• Images - Card View

  • Software - Card View

  • Software - Table View

  • Data Crow Web Client


Data Crow is the ultimate media cataloger and media organiser.
Always wanted to manage all your collections in one product? You want a product you can customize to your needs? Your search ends here! Using Data Crow allows you to catalog all your collectables, no matter how large your collection is. Using the excellent online services, you can instantly retrieve information about your books, software, games and movies. This information, combined with the file import, which can parse information from your e-books, software, images, music and movie files, means you won't be doing a lot of typing.

Are you collecting something which is not (fully) covered by one of the standard collection modules? No problem! Either customize an existing module by adding the fields you need or create your own module entirely.

Once your collection resides within Data Crow, you can even run your own server and allow your family and friends to view the information via the web or even by using a full Data Crow client.

It's a feature packed product which luckily comes with an internal help system (F1) to guide you on your journey through Data Crow.

Standard Collection Modules

Catalogue Software, Movies, Music, Images and Books. These modules, as we call them, are supplied with each release.

Create New Collection Modules

Create your own collection modules, straight from within the software. Export your modules to share them with your friends and family. You can even modify the existing modules.

Loan Administration

With the Loan Administration, you can track who has borrowed your items and when they should return them.

Online Services

Why type the information yourself, when Data Crow can find the information on Software, Movies, Books and Music using one of the standard Online Services (such as Imdb.com, Bol.com, Amazon.com and many more).

Reporting

Data Crow offers various basic reports. For reporting, the power of JasperReports is used. Try one of the standard reports or create a new one yourself using the free Jaspersoft Studio software.

File Information Import

Import information from AVI, DIVX, XVID, MP3, MP4, OGG, JPG, SVG, PNG and many other formats.

Web Server

The Data Crow server allows you to make your information available over the web. The embedded Tomcat web server hosts your data reliable and dependable.

Application Server

The Data Crow server is also a capable application server. Enjoy the full feature set of Data Crow while working together on the same Data Crow server.



Data Crow is 100% free to use and 100% free of ads, viruses and spyware.
Data Crow runs on any system where Java 1.7 (or higher) from Oracle is installed.

Screenshots

Below you'll find random screenshots of Data Crow.

Downloads

All downloads are hosted by Fosshub.com
  • Windows Installer
    Data Crow Windows Installer
  • Installer
    Data Crow Other OS Installer
  • Zipped version
    Data Crow: Unpack and Run
  • Source Code
    Data Crow Server
  • Source Code
    Data Crow Source Code
  • Module Manual
    Create Module Guide
  • Client Server Manual
    Client-Server Manual
  • Create Report Manual
    Create Report Manual
Note, the 3.12.5 upgrade version can be downloaded directly from this site.

Custom Modules

Data Crow allows users to create their very own modules. These modules can be exported by users (Modules menu > Export Module Wizard). These export files can then be imported into any other Data Crow installation (Modules menu > Import Module Wizard).

Send in a new module you've created and it can be added to the site for sharing by the community.

Donations

Data Crow is 100 per cent free. The maintainer relies on donations/gifts to cover ongoing project costs, such as web hosting fees, development tools, books, licenses and hardware.


Note: Data Crow is not a 501(c(3)) entity or a non-profit organization, so all donations/gifts are not tax deductible.

This project is not donation/gift driven, meaning new versions will still be released regardless of the donations/gifts made; just maybe less frequently, due to the lesser motivation in case of zero donations/gifts <grin>.


Donation Overview
Here is an overview of the donations/gifts to-date, from the previous year when the project went into hiatus:
(last updated JAN-2019):

  • January 2018
  • February 2018
  • March 2018
  • April 2018
  • € 52,00
  • € 21,00
  • € 24,00
  • € 10,00



A big thanks to all contributors!


F.A.Q.

    Chinese hanzi, Arabic script or other language scripts, glyphs or characters not displayed correctly

  • This is not due to Data Crow but depends upon the Font settings. The selected font needs to be able to represent the symbols, glyphs and characters. The "Arial Unicode MS" for Windows environments is, for example, perfect for displaying any kind of characters. It supports Unicode and thus CJK fonts like Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji as well as Arabic script and other languages.
    In Linux, the DejaVu fonts offer this coverage and are in many distros (such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and RHEL).
    In Data Crow, change the Font settings from within the Settings menu: Settings > Settings > Fonts.
  • Data Crow 64-bit states "Java not installed"

  • The Data Crow executable comes in two flavours, 32-bit and 64-bit. Which one to start? It depends solely on the version of Java installed (and set as default) on your machine. If you have a 64-bit Windows version but a 32-bit version of Java installed, you can only start Data Crow using the Data Crow 32-bit shortcut / executable.
  • How To Install Data Crow 4.x On Ubuntu, Debian And Derivative Systems

  • Thanks to Geekster at LinuxG.net, two excellent articles have been published on this very topic. You can find them here and here.
  • Data Crow does not allow images to be changed

  • Please make sure that you are not using OpenJDK, as Data Crow is not fully compatible with it. Changing images, for example, will fail if this version of Java is used. Please use the Java version as delivered by Oracle.
  • I wasn't helped by any of the above answers

  • That's not a question. Anyway, check the Data Crow Discussion Forums. If you really are experiencing a bug, please register it at the project site sourceforge.net

Latest News

    02 february 2019 - The PayPal Donate button is now active again

  • PayPal policies seem to accept the use of a Donate button under a business account, as long as they get their fee, and as long as there is no claim to non-profit status - even for Open Source. So, even an Open Source project, an artist or simple blogger can receive "donations" but PayPal will treat them as a business transaction and deduct their fee. They will not treat Donations as gifts in these cases <shrug>. And trying to use a personal PayPal account and send a monetary gift or friend-to-friend money transfer, is apparently not allowed because an Open Source project is not the same as the individual behind it.

    Stacey
  • 30 January 2019 - Git repository conversion finished successfully. Source code restored

  • Happy times! The Git repository for all of Robert's source code and releases since v3.0.0 in 2007, is labeled and complete up to 4.2.2's release base, and is ready for use.

    So, now I can finally finish up my code fixing for the broken Amazon and IMDb online searchers and get out that planned 4.2.3 maintenance release soon.

    I know it's been slow for you to watch me get all this administrative stuff in place, and there was pain on my side, for me to do it , but I have a handle on most of the support for all 3 sites now. Site backups, admin and all that stuff.

    I have worked out most of the build tools and environment needed, as well, so here come the good times, heh heh heh.

    Stacey
  • 29 January 2019 - The Donate button - where did it go?

  • In case anyone noticed its absence ...

