VisiHex -- GTK hexidecimal/ascii fileviewer in development

Under development: PCMCIA, wireless, etc.
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MikeLockmoore
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Joined: Sun 26 Nov 2006, 18:29
Location: Near Detroit

VisiHex -- GTK hexidecimal/ascii fileviewer in development

#1 Post by MikeLockmoore »

Hello folks. Mike Lockmoore is my forum name. I am a long-time software developer and designer, previously working mostly in Windows and some embedded systems, lately working mostly in embedded Linux. I like to use Puppy at home, and recently I decided to port my Win32 hexadecimal file viewer to GTK so it can be used in Puppy.

This current version is only 35K, but has some neat features like searching through a file for a text or hex data pattern with highlighting. I think it's very fast at file opening and scrolling. The current Alpha version (0.9.4)does have some limitations, like it does not increase the number of visible data lines even if you enlarge the application window, but I plan to add that soon. See the screen shot below to get a basic picture of what it does. It was compiled for Puppy 4.1.0, but an earlier version seemed to run OK on Fedora 7, so I think it should be fairly compatible with many Puppy versions that support GTK 2.x.

For now, I'm releasing the VisiHex binary as freeware. I plan to open-source it later, when its code is more production-ready, but for now, I'll hold on to the copyright. (My GTK coding skills are at a very basic level and I would like to tighten it up some more before the rest of the world sees it.) However, I would like to get some immediate feedback and suggestions, as well as get some help to figure out how to package it for distribution as a .PET.

mu helped me figure out how to do the "Open With" integration in ROX, but I don't seem to be able to create a menu entry for it with the .desktop file I made. Anyone see an issue with this .desktop file?

Code: Select all

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=VisiHex File Viewer
Icon=visihex16.xpm
Comment=VisiHex shows and searches any file in hexidecimal and ASCII form
Exec=visihex
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Utility
GenericName=VisiHex File Viewer
Here is the "make install" section of the Makefile that attempts to put everything in its proper place:

Code: Select all

	
install: $(EXECUTABLE) visihex16.xpm visihex48.png visihex.desktop
	strip $(EXECUTABLE)
	cp $(EXECUTABLE) /usr/X11R7/bin/
	cp visihex16.xpm /usr/local/lib/X11/mini-icons/
	cp visihex48.png /usr/local/lib/X11/pixmaps/
	cp visihex.desktop /usr/share/applications/
	ln -s /usr/X11R7/bin/$(EXECUTABLE) /root/.config/rox.sourceforge.net/OpenWith/visihex
If you see any problems with either the .desktop file or the "make install" actions, please let me know! If you want to test it right away, I've attached a .tar.gz package, but be warned... this is Alpha Software and almost certainly bugs or at least design limitations!

Please let me know what you think.
Attachments
visihex.tar.gz
Binary released as freeware by author, including icons and .desktop (ok?) file
(24.37 KiB) Downloaded 430 times
visihex_screenshot.png
Screen shot of VisiHex showing main window and search dialog box.
(25.31 KiB) Downloaded 460 times
Last edited by MikeLockmoore on Sat 06 Dec 2008, 05:50, edited 1 time in total.
Mike Lockmoore

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MU
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#2 Post by MU »

In Muppy, the desktop file works.
I copied it to /usr/share/applications/ , and visihex itself to /usr/X11R7/bin/

You might need to type:
fixmenus
to force that the menu is rebuilt.

Mark
[url=http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=173456#173456]my recommended links[/url]

muggins
Posts: 6724
Joined: Fri 20 Jan 2006, 10:44
Location: hobart

#3 Post by muggins »

Mike,

I repackaged it as a .pet for you.

Edit I deleted the .pet as you've uploaded one.
Last edited by muggins on Thu 04 Dec 2008, 02:15, edited 1 time in total.

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MikeLockmoore
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun 26 Nov 2006, 18:29
Location: Near Detroit

#4 Post by MikeLockmoore »

MU: Yes, after I ran fixmenus and restarted JWM, I could see VisiHex! I thought the fixmenus behavior happened automagically each time X restarts or at least when Puppy reboots, but at least in my 4.1.0 frugal installation, it does not. Maybe fixmenus can be added to a post-install script? Thanks for your knowledge again.

Muggins: Thanks a lot! Do you know how to add a "pinstall" post-installation script to the .PET? Then I can make sure the fixmenus is run and the symbolic link to VisiHex in the ROX OpenWith directory is created. EDIT... I figured out how to add the pinstall.sh and puninstall.sh and create the .pet, but in my scripts, I don't know how to restart the window manager automatically.

All: The revised .pet file will automatically create a link in ROX so the "Open With" option list will include VisiHex, and will rebuild the menus... you just need to manually restart JWM (or equivalent if you have another?) to see the entry in the Utility menu.
Attachments
visihex-0.9.4-i486.pet
Revised .pet with extra install and uninstall scripted actions.
(25.06 KiB) Downloaded 457 times
Mike Lockmoore

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MikeLockmoore
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Joined: Sun 26 Nov 2006, 18:29
Location: Near Detroit

First bug report!

#5 Post by MikeLockmoore »

I've discovered I've mistakenly left the limit for the search pattern at a very low size (4 bytes) after doing some boundary testing. :oops: I intended to allow search patterns up to 32 bytes/characters. I'll fix that when I figure out how to set up the repainting routine in the main window to adjust to different size windows (at least different length windows).

If there are any other bug reports for this Alpha version 0.9.4, please post them here! Thanks!
Mike Lockmoore

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MikeLockmoore
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun 26 Nov 2006, 18:29
Location: Near Detroit

Beta version 0.9.5 announced on "Additional Software' forum

#6 Post by MikeLockmoore »

I've fixed the bug mentioned above, figured out the window resizing, and did some other minor improvements. The Beta version is announced here. Join me in that thread if you have bugs in the new Beta version or suggestions.
Mike Lockmoore

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