After two years plus with out development, it's good to see that Ariadne is on the move again, and that the new developer, Yuriy, is responsive to suggestions from users.

Ariadne is not the flashiest program out there, but it has a lot of power, and I think the surface has only been scratched in terms of what it might do. Graham yesterday pointed out to me on the Ariadne Yahoo forum how fast Ariadne is, and the importance of careful development so it does not become bloated.

I've enjoyed rediscovering Ariadne. And I would go so far as to make this prediction - that if Ariadne is carefully developed over the next year or so, that it, along with Pierre's InfoQube, would be one of the two top information management programs in the market.

I see Ariadne and InfoQube as the two potential killer aps, which many of us Crimpers have longed for.

Yuriy has set up a Yaho database for suggestions for new Ariadne features; it's at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ariadneorga/database?method=reportRows&tbl=1

The latest Ariadne download can be found here: http://www.prokarpaty.net/ariadne/ . It is free to use, and a small donation is suggested if people wish.

For me the one great feature of Ariadne is that it allows me to open up more than one note at a time, and that this enables me to compare drafts easily, as well as have research material in one or more notes, while doing my writing in another, never having to take my eyes away from the relevant data.

That great feature is combined with the ability to put a specialized note, called a comment, with any item in the outline, be it a folder, note, particle (brief one line item), or table record.

The method of linking is very powerful, as is the variety of predefined searches done by way of GREP, as well as the conventional search ability.

I have no vested interest, financial or otherwise, in either of the two programs mentioned here - other than, of course, that they are helping me to get more work done, more easily.

Daly

Hmm...

Doesn't this look like a sensible, non-bloated Info Select? Yuriy too? I have not followed Ariadne. Has it always been so strikingly similar to IS? When did the project begin?

My main concerns are the limited import and export features. Also, as far as I can tell, you cannot attach files. Otherwise, I agree - very interesting.

Thank you for pointing this out.

Jon

Hello Jon,

One can attach files (or, rather, link to them) using the "Shell Shortcut" feature, or drag and drop. Also, one can import and export table objects to CSV, which you don't see in the main import/export menu. It does that very fast, incidentally.

Graham

Jon Polish wrote:

Hmm...

Doesn't this look like a sensible, non-bloated Info Select? Yuriy too? I
have not followed Ariadne. Has it always been so strikingly similar to IS? When did the
project begin?

My main concerns are the limited import and export features. Also,
as far as I can tell, you cannot attach files. Otherwise, I agree - very
interesting.

Thank you for pointing this out.

Jon

I was intrigued by Ariadne when it was originally being developed, and I'm glad to see it is back. I do have some reservations about it. Particularly, it appears that you can't create multiple databases -- that is, there is no "New" command in the menu. I suppose you can do a "Save As" and create new databases that way, but then you have to keep cleaning out info from the original database. Seems like a weird limitation, unless I'm missing something. If the intent is to put all data in one file, then I fear Ariadne will suffer from the same problem that plagues all hierarchical information managers, namely that the data quickly overwhelms the structure -- at least for me.

Maybe I'm missing something here. I would love to have such a misperception corrected.

Steve Z.

You're right, Stephen - Ariadne can only use one database (in two files called ariadne.ard and ariadne.dsa) and the "Save as" option creates a .tad (transferable Ariadne file) file to be used to transport data. I can't say why it was created like this, but perhaps multiple databases could be one of the things that the new developer could start supporting.

Graham

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Particularly, it appears that you
can't create multiple databases -- that is, there is no "New" command in the menu. I
suppose you can do a "Save As" and create new databases that way, but then you have to
keep cleaning out info from the original database. Seems like a weird limitation,
unless I'm missing something. If the intent is to put all data in one file, then I fear
Ariadne will suffer from the same problem that plagues all hierarchical information
managers, namely that the data quickly overwhelms the structure -- at least for
me.

I noted similarities to InfoSelect when Jan Rifkinson first alerted me to the program five or more years ago.

Back in the day Ariadne always "felt" better to me than IS, and its feature set worked was more proficient at doing what it was intended to do.

The program was originally developed by a guy called Mike, whose last name I do not know.

Daly


Jon Polish wrote:

Hmm...

Doesn't this look like a sensible, non-bloated Info Select? Yuriy too? I
have not followed Ariadne. Has it always been so strikingly similar to IS? When did the
project begin?

My main concerns are the limited import and export features. Also,
as far as I can tell, you cannot attach files. Otherwise, I agree - very
interesting.

Thank you for pointing this out.

Jon

I'm hoping that Yuriy will develop the ability to have more than one database. It would help. However, with the locus (similar to hoisting), accelerators, search features, etc. it is possible to have a very large selection of material, and yet get around it quite quickly.

Daly

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I was intrigued by Ariadne when it was originally being developed, and I'm glad to see
it is back. I do have some reservations about it. Particularly, it appears that you
can't create multiple databases -- that is, there is no "New" command in the menu. I
suppose you can do a "Save As" and create new databases that way, but then you have to
keep cleaning out info from the original database. Seems like a weird limitation,
unless I'm missing something. If the intent is to put all data in one file, then I fear
Ariadne will suffer from the same problem that plagues all hierarchical information
managers, namely that the data quickly overwhelms the structure -- at least for
me.

Maybe I'm missing something here. I would love to have such a misperception
corrected.

Steve Z.

Ah, yes. I hadn't figured out about the Locus feature. That is equivalent to a hoist and does help make the grid/tree more manageable.

You are right about the similarities with InfoSelect.

Steve

Fortunately the similarities to InfoSelect are ones I like!

Daly

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

Ah, yes. I hadn't figured out about the Locus feature. That is equivalent to a hoist and
does help make the grid/tree more manageable.

You are right about the similarities
with InfoSelect.

Steve