    I was going to change the link from Robert's PayPal account to mine, but I was seeing some problems with their acceptable use policies when you try to open a business account. And you need a business account for the Donate button. It seems they have trouble with Open Source projects using their button, as we don't match any of their pre-defined business or non-profit models. Maybe the policy has changed over time, but there have been problems for other Open Source projects, so I wanted to avoid any issues.
    I am trying to get their departments to clarify and approve Data Crow to be eligible for the business account and the Donate button.

    Stacey
  • 29 January 2019 - Git repository conversion slowly advancing - still not finished

  • Quick status on the Git repository setup/import/conversion effort.

    In order to get my planned 4.2.3 release done - the one with the promised fixed Amazon/IMDb online searchers - I was hoping to get the codebase into the Git repository over at SourceForge, so that I could start in an organized fashion.
    So, I spent some time over the last week, working out how to convert the old archived, read-only Data Crow repository, with all Robert's work, up until CVS was mothballed in 2017. And about how to get his later SVN controlled changes into the newly converted Git repo, since he moved from CVS, and had his repository locally working on his own machines.
    There were hiccups along the way, and some CVS repository corruptions to clean up, but ...

    Good news! Data Crow's code changes, at least up till v4.1.1, are now in the shiny new Git repository at SourceForge. See the Code tab on the tool bar at the top of the project's pages.

    Please note:

    ... that I am still working on the last few code branches since 4.1.1, which includes later 4.1.x and the 4.2.x changes. That is still in an SVN repo, offsite, so I am going to try to convert and merge them into Git over the coming week. The existing Git repository is still in flux, is what I am trying to say, so little things may still not work yet.

    Thanks,
    Stacey
  • 24 January 2019 - Data Crow website has moved to its new home in Canada

  • The transfer of the www.datacrow.net website and domain has completed successfully to my hoster.
    The FossHub and SourceForge project site admin roles have also been reassigned now.
    The work is still proceeding on my code stabilization for the broken searchers and my proposed minor 4.2.3 release, to bring over all Robert's work and get my build environment configured. Finding room and hardware for my test beds (Windows 7 and Linux) is taking some time while I re-shuffle my lab around.
    So, I am still on track to get everything stabilized for new releases.
    You might notice that I tweaked the Data Crow website a bit, besides doing some cleanup, and introduced some new stuff, like the last revised timestamp, so you can tell at a glance if anything changed since the last time you visited, the About section for project history and the accordian handling of the long News section to help readability. I also brought back some old sections that might become useful again, such as the Custom Modules.
    I am looking to see what to do about making the video tutorials available again (thanks Robert for digging them up) and bringing the screenshots and so on, up to date for v4 code. Many still show v3 release levels.
    And finally, I am getting the source control set up, while I go through the old SVN and CVS repos and convert them to Git.

    Stacey
  • 18 January 2019 - Data Crow website will be moving hoster over the next week or so

  • Robert is working with me to transfer the www.datacrow.net website and domain to my hoster so this here is a notice that the website may be unstable or unreachable for a period, while the DNS nameservers reconfig and I get my side working. It can take up to 5 days for the registrars to transfer the domain so it is unclear exactly when it will be moved and alive on my side.
    We are also arranging for the FossHub site transfer but that should be less problematic and impacting to the community. More likely just admin stuff behind the scenes, I think.
    The SourceForge site is staying where it is and should provide a stable reference point during the other upheaval. It will get little facelifts here and there, to the tools tabs, but generally stay the same for now.
    The work is proceeding on my code stabilization for the broken searchers and my proposed minor 4.2.3 release, to bring over all Robert's work and get my build environment configured. I am also setting up some test beds (Windows 7 and Linux) for when I get the stabilized software built.
    So please bear with me while this all shakes out <smile>.

    Stacey
  • 14 January 2019 - Data Crow will fly again

  • Stacey Murphy (and some others) have taken up the mantle from Robert. Work is being done to produce a 4.2.3 maintenance release that will fix the Amazon and IMDb searchers that are not functioning right now.
    There will be a transition period while the existing code base is assimilated into our heads/blood and the development environments get up and running. Then bugs and the various web sites will be dusted off again.
    Please bear with us, as we all want to see this great tool that Robert built, keep going and maybe even grow <laugh>.

    Stacey Murphy
  • 2 April 2018 - Data Crow - the end .

  • This is where it ends, for my part in Data Crow. I have enjoyed creating the program, giving the support, receiving both praise and also criticism. However, as must have been noticable over the past few months and years, my attention is no longer with this project. It has taken me a good few months to reach this decision as I have always cared for this product. Over the past 15 years, yes, fifteen years, I definitely had periods of not working on Data Crow but it was always naturally followed by long stretches of me putting heart and soul into it. But, as turns out, even though it's (really) hard for me to stop Data Crow it's just as hard to remain enthousiastically involved after fifteen years.

    The software will remain downloadable, including the source. If you have an interest in taking hold of the datacrow.net domain, for the purpose of continuing Data crow, drop me a line and I'll get it arranged.

    I want to express my gratitude to all of you who downloaded the product and gave it a good old try.

    Cheers to all!
    Robert Jan Van Der Waals
  • 23 August 2017 - Data Crow 4.2.2 has been released

  • Updated most of the external libraries as used by Data Crow to their latest versions and fixed an issue with the file importers online search. I have also fixed most of the issues with Amazon searches. I had to follow registration processes for each region as used by Data Crow. Yes, sorry, I was notified many times over by Amazon that this would be required but date X. I had just forgotten the actual date. It should slowly move into a working state with the applications being approved by Amazon. Hopefully I won't get any rejections on my applications, but, we'll see. See the change log for the full list of changes and fixes.
  • 27 June 2017 - Data Crow 4.2.1 has been released

  • The Imdb.com online service decided to act up and I was made aware that a previous fix for the server clients was not working as expected. Now, the imdb.com thing was an easy fix, pay a monthly amount to make use of Imdb.com external API and all is well again. The client server bug has haunted me now for over a year but somehow, when looking at it again after weeks and then some, I spotted the fix immediately. Also, and this was a tad annoying, I read on a forum somewhere that the installer for 64 bit systems did not have the required permissions to install to the Program Files folder in Windows. Now, I did point people to the right-click menu to make it work in Windows, but, hey, even if you're software is free people will start ranting and barking if something is not working in their opinion. Next time I would recommend to ask for a refund, or, register it as a bug, which ever you think is more benficial. The solution? Create new executables with an external paid for tool. This is now working correctly, see, I do like things to work as well. Note that a Polish translation has been updated, many thanks, Ariel Chylek!
  • 18 February 2017 - Data Crow 4.2 has been released

  • That took a little longer than I expected. But.. here it is, Data Crow 4.2 has just been released. It contains many fixes and improves upon the web version of Data Crow. See the change log for the full list of changes and fixes.
    Note that a Polish translation has been added. Many thanks to Ariel Chylek for delivering this.

