually done a fair bit of pre-planning (pen on paper no less!) to at least try and minimize the chances of proceeding down a dead end lane right away. It's tough because I've got a lot of other things going on right now, but I put in an hour or so last night actually coding up a bit of it to get the thing rolling. For me, taking the first steps is always the toughest thing. Now at least I have something (however small and insignificant) to build on.

Getting some initial input

One of the first things to do was to get some input on the basis of the program. How to approach it, and what to think about. I did that by signing up to the python-tutor mailing list. There I immediately got some feedback on how to approach it. What I've taken away immediately is that I shouldn't dwell on the 'big picture' for too long or it will quickly seem unreachable. Instead, I'm going to write a couple of simple individual applications which will get me back into the swing of things Python-wise. When those two are up and running, I can think about how they will interact in the bigger scheme of things.

I will start by writing a program to analyze a simply supported beam.

Here we go (again)

This blog will contain my notes documenting the development of a structural engineering software application. I want to create a suite of simple useful structural engineering applications. I'm not entirely sure of what the final product will be, but I hope to get there eventually. I've got a mountain of learning and re-learning to do before I get there. Hopefully this blog will help push me towards that goal. Along the way I will document some of things I learn and maybe that will be of use to somebody other than myself. If not, well, so be it. Onward and upward!