GNU Gluco Control (GGC) ======================= 1. ABOUT ======== Welcome to GNU Gluco Control (GGC). GGC is an open-source java application, intended to help you manage your diabetes. Open-source means that the application is freely available, together with its source code, which means that anybody can help with development. Since this is open-source, errors (geeks call them bugs) can occur during the operation of the application. For this we apologize... Since we are diabetics ourselves, we are trying to make this software the best it can be, but as you know, accidents happen. Please read through this document to find out how this software can become better, with a little help from your side (you don't have to be developer to help, each reported problem can help us bring GGC closer to perfection). If you want to help develop or officially test this software, please read the companion document 'How_I_Can_Help.txt'. The same document is required reading for developers. 2. CURRENT VERSION AND STATUS ============================= This is version 0.4 of GGC. At this point we are at version 0.4, which is second public release. If you have installed version 0.3, you can either deinstall and install 0.4 or do updates (you will need to apply two of them (0.3.1 and 0.4): instructions are Update package. If you used any of "preview" versions (before 0.3), you will need to uninstall. We made a lot of changes in database and application itself, so you can't update old version (if you already have data in old application contact us, and we will help you migrate it to new version). Updates are now possible, but so far only manual updates. We are working on automatic updates, but we are still far from working model. In this public release you can still only use the internal database. If you have little above average computer knowledge (read 'if you like to dabble'), you can try to make it work with any database (see file 'How_Can_I_Help.txt') with just a little work. New (major) releases are planned to occur in 6 month intervals (we almost managed that one). This means that you can expect release 0.5 somewhere in June 2009. A minor release will be done, when functionality has been changed in such a way that it is beneficial to user to be released (major functionality changes and bug fixes) For now you need to update files manually, which means exactly following the instructions supplied with the release (there will be a file called 'How To Upgrade.txt' supplied with each upgrade release). You are probably wondering, why are we still in 0.x versions if we already had public release... Answer is simple. We have several goals set, and when this goals are achieved, we will progress to version 1.0. If you look at Planned functionalities you will find several items marked with double asterisks (**), this are required functions for 1.0 release. 3. WHAT FUNCTIONALITY IS AVAILABLE ================================== - Adding Daily data about Insulin, BG entries, activity, urine, comments - Display graphs for this Pen/Injection therapy (new framework, still work in progress) - Food databases for "Carb Counting": USDA Nutrition DB, User Nutrition DB and Meals database or foods and CH as free text - Printing reports - Update mechanism (client side only), this means that until the server side of update is done, you won't be able to update, but as soon as that works you will have the option to update. - Backup mechanism (and restore) - Bolus Helper and Simple Ratio Settings - Meter Tool finished. Now we just have to add more devices. - Pump Tool: Framework is work in progress, almost finished. Added is Manual adding of data which is important pre-step, for actual reading and import from devices 4. PLANNED FUNCTIONALITY ======================== Version 0.5 ------------ - DB Tool (for using other databases and install of initial data) (**) - Multi person instance - Finalization of GGC Little, which is used as a resident application for adding new data throughout the day - Update mechanism (server side) (**) - Fully write English help files and add help through application (English version so far) (**) - Add some functionality to food databases - Extended Ratio Settings, Ratio Helper - New Graphs for Pen/Injection theraphy Version 0.6 ------------ - Automatic DB Update - GGC Network (running several instances of GGC on several computers) - I18n Help Files - CGMS Tool: - Synchronization (for GGC network) - Links to data about diabetes on internet - GGC PPC - the version of the application to be used by the Pocket PC (not all the functionality of the full version will be available) - Appointments (adding appointment, adding data from doctor's visit), Doctors management (adding) - Medical stock - Listing of everything that patient has, and what he needs to get to handle diabetes (and also any other condition) - Remote Food database functionality 5. SUB-PROJECTS =============== Currently there are three sub-projects running. METER-TOOL ----------- This is a plug-in for getting data from glucose meters. Currently this project is in beta phase (all functionalities finished, now we just need to add more devices). Currently supported devices: - Bayer/Ascensia: whole family - Roche/Accu-chek: all devices supported by Accu-Chek Pix device - LifeScan: OT Ultra/2, OT UltraSmart, OT Ultra Mini/Easy Current version of plugin: 1.0.5 PUMP-TOOL ---------- This is plug-in for entering, retrieving and handling data from Insulin Pumps. We have already started with development and most of framework is ready for Pump data. For now we have added Manual adding of Pump Data and next step is retrieval of data from Pumps. First supported Pumps will be those of Roche and Minimed (at first through CareLink export file) and we have some developers also working on Animas. CGMS-TOOL ---------- This is a plug-in for retrieving data from CGMS device and viewing of this data. This project is still in the planning phase. The project will move into the development phase by end of 2009. The first supported CGMS will be that of Minimed through export file from CareLink. 6. HOW CAN I HELP AS REGULAR USER ================================== There are several ways you can help. Some ways require you to have some knowledge, but most of them don't. Please take a look at document 'How_Can_I_Help.txt'. There are several chapters and for each you can see for whom it's intended. First chapter is displayed here (and translated) all other are in the other document and in english. --------------------------------------------------- A.) Testing software and give new ideas or propose changes (intended for ALL) There are several ways you can help. The first and major way is to test software. Try to use it and find anything that doesn't work. Version 0.3 will be started from the command-line and all actions will also be displayed in the console. If you see an error text, exception or e.g. many cryptic lines of classes with numbers, this means something went wrong. The error is displayed on your screen, but it is also logged to a file (in \data\log). There you will find one or more files for each day. If an error happened today, there will be a file named 'GGC.log'. You need to open it and go to end and try to find the previously displayed errors. Zip this file and store it. And do the following (choose option A or B): a.) Visit the bug reporting site for our project and enter the bug by yourself. Please attach the zipped log. The site is (data should be entered in English): http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=49749&atid=457319 You don't need to be member at sourceforge to add this information, if you are not please, write your email address somewhere in the error report. Describe exactly what you were doing when the exception occurred and how the problem affected your application. Also please let us know the configuration of your computer (for example: Intel(R) Celeron(R) 2000 with 2GB RAM, running Ubuntu Linux, kernel 2.6.1.34, with Java 1.6.0_06) b.) Send us an email (ggc@atech-software.com), containing all the data as described in a.). --- If everything works OK on your system, we still ask you to send us logs. Every month or so, please zip all log files (you can remove them from the log directory) and send them to ggc@atech-software.com. We will use some tool to look through all files and see if there was some error which has gone undiscovered by you and will try to fix it. --- So you have been using the software for some time, some things work fine, other not so well. If you find parts of GGC, which your think could work better, please let us know. If you find that some functionality is missing, again, let us know. You can use either email, or you can use the following form (data should be entered in English): http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=49749&atid=457322 --- We will try to fix problems as soon as possible, but since there are only two of us (three, but only two active) it might take some time... Major bugs will be fixed first, then minor ones... New functionality proposals have the lowest priority (and planned functionality has priority). Maybe some new developers will now join us and help us with further development of this application. 7. END ======= Again, thank you for using our software, we hope it fulfills your needs... If not yet, hopefully in future. GGC Development Team