Older News


Older News from 2016

    10 December 2016 - Development update

  • I am currently working on getting all fixes in as reported. An update will follow soon.
  • 16 June 2016 - Version 4.1.1 Revival Patch has been released

  • After a long period of silence, Data Crow rises again to the surface. This patch updates the external libraries and fixes the most urgent problems. Luckily 4.1 has proven to be very stable indeed. It's time to continue onwards to version 4.2!
Close

Older News from 2015

    5 July 2015 - Youtube channel with tutorials

  • Data Crow now has its very own Youtube channel with tutorials on a growing number of topics.
  • 4 July 2015 - Version 4.1 Crossroads Edition has been released

  • That took a while, right? Finally the web server has been released! The server edition now has the capability to host both web and full Data Crow clients at the same time.
    This version contains the new web server as part of the existing server architecture. This replaces the old web module as was delivered with version 3 but never made it into version 4. The web server delivers the following functionality:
    Searching for items (Search..), Creating new item (File > Create New), Edit item (Right-Click > Edit), Navigation between items (for example, open a software title, then click on it's category, then see which other items have been assigned to this category, etc.), Picking fields for the overview and the item form (web). (Settings > ..) and the full security model has been implemented. This web server delivers the same basic functionality (with a tad more style) as the old web module and will be expanded upon with each and every normal (4.x) delivery (see the roadmap section).
    The web server is a module of the existing (since 4.0) server edition. The web server uses an embedded version of Tomcat, version 8.0.23.
  • 26 June 2015 - Roadmap

  • I have added a roadmap to this page. It's a first rough sketch which I will update and extend upon based on the feature tracker of Sourceforge.net and my plans and ideas for the future of Data Crow.
  • 28 May 2015 - A new version, numbered as 4.0.16

  • With the last release being delivered in January some parts have started to break down. Data Crow's feathers were a tad disheveled; time for a new release. While fixing the necessary parts I have also squeezed in a new online service for TheGamesDB.net. Fab! There's more:
    see the change log for the full list of changes and fixes.
  • 15 May 2015 - Development update

  • Last months have seen zero to no progress. Starting July 2015 I will be actively involved again with the Data Crow project. Please be patient and enjoy the current features of Data Crow, which are pretty much solid. I will deliver one minor release this month to fix the most urgent issues as registered in the bug tracker.
    Despite my absence in the past couple of months I can assure you I have not lost my interest in Data Crow. What's a couple of months of absence compared to my invested time in over a decade eh?
    I am grateful for the active community, the e-mails, the requests, the donations, the bug reports (hmm..), the help and your interest in Data Crow in general.
    Wishing you all the best, Robert.
  • 22 January 2015 - Data Crow 4.0.15 has been released

  • The connections between the server and the clients has been improved; the data is now send encrypted as well as compressed. The server can now also initialize the data folder by itself (for new installations). Additionally some bugs have been resolved as well:

    Changed
    º Boosted traffic between client<>server. Implemented JSON-IO to limit data send.
    º Data Crow Server can now initialize the data folder.
    º Server communication has been encrypted (simple encryption, nothing fancy).
    º Server communication is now compressed.

    Fixed
    º Older installation can have duplicated module files starting with .#. These will now be ignored when starting Data Crow.
    º Find & Replace had an error when trying to apply the replacements.
  • 13 January 2015 - Data Crow 4.0.14 has been released

  • Improvements for client-server installations.
  • 5 January 2015 - Data Crow 4.0.13 has been released

  • Fixes the issue where the images are not saved after using the online update.
  • 3 January 2015 - Data Crow 4.0.12 has been released

  • This release contains two fixes and the Portuguese help files as created by Pedro (username pmraps) (many thanks!!).
  • 1 January 2015 - Data Crow 4.0.11 has been released

  • This release fixes a number of critical issues of Data Crow 4.0.10. Please see the change log for the full list of fixes.
  • 1 January 2015 - 2014 Development Report

  • It has been an active year for Data Crow. 2014 has seen the release of Data Crow 4; a complete overhaul of the internal Data Crow code structure. As stated in the development update of November 2014 the development has been continued. Bugs are on 4.0 version are being fixed and work on version 4.1 has been continued after just a few months of inactivity.
    I am not announcing any releases just yet for 2015. The initial deadline for 4.1 as announced in 2014 has not been met. I any case; there will be a 4.1 in 2015. Of that I can assure you. In the meantime I am quite happy with the stability of the 4.0 version. Realizing the number of lines of codes (Data Crow has an estimated total of 91.000+ lines of pure code) that have been rewritten, refactored, added and deleted it is good to see that the product has now been stabilized.
    Looking back it is now also clear that the donation driven feature request is not working. In 4 months time the targets as set have not been reached. The closest I got to reaching a goal is 15.5%. I have decided to pull the plug on the donation driven feature requests. Persons having made a donation specifically for a feature should be happy to hear that I will be implementing the features regardless. 2015 will bring the web application back to live and will see it's first steps in replacing the current GUI altogether.
    Happy New Year and thank you all for your support over the past years.
Close

Older News from 2014

    22 November 2014 - November Development Update

  • After a nice and relaxing break development on version 4.1 has been continued!
  • 26 September 2014 - September Development Update

  • I took a short break from development due to a new job, a short holiday and a new game called Destiny. Of course I have been suporting users but development on version 4.1 came to a complete stop. The 4.1 version was planned to be released in September but has now been delayed until October 2014.
    It seems that in the month September the 4.0 version has been stabilized and is now in a good place once again. The replacement of the reporting engine was, after a fix, rather successful as well. Requests for help have diminished and or now at the level of the 3.12.5 version.
    On the donation side of things it was a very, very quiet month. 35 euro's were donated (thanks to all persons having made a donation!) but the donation driven development has not yet caught on. I'll have to see how I can improve this.
  • 2 September 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.10 has been released

  • With this release the following has been fixed:

    - Fixed an upgrade issues for the Audio CD and Music Album merge. The error occurred in case online services were never used and the columns SERVICE and SERVICEURL were therefore missing.
    - Fixed an upgrade issue for the Audio CD and and Music Album merge. The error occurred in case the new tables already exists due to a faulty earlier upgrade or because the user installed version 4.0 on top of version 3.12.5. Now, Data Crow will delete empty tables required for the new Music Album module. If they contain records, the upgrade will fail.
    - The module wizard did not handle special characters correctly.
    - Tabs containing special characters were not stored and retrieved correctly.
  • 27 August 2014 - August Development Report

  • I have been working hard on stabilizing the 4.0 version. As you can see I have released today another bug fix release for the reporting. Overall, stability has much improved. Not all bug fixes were related to the 4.0 development, such as the 4.0.9 version which fixes a pre-4.0 bug.
    One note worthy change has been the removal of the XSLT driven reports. It was clunky at best as you could only create reports by creating XLST templates with the use of a text editor. Additionally you would require separate templates for PDF and HTML reports.
    The new report engine use Jasper Reports from Jaspersoft. These reports can be designed using there free for use Jaspersoft Studio. I have updated the Create Reports Guide for users wanting to create their own reports (to be found in the download section).

