News

PortaBase 2.0 (2010-06-02)


The final release of PortaBase 2.0 is out. Only 2 bugs were fixed since the release candidate (and I found both of those; none have been reported by other users). I'll work on getting this release into Maemo extras and Debian unstable, then start working on new features for PortaBase 2.1.


PortaBase 2.0 release candidate 1 (2010-05-27)


The first release candidate of PortaBase 2.0 is now available. All of the serious bugs reported during beta testing have been addressed, installation on the Nokia N900 is now much easier, and I've received all the translations I expect to get for 2.0. Please try out this version, and let me know if you find any bugs that should be addressed before I finalize a stable release and move on to implementing new features for 2.1.


PortaBase 2.0 beta 2 (2010-05-17)


The next beta of PortaBase 2.0 has been released. All of the serious bugs reported with the last beta have been fixed; this release is also labeled a beta mainly because I'm still waiting on a few translations (and because PR1.2 still hasn't been released for the N900 to do proper testing on that device). Again, let me know if you encounter any problems with this or want to work on a translation that isn't being actively maintained.


PortaBase 2.0 beta 1 (2010-05-05)


At long last, a new version of PortaBase is available. See the History page for a summary of the changes from 1.9, and the Download page to get it. These binaries overall seem to be in good working order, but the code has been massively rewritten since 1.9 in order to support new platforms and updated libraries, so there are probably a few bugs that I haven't caught yet (the ones that have been found so far are documented here). Let me know if you encounter any problems installing or using the program, or if you want to update or contribute a translation in time for the 2.0 final release. I'll be contacting the original translators shortly to determine if any of them want to update their work.


About PortaBase

PortaBase (portable database) is a program for conveniently managing one-table database files. It is available for many platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X (Tiger and up), Windows (XP and up), and Maemo (Diablo and Fremantle). Notable features include:

  • String, Integer, Decimal, Boolean, Note (multi-line text), Date, Time, Calculation, Sequence, Image, and Enum column types
  • Add, edit, and delete rows of data
  • Custom data views (subsets of the columns in any order)
  • Filter the displayed rows using sets of conditions
  • Sort the rows by any combination of columns, each in ascending or descending order
  • Optional page navigation buttons, with custom number of rows per page
  • Add, delete, rearrange, and rename columns at any time
  • Specify default values for columns
  • View summary statistics for columns (total, average, min, max, etc.)
  • Import data from CSV, XML, and MobileDB files
  • Export data to CSV and XML files
  • Command-line format conversions (to and from XML, to and from CSV, from MobileDB)
  • Data file encryption
  • Unicode support
  • Pick any available font to use throughout the application (except on Mac OS X)
  • User-specified alternating row background colors (except on Fremantle)
  • Simple calculator widget for entering numeric data

PortaBase is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL).


Ways to Contribute

There are a variety of tasks that people can undertake to improve PortaBase or its usefulness to people, many of which don't require any programming skills. If you'd like to contribute, a list of suggestions is available here.