    This web site has also seen some changes; I have included the donation driven feature development. Of course this is a way for me to generate some additional money but it also brings added benefits for persons donating to Data Crow anyway as they can determine which features to be developed first. I would like to stress that I will keep on working on Data Crow and that Data Crow will remain free for use at all times. Even features developed through the donation process will be released freely to the public, including the source code.
    I have moved the download location over to Fosshub.com while still having the files available on Sourceforge.net as well. Fosshub brings Data Crow additional benefits and is also very professionally looking.

    In the meantime I have also been working on the web version of Data Crow. Development with Primefaces 5 is still a breeze. The components they offer are smart looking and quite easy to implement. I am still on schedule for the 4.1 release in September. First tests have proven the Data Crow web version to be very responsive (it's blazingly fast!). The combination of the improved Data Crow 4 architecture, Primefaces 5 and the Jetty Web Server has proven to be quite powerful. Onwards to the future!
    Users following @data_crow on twitter have seen the sneak preview:
  • 27 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.9 has been released

  • This release contains a bug fix for the reporting. Many users had an issue where the report was not generated at all (this also happened in version 3.12.5 and earlier). I have finally been able to fix the issue (which wasn't easy; on all my test environment it worked correctly).
    As a reminder; the Create Report Guid has been updated. You can find it in the download section.

    [Fixed]
    - Problem resolved for report creation; report not created. Was reported fixed in version 4.0.8 but was still failing for some. The functionality has been tested and has been confirmed to solve the issue.
    - After a module has been created and a field has been marked as descriptive the view still shows empty labels.

    [Changed]
    - The upgrade will now silently copy missing reports and translations to the user folder. Existing files will no longer be overwritten.
    - Added additional report types; Word Document (DOCX), Excel Document (XLSX), Excel Document 97-2003 (XLS).
    - Added titles to the various message and question boxes.
    - Added nicer descriptions for the report types.
    - Added various tool tips for the define field dialog (create module wizard).
  • 25 August 2014 - Data Crow is now hosted at Fosshub.com

  • Data Crow is now hosted at Fosshub.com. The download links for the software have been changed so that they bring you directly to the Data Crow landing page. Please pay a visit to their site, it's very nice!
  • 25 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.8 has been released

  • Maintenance release. Note that a new version of the Create Report manual has been released as well, fully updated with the changes of Data Crow 4.0.7.

    [Fixed]
    - GUID (internal ID) shown for Contact Person in the loan history of the Loan Information panel.
    - Problem resolved for report creation. This was an old issue which was hard to simulate. An additional check has been added to check whether the file is accessible.
    - Not all fields can be added to the Item Report.
    - _Persist fields could be selected for the Quick View.
    - Server didn't have the library jacksum added to the class path which caused failures for file hashing.

    [Changed]
    - The item exported now ignores system fields. Additionally the importer now only tries to match an item on import by ID in case the match and merge option has been checked.
    - The Create Report manual has been updated.
  • 20 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.7 has been released

  • A new version. Bug fix much? Yes.

    [New]
    - The old reporting engine has been removed. This version now features full support for Jasper Reports (http://community.jaspersoft.com/project/jaspersoft-studio). The main benefits of this switch is that it is no longer required to created separate reports (XLST scripting files) for PDF and HTML reports. The reports of JasperReports can be saved as PDF, RTF and HTML. Additionally you can use the free Jaspersoft Studio Software to create reports, graphically. This brings a lot more power to the reporting capabilities of Data Crow. Data Crow generates the reports on the exported XML files.

    [Changed]
    - Apache Fop and Avalon Framework (discontinued) have been dropped from this release.
    - Icons for message and question boxes have been changed, making use of Java 7 features.

    [Fixed]
    - Error on startup when the images were supposed to be migrated to the new location.
    - NullPointerException when importing files which already are registered in the system.
    - Fixed an issue with saving child items.
    - Removed defective library which caused image import errors.
    - Item Importer bug has been fixed which could cause field values not to be imported
    correctly.
    - Still some numbering inconsistencies for music tracks.
  • 17 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.6 has been released and website update

  • Website update
    I have updated the website. A new section Custom Modules has been added. I have added the one module which was send to me a long time ago. If you are the author, let me know so I can add your name as the author of this module. The Donation information has been changed as well. Most importantly I have introduced the concept of the funded feature development. Read the donations section for more information.

    Version 4.0.6
    An new minor release fixing a number of problems in the software. I have decided against making any changes in the code, focusing solely on fixing issues and avoiding the introduction of new issues. I am starting to realise I do need a tester for this software...

    [Fixed]
    - A NullPointerException for the item import has been fixed.
    - Potential NullPointerException in case a query fails.
    - Logging panel was registered too late in the startup process; missing messages.
    - A bug has been fixed where the module importer consumed too much memory. This occurred for larger module exports holding an x number of large images. As an added benefit it works now much faster.
    - Server startup error; modules could not be loaded.
    - Record label list is now sorted by name.
    - Fixed an issue where the quick filter bar is shown underneath the toolbar. The quick filter is now placed directly on the toolbar itself. The setting [toggle quick filter] has now been removed.
    - The Drive Manager functionality was broken.
    - Resource Editor save issues.
    - File Tree panel inconsistencies have been resolved.
    - New Item Wizard - pictures not saved for newly saved items.
    - Create Multiple Items lacked the option to save.

    [Changed]
    - The help (F1) has been updated to explain the Quick Search functionality.
    - The German translation has been updated; thanks to Ralf Geiss!
    - On startup after any upgrade you'll be asked whether you want to use the new translation files.
    - File tree panel now shows folder icon for folders which are present on the file system.
    - Splash screen was shown quite late in the startup process.
  • 15 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.5 has been released

  • More bugs to be fixed. With the complete overhaul of Data Crow, which was the upgrade from version 3.0 to 4.0, a lot of small issues have crept in. With this release I have the latest reported issues fixed and closed out. Due to the maintenance of this version I have not done any development on the web version this week. Looking at the current schedule I am still on track though. This weekend however I will focus on the reports first.

    [Fixed]
    - Data Crow hangs in case there are unsaved changes in the table view on exiting.
    - In rare cases the grouping pane showed zero items while x number of items are present.
    - CSV and XML import issues have been fixed.
    - Module naming inconsistencies which caused the alter module wizard to fail for various modules, such as the book and container module.
    - Items with ID's created before 2006 were not shown anymore in the tree views when clicking on a node.
    - Behind the scenes, the view was loaded twice on the initial startup.
    - "Retrieve Music Albums" now adds the retrieved CD information to the overview.
    - Required field check failure; items were not check upon required fields.

    [Changed]
    - Record label module; name is now required and checked for uniqueness. Note that custom Record Label settings will be reset to accommodate for this minor change.
  • 12 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.4 has been released

  • Minor release, introducing a new quick filter toolbar. It also improves the handling of startup problems.

    [Changed]
    - Improved Error Handling for recovery. When the database load fails due to inconsistencies Data Crow would in the past just show the user login page. Now, Data Crow will rename the database, show the correct error and close Data Crow. On a next start Data Crow is started with a clean new database. The user can now restore the last backup. The faulty database does still exists and can be send by email to analyze and fix if possible.
    - Improved the handling of user folders; You can now switch between user folders without copying the data over from the existing folder. The option to copy the data has been made an option from the user folder selection dialog.
    - Improved handling of old databases; it was always the idea for users to perform an restore of existing backup in the latest version. Most users however upgrade directly which is actually almost enforced by Data Crow. Data Crow will now warn the user in case the old database requires a different upgrade path, such as first upgrading to version 3.12.5. Data Crow will not allow the user to continue to avoid database corruption.
    - Quick filter is now a search all field; it will search for text and numbers in all applicable and search enabled fields at once. On the quick filter bar I have now also placed an icon to quickly open the advanced filter dialog. With this change the quick filter bar is simpler to use whereas the advanced filter dialog can be used to create filters of a high complexity (and remember, these can be saved for re-use). Note; it is not possible to use regex expressions in the quick filter (not supported by the underlying HSQL database).
    - Added Find & Replace to the Filter menu.
    - Upgraded HSQLDB (http://hsqldb.org/) to the latest version (2.3.2).
    - Added a "Create Support Package" menu item to the help menu. Creates a zip file
    containing all files needed for identifying and resolving problems.

    [Fixed]
    - Find and Replace was not working correctly.
    - Open Item from the right-click menu did not work.
    - Fixed an issue in the Database Editor; first column was not shown in the query results.
  • 6 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.3 has been released

  • A small but important bug fix was required. The bug causes a startup error, introduced by the 4.0.2 version released yesterday. I've fixed 2 additional upgrade issues which occurred for some users.

    [Fixed]
    - Error message; full control needed for the install directory. This message was intended for the server installation only. The client doesn't need this anymore with this version.
    - Upgrade error in case the old images folder contains sub-directories.
    - Fixed an error for the Audio CD and the Music Album merge.
  • 5 August 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.2 has been released

  • This release fixes many small issues. It also makes changes to the quality of the images shown in the overviews. Important: this release requires Java 7 or higher.

    [Fixed]
    - Performance issue for network clients has been fixed.
    - No message box in case of a warning when deleting or saving an item (only message
    in the log file).
    - New Item Wizard did not close after saving and view was not updated.
    - Right-click in view, create report, added all items instead of the selected items.
    - Error when creating report, invalid path for fonts, report was created though.
    An empty fonts folder will now be created by the installer.
    - CSV import was no longer available.
    - NullPointerException after entering wrong username / password.
    - A faulty library has been removed. The library caused issues with the tree panels
    such as incorrect item counts or even preventing loading the items at all.
    - Server could not run headless.
    - Create multiple for music tracks did not show the track number field.
    - Create multiple for music tracks; NullPointerException when adding tracks.
    - Custom modules were not loaded.
    - Patch applied for #625, thanks (StringUtils.normalize2; invalid characters)

    [Changed]
    - Server no longer requires the file importers, synchronizers and online services to
    be present (architectural change).
    - TrueZip upgraded to the latest version (from 7.7.1 to 7.7.6).
    - Image sizes have been increased as well as the quality of the thumbnails. Storage
    size will increase by approximately 20% due to this change.
    - The wwwroot folder will be removed from the user folder. You might be asked to remove
    it manually in case it was not fully successful.
    - Additional error handling for faulty modules.
    - Changed the font size and color for the help files for better reading.
    - Upgrade of the metadata-extractor library to the latest version.
    https://drewnoakes.com/code/exif/
  • 27 July 2014 - Data Crow Development Update #6

  • Version 4.0
    A major milestone had been reached with 4.0 version. You migth still be looking for the major changes in your version, thinking "ohhh-kay, where is it?". Long story short; all the hard work I have put into will not be apparent to you if you are using Data Crow as a standalone version. What this version has brought to you is the capability of running an application server on your own home / work / wherever network. To achieve that I had to rewrite most of the Data Crow coding around accessing and managing data. I had to do this anyway at some point as the code was quite old and with new insights could do with major improvements. It clears the way for me to start thinking about replacing the good old Swing GUI in the long run. In the short run it makes it much more suitable to create a web server.

    Data Crow 4.0 has been well received, looking at the bug reports and various emails which have come in. Long time users of Data Crow ran into upgrade issues as I totally forgot (sorry) about old upgrade scripts which are no longer part of my test environment. These were fixed with version 4.0.1. Most issues seem to have been resolved by now. In case you experience any upgrade issues; let me know.
    The upgrade path to version 4 was a bit adventurous due to my decision to (late in the project) merge the Audio CD and the Music Album modules. It has annoyed me for a long time that I in the past had decided to have a separate file based and a separate CD based music module. I have always refrained from merging these as user made changes would be lost. In the end it had to be done anyway; it just didn't make sense. If you have made extensive changes to either of these modules, let me know, your data will not have been lost but manual steps will be required to bring your data back into version 4.

    Version 4.1
    I am working on the web version of Data Crow which will replace the old web version as part of Data Crow 3. This weekend I have looked into adding Jetty 9 (a web server) and Primefaces 5 and stumbled upon some minor inconveniences in the Application Server coding; it needs to load the online service. Additionally the File Synchronizers and importers are loaded. These require different versions of the libraries as required by the web server. As the file synchronizers and the online services have no use on the server anyway I will change this as to remove these dependencies altogether.
    As the previous web version was written in just a couple of days I expect to have a new web version available within the next 2 months at the latest. Version 4.1 will not contain any other major functionality. It will however fully complete the architecture of Data Crow, making it available as a standalone application, an application server with thick (chubby?) clients and a web server with thin clients. The standalone version and the application server are already part of version 4.0. Android App development will start after the 4.1 version.
    Bug fixes will also be postponed (apart from critical bugs) to version 4.1.
  • 25 July 2014 - Data Crow 4.0.1 has been released

  • This is a patch release for Data Crow 4.0. It fixes the reported upgrade errors and contains a performance fix. Additionally I uploaded the latest versions of the manuals (see download section). Marco Artioli was so kind to deliver an Italian version of the Client-Server documentation (download).
    Do not install this version on top of an old Data Crow 3 version (3.12.5 and earlier). Install it to a new location instead.
  • 24 July 2014 - Data Crow 4.0!

  • The latest major version of Data Crow is now available for download. The main change is the addition of a full application server to which clients can connect. Do not install this version on top of the old version. Install it to a new location instead.
  • 18 July 2014 - Data Crow 4.0 second test version released

  • I have uploaded an new alpha version of Data Crow 4.0. It can be downloaded from the Sourceforge.net site: Data Crow 4.0 alpha version. This is a zipped version only. You'll find a PDF file describing how the server and the client works.
    This is a test version only and is not yet the full and complete 4.0 version.
    Please help me in testing this monstrosity! Fight the bugs!
    Please register you remarks / findings in the forums.
  • 16 July 2014 - Data Crow 4.0 first test version released

  • I have uploaded an alpha version of Data Crow 4.0! It can be downloaded from the Sourceforge.net site: Data Crow 4.0 alpha version.
    This is a zipped version only. Unzip and read the instructions in the txt files.
    For testing the server-client make sure to supply a correct -userdir: for the server. The -userdir: command needs to point to an existing user folder. You can create a new one using the client.
    For testing the client make sure to start the client using the -client parameter as otherwise it will start the full client.
    This is a test version only and is not yet the full and complete 4.0 version.
  • 2 July 2014 - - Data Crow 4.0 Development Update #5

  • Architecture overview of the new client-server structure.
  • 28 June 2014 - General Update

  • A long period of inactivity. I am just back from a long holiday and am all charged up and ready to continue. The last months have been hectic. Now however I can finally fully focus on the 4.0 development.
  • 14 February 2014 - Data Crow 4.0 Development Update #4

  • I have been working on the restructuring of the event triggering. It's a long a boring task but the end is in sight. Meanwhile I have created and tested the first network hooks. So far it's looking good! I have planned a full week of development in the week of february 24 to finish most of the network coding. I'll definitely release a beta version first as I have changed so much in such as short period. Testing will be essential. I have most likely broken several things along the way..
    I won't comment on the donation status for this month. Let me just say January was great!
  • 29 January 2014 - Data Crow 4.0 Development Update #3

  • After all the updates on the structure I have finally have the old functionality (running on a single machine) working again. Next is the network layer for which the structure is already in place.
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Older News from 2013

    28 December 2013 - Data Crow 4.0 Development Update #2

  • The architecture is getting there. I have fully divided the code into the three main parts; server, client and core. I have worked further on the server code and the connection layer between the client and the server. First I will however have to make sure that the old mode (standalone application) is working. To achieve both I have put in place a connector layer. A connector takes care of all the communication between a client and server but also of direct connections (the standalone mode). This architecture works great since this will allow me to create other connector types in the near future.
  • 24 December 2013 - Data Crow 4.0 Development Update #1

  • One month (well, ok, almost two months) has past and I thought it would be about time for an update on the upcoming 4.0 version. I have recently shifted priorities in the development (what!?) and have decided to give priority to the development of a full server client architecture. I have been updating the code and separating it into three parts; datacrow-core, datacrow-client and datacrow-server. (This is where it gets a bit more nerd-ish) The new core and server library have no dependency towards the GUI. There will be no more code mixture (bad practice) between GUI and "infrastrure" code. A headless server (this actually has been requested over and over and over again) will therefore be fully possible. Better yet, that is precisely what I am working on.

    I know that not all of you (okay, most of you) will not be interested per se in running a client-server program at home. No fear, running just on one machine will be fully supported (as it always has been).

    So will you benefit? Yes. Why? Because it will allow for more extravagant feature development such as a media streaming server, running it in the cloud (to throw in one buzz word) and having one single point of access for you and your partner / kid / friend.

    What else? This will neatly tie in with the new web development and the Android App development in the near future (the deadline is now pushed back to summer, 2014). Maybe I will run a server myself, somewhere in the cloud, to allow for a central repository. Anyway, that's not on the road map, so I'll stop right there.

    Server-client mode; what will it do? You will be able to run a server (it will not be a complicated thing to do, promise) and connect with as many clients as needed to this server. Technically the server will be the host for the application settings (not all of them, only settings such as the field and other data related settings). Also it will be the owner of the data, the modules and the reports. If a client has administrative rights he or she can decide to change the settings and push these to the clients. Same goes for module and report changes.

    What else will be in version 4.0? The following still applies:
    Parts for items are introduced allowing a book item for example to contain multiple articles, a movie items multiple files / episodes and a software item to consist out of multiple files.
    The above allows all items to have an unlimited number of files.
    Unlimited number of images per item.
    Documentation update; module create guide, reporting guide, developer guide.

    I am doing all of these changes at once as I have been withholding these for too long. The Data Crow platform is a solid one, but, it could do with a bit of a makeover. Solid, as I have noticed that many parts of the code are actually well suited for server-client development.
    The weakspot will still be the web application. Development of which will start right after the 4.0 version. Long term (>1 year) I am looking to replace the current GUI with a solid web application. All of this will run on the, currently in development, new architecture.

    Schedule: end of March 2014 the production version has to be live. Beginning of March I will have a beta version available for testing purposes. Confident I can make this date as the server code and the restructuring is well under its way.

    Merry Christmas! -Robert
  • 1 November 2013 - Data Crow 4.0 Announcement

  • Data Crow, the ultimate cataloguer, needs one more major overhaul before I can confidently wrap up the App development. So here it is, the announcement of Data Crow version 4.0!
    Major changes:

    Parts for items are introduced allowing a book item for example to contain multiple articles, a movie items multiple files / episodes and a software item to consist out of multiple files.
    The above allows all items have an unlimited number of files.
    Unlimited number of images per item.
    Documentation update; module create guide, reporting guide, developer guide.

    All of the above will make the Data Crow framework much more flexible and will accommodate for some of the most requested for features (of all time). This is going to be awesome! :)
  • 9 October 2013 - Data Crow 3.12.5

  • I just can't stand it when you think you have squashed a bug and all of the sudden... it's back! For now and ever I have fixed the issue where ratings are not shown correctly in the Quick View. Fixed some other minor bugs. No new functionality.
    Read the changelog for more information (text file, opens in a new window).

    Still working on the Android App.. "Screenshots?" - "No, not yet."
  • 6 October 2013 - Data Crow 3.12.4

  • imdbapi.com was down today (hopefully temporarily) and I have decided to quickly switch to omdbapi.com. Little loss of information (aspect ratio and other technical details) but at least it is working now. Mobygames.com decided to change their layout; the online service has now been fully rewritten. It's also a bit quicker then the older version, so all is well. Other fixes are mainly in the area of module creation and item import.
  • 7 September 2013 - Data Crow 3.12.3

  • Small issues have been fixed by this release. Thanks to Bill's Bargain Basement Books for helping with testing.
  • 15 August 2013 - Data Crow 3.12.2

  • Bugs! Ahhh! Okay... nothing major but they needed to be squashed regardless. Enjoy!
  • 4 August 2013 - Data Crow 3.12.1

  • I had time today and won't have time in the upcoming days (note to burglars: no I am not going on a holiday, you are too late!). Although you have to be crazy to be developing on a (too) hot summer day I actual did just that and managed to fix a problem I wanted to fix for a long, long time. What is it? read the change log just this one time and you'll know. I squeezed in a couple of changes here and there as well. You won't see another release soon (unless critical bugs start to pop up) so enjoy!
  • 3 August 2013 - Data Crow 3.12

  • Poor version 3.11. It only took a couple of days and then it got replaced by version 3.12. This really is for the most part a cosmetic edition. I have changed the layout a bit further. This is also a preparation for the web GUI since I want to keep the layout for both the same, for as far as possible. Due to the list of changes made and the addition of new functionality I have decided to release this as a normal version instead of a minor version. I wanted to add a bit more but was ill for a couple of days, shame!
  • 30 July 2013 - Data Crow 3.11.1

  • Bugs? Just a couple. Imdb.com was not functioning due some site changes. Additionally I wanted to introduce fixes for launching files as well as to introduce some new features in that area. Not much else!
  • 22 July 2013 - Data Crow 3.11

  • A whole new version! Medium in size and packed with changes and new functionality. TheMovieDB online search has been added, tags can be added to items and loans can be exported to an iCalendar file.
  • 2 July 2013 - Data Crow 3.10.2

  • Pfew... after a long holiday and then some I have finally managed to squeeze out a (quick) fix version. I have been using Jar2Exe to generate new executables for 64BIT platforms to fix the Java detection issue. That's not the only fix (see the change log below).
    For the next version I will focus on the web version... work on the Android App also continues.
  • 23 May 2013 - Data Crow 3.10.1

  • Important bug fixes for the online search functionality and the mass update functionality.
  • 18 May 2013 - Next week's project of the week project on Sourceforge.net: Data Crow

  • I have been notified that Data Crow will be project of the week, next week. This means Data Crow will be listed on the frontpage of Sourgeforge.net. Great!
  • 18 May 2013 - Data Crow 3.10

  • This release mainly focuses on the help file, which has been greatly improved. During the writing of the help file the discovered issues have been fixed. Small improvements to the GUI have been made to improve the experience in using Data Crow. This is the first release since a long time having a completely up to date help. Note that the help is still only available in English; translators are, very, welcome to help out...

    Special thanks to mrpenguin007 for the updated German translation! Find his module development page here.
  • 12 May 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.26 has been released

  • Went through the product and saw areas needing some attention. This release contains small changes as well as bug fixes. The fixes are for the module import and export processes. The changes are costmetic for the most part. When starting the new version you most likely will get a message saying there are new resources / language files available. This is because Data Crow now checks whether the installation folder holds newer files then the user folder. You can choose to leave everything as is or to update the user folder with the new files.
  • 10 May 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.25 has been released

  • A small release to fix issues as reported to me by email. One is a problem in the loan administration panel where the title of the item is not displayed. The second issue is another upgrade issue from old versions. Additionally I discovered performance issues with the table view. Then I took another look at the new module bar and thought it could do with a small adjustment.. so here we are, looking at another release package to download and install. I'll try and not release anything for the next couple of days, promise ;-).
  • 9 May 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.24 has been released

  • One more release! I have had some doubts about the version number for this one as I have changed the UI quite a bit. It's a first step to simplify the GUI (so I have kept it as a minor release for now). Let me know if you like it (or not!) on the forums. Of course there are bug fixes as well.
  • 30 April 2013 - Website updated

  • I have added some more information in the donation section. It now shows an overview of donations made in the past 4 months. Would it be a good idea to mention persons here as well? Let me know what you think. Oh and, also, I have fixed the contact form as listed at the bottom of this site.
  • 30 April 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.23 has been released

  • A wee bit earlier than I expected... Data Crow version 3.9.23 has seen the light. I had some time to spend today and worked through some of the outstanding issues and smaller improvements I wanted make. You can safely upgrade from version 3.9.22 or the older versions. Enjoy!
  • 29 April 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.22 has been released

  • Quite an important bug fix release. I have added fixes for the upgrade and am really hoping to have solved all the issues now. It will check on startup if anything has gone wrong.. Let me know if you are still having issues (or also if you are not :). Other smaller fixes have been added as well.

    I apologize for not having been too actively working on Data Crow. A new job and vacations have caused some disruptions and this will continue for the next couple of weeks. Releases for fixes will still arrive but other work is currently on hold.
  • 10 February 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.21 has been released

  • This release contains a fixes for the upgrade process as well as some other minor fixes. See the changelog for more information.
  • 4 February 2013 - Development news

  • Currently I am stabilizing Data Crow. You have seen numerous small versions being released over the past few days. This was all due to the two changes that were made; one was the upgrade of the database (engine) to the latest version which was not easy and two was to use a separate data folder (user folder). The latter caused lots of small problems but I am sure I have fixed the most of them. The best thing is that it allows you to share your data crow data with other installations on the network. The second best thing is that I no longer have to write data into the installation folder which was becoming more and more of an issue on the Windows platforms (Microsoft actively denies changing files in the "C:\program files" folders).

    I am also busy with my secret side project; Data Crow on Android platforms. I hope I will have some more concrete news in the upcoming weeks. It is not part of the normal Data Crow project but it will allow you to run your modules and see your data on your Android phone or tablet. The initial version will be very basic (and cheap). It's going to be interesting!

    It does explain this better looking website a bit as well, doesn't it? :)
  • 2 February 2013 - A new version: Data Crow 3.9.20

  • This release contains a fix for the backup and restore process.
  • 25 January 2013 - A new version: Data Crow 3.9.19

  • This release contains fixes for issues caused by the upgrade of the database engine. Also issues have been fixed for users upgrading from version 3.8.16 and older. This release also delivers smaller changes.
  • 21 January 2013 - New website has been released

  • After years.. I have decided to change this website completely. It's simpler, has less text and more fancy stuff. I quite like it and hope you do to!
  • 18 January 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.18 has been released

  • Pfew, the changes I made took quite a number of releases. I hope to have it under control now. The backup and restore now works correct again. The issue with the upgrade of the database not working is mainly a security issue on the various platforms. The only solution is, when prompted, to run the command as stated in the message box from the command line / command prompt / terminal.
  • 12 January 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.17 has been released

  • Added a parameter (-userdir:) to indicate the user directory to use. This allows you to run multiple instances of Data Crow looking at different user folders. Additionally I have added small fixes for potential problems while defining a user folder within the current Data Crow installation folder.
  • 11 January 2013 - Data Crow 3.9.16 has been released

  • Linux fix for upgrades and a new feature. You can now select a user folder where all data is stored. This helps in avoiding the Windows problem of protected folders in the C:\Program Files\ folders as well as protected folders on other systems. On startup you will be asked to select the user folder. After selecting the folder Data Crow will migrate your data to this folder and will use this folder from then on. Please see the changelog for the details!
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Contact Information

Data Crow's project page is hosted at SourceForge. Register at sourceforge.net and you'll be able to log bug reports and change requests for Data Crow. This helps in improving the software, by which you will benefit as well. You'll get automatic updates on tickets you created by e-mail.


Discussion forums are also hosted on SourceForge, where you can post your questions or discuss any Data Crow related topics.

Of course, e-mail is always an option, too. Send an e-mail to info@datacrow.net.

About

Project Administrators

Data Crow was created by Robert Jan Van Der Waals. He started this project for tracking his own collections. In the years that followed, he made it available to the public and expanded the functionality significantly, while still delivering the software for free. He chose to host it on SourceForge, since they supported hosting at no cost for Open Source projects. As he stated, "The benefit for me to have this project hosted on sourceforge.net, is that it will allow the users, yes you, to make feature requests, visit the forums, report bugs and download new releases."


Since Robert's retirement from the project in late 2018, the Data Crow web site, domain and code is now maintained by Stacey Murphy, since JAN-2019.

Project Background

This explains a bit more about the history of this cataloging software.

It all started when Robert Jan Van Der Waals created a small program called LibCD. This product allowed users to insert file information manually. It did not have an item form and only had the table view (which still exists today). This program did not attract any attention. Robert was the sole user.

He started the LibCD project to get his own list of software CD's into a program and to improve his programming skills. This project was started off somewhere in 2001.

In 2002, February to be exact, Robert discovered sourceforge.net and decided to make his little project public. He also decided to change the name from LibCD to CD Library. This software allowed registration of software and mp3's. He would have liked to say it had two modules, but then he would be lying <smile>. The software was static and users had only very limited control over the behavior of the product. It was able to import a sort of CSV file (via a very complex UI) and was also capable of parsing information from MP3 files. Again, this version did not really get anyone excited, and he remained the sole user.

Then came the year 2003. During a holiday in France Robert came to the decision to create an altogether new cataloging product. The goals were to attract more attention, to add new modules and to use online services instead of relying only on file parsing. CD library was canned and a new product was born with the name ... Data Crow. The name was chosen by his wife (who was his girlfriend at the time), so he can neither be blamed nor credited for it.

The software slowly but surely became more flexible. The source code was changed to be more generic (where possible) and extensibility and code reuse became the main areas of attention. The online search became more and more important. It allowed the catalogued items to be enriched with information from web sites like Amazon, Imdb, MusicBrainz and many others (with more still being added).

The Data Crow 3 version introduced wizards for creating modules. Not many people know this, but the Data Crow 3 version was a total rewrite of the core of Data Crow. The new flexible module structure allowed modules to be defined in an XML format. The underlying database was maintained by the rewritten data layer. To allow quicker access to the data, all items were loaded in memory during startup. Essentially Data Crow now had its very own persistance layer.

The ability to create user modules was requested by many users. The strength of this functionality was that, even though these modules lacked online services and file import, they benefited greatly from the Data Crow platform and the tools that it offered. The platform offered: loan management, two views, grouping, a quick view, filtering, security, advanced field settings, the item form, item deletion, updating and creation and many, many other features.

Data Crow has become a framework where any kind of module can be created, new reports can be added and plugins can be created. It has slowly attracting more and more attention to itself. Robert is proud of the user base Data Crow has gained over the years. Many users have helped him to improve Data Crow and he thanks you all sincerely!

One thing he discovered, is that this product will never be finished. he never dreamed that this project would continue to expand its feature set over and over again. After all, it is just a tool to catalog / catalogue people's collections <wink>.

Release Milestones


Over its different incarnations, there have been four major releases, including a major rewrite with v3 and v4.

With v3.0 in 2007, came the refactoring of the online searchers, modules and items were reorganized, a new module creation feature was added and the license changed from LGPL (GNU Lesser General Public License) to GPL (GNU General Public License).

V3.1 and 3.2 introduced a module deletion wizard, Swing instead of AWT components, log4J, separation of 3rd-party jars from Data Crow codebase, Java code refactoring and many performance imporvements, introduction of a tool to manipulate data/files outside of Data Crow and User security.

V3.3 in mid 2008 introduced the web module. V3.4 has an improved upgrade process, online services are now plugin based and can be expanded, improvments were made to existing loan functionality

Many users contributed code for bugs squashing and time for testing and document translations over 2009-2012

V3.4 through 3.12, covering 2009- 2013 had many memory and performance improvement to the loading and caching speeds, a userdir param introduced that allows for running multiple instances of Data Crow looking at separate user directories,

From an administrative standpoint, in late 2014, the switch was made to move all releases from SourceForge to Fosshub. Older versions were no longer downloadable and only the production version and new release candidates/betas were kept available.

V4.0 released in 2014, through a complete change of the Data Crow architecture, brought forth a full stand alone application server giving Client-Server mode support, moved from xslt reporting to use of JasperReports.

V4.1 released in 2015, contains the new web server as part of the existing server architecture. It allows the server to serve both full (thick) clients as well as web clients at the same time.

v4.2.x releases in 2017 were the last ones done by Robert. He has retired from the project completely and relinquished all administrative management.

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