18 December 2006
P-Viewer release 2.07b:
- View, print or export cumulative run graphs (The 'Worm')
- View, print or export Manhattan graphs
- View, print or export selected batting wagon-wheels
- Correct handling of follow-on innings when exporting to Cricketstatz format
- Correction of minor layout and timing calculation problems.
15 November 2006
Palmcricket release 1.30d:
- Recording and editing of batting wagon-wheel strokes.
- Setting user preferences to control scoring behaviour.
- Allowing creation and location of bookmarks, for any ball-by-ball event.
- Calculation of bowling economy on bowling summaries.
- Correction of a number of subtle programming problems related to new technology, e.g. writing volatile memory to flash-ram after every scoring event, to avoid losing information after fatal errors.
- Correction of a number of programming bugs, e.g. fatal error crash on dismissal, after changing the bowler via the ball-by-ball edit
15 November 2006
Palmcricket release 1.29m:
This revision corrects a problem where units that use flash-ram
(Tungsten T5 and E2, LifeDrive, Z22, Treo 650 etc) could lose a part or all of the
current score-sheet, after an abnormal interruption such as a soft reset
or fatal error.
Explanation: Palm OS Garnet manages memory writes to flash ram in a manner
reminiscent of MS-DOS. [Programmers will remember when applications with open files
lost data when
the power failed on the PC, even though the records had been "written"
to the hard drive? In those bad old days, one had to close and open a
file, or "flush the memory buffers" to guarantee a disk write.]
Same thing here! It seems that Palm OS will only write its volatile memory
to flash when exiting the program or when open databases are closed.
Sigh... the more
things change, the more they remain the same... Technology does indeed move
backwards sometimes.
This revision now closes and re-opens the score-sheet
after every Palmcricket event. This forces Palm OS to write to flash ram
on completion of a scoring tap or correction. This may reduce battery life
slightly, but it safeguards against data loss during
abnormal program terminations.
Note that this problem did NOT appear on the lower end models such as the
Zire, Zire 21, and other older units, where the system memory is handled
completely differently
by Palm OS.
It is possible that hand-held units running on StyleTap and Windows Mobile
and using flash ram may also have been affected in a similar manner.
If in any doubt, install this upgrade!
14 November 2006
Palmcricket release 1.29k:
This revision corrects the rare fatal error that occurs during a dismissal, as mentioned
by Pat Culpan, Edward Fox, Marie-Louise Verster and Russell Kean.
After a soft reset, the score-sheet
loses a wicket in the bowler analysis and FOW, as reported under release 1.29j.
The error was caused by a ball-by-ball edit, where a bowler change was made or cancelled,
in the same over, prior to the dismissal. The program "remembered" the change and then lost
the plot by incorrectly asking for a new bowler selection after completion of the dismissal. If the
scorer then cancelled the bowler selection, Palmcricket crashed.
10 September 2006
Palmcricket release 1.29j:
- Recompilation of all modules with latest prc-tools.
- Self-repair of FOW, total wickets and bowler wickets, after occurrence of a 'fatal error' during correction of a dismissal.
This patch allows Palmcricket to scan for, and correct these three errors, when opening the current score-sheet or when restoring an archive. (There is also a remote chance that re-compilation with the latest release of the gcc compiler could solve the original problem).
01 February 2006
Palmcricket release 1.29h & i - Minor bug fixes related to:
- Re-display of batting and bowling summary screens, after viewing individual player details. This problem was introduced during 1.29f when implementing PocketPC/StyleTap compatibility
- Truncation of team names retrieved from the match screen to 15 characters, when saving teams. This problem arose when retrieving older archived matches where the team 1 or team 2 names were longer than 15 characters.
16 January 2006
Palmcricket release 1.29g - Correct ball-by-ball edit bugs related to:
- Changing fielding or batting penalties.
- Swapping player dismissed, when the other partner still at the crease.
24 November 2005
Palmcricket release 1.29f - Correct compatibility problems when running on PocketPC with the StyleTap emulator:
- Fielder pop-up on dismissal screen.
- Partnership display on batting screen.
25 October 2005
P-Viewer releases 2.06, 2.06a and b - Display did-not-bat players in all views, reports and exports, plus editing function to delete or add did-not-bat players.
17 October 2005
P-Viewer release 2.05d - Change text in message box that appears before CricketStatz export.
10 October 2005
P-Viewer releases 2.05 a,b,c - Various refinements and improvements:
- Suppression of blank lines on detail batting, on return of retired injured batters.
- Correct handling of numeric fields in Excel export.
- Location of temporary file for CricketStatz export, to remember previous edits.
- Addition of partnership statistics under FOW, on detailed report.
- Minor revisions on html exports, e.g. match teams in bold at the top of the page.
- Bowler analyses now count only the deliveries for wides and no-balls, as opposed to the penalties + additional runs scored of the wide or no-ball. This is in accordance with international best practice, as advised by Pat Culpan.
- Retired injured batsmen now appear only once in the batting analyses, in all views and exports.
- Correction of subtle CricketStatz export bugs.
25 September 2005
P-Viewer release 2.05 - Export to CricketStatz format file, for use with CricketStatz Pro. Ability to recognise all installed Palm User Names and to locate, view and print score-sheets directly from Palm User hotsync backup folders. Copy score-sheets directly from hotsync backup folders to folders of one's choice. Automatic setup procedure. Expansion of html help file to include complete Palmcricket documentation. Corrections of minor bugs related to retired injured batters.
9 June 2005
P-Viewer release 2.04c - Correction of 10 minor problems related to the html export (run rate calculation, fall of wicket display and progressive overs calculation when retired injured, spaces after venue and scorer labels in header, last over display on progressive overs calculation) and detailed view (block overflow on over detail, page overflow of bowler analyses in test matches, suppress blank pages on detailed printout, repaint window after printer selection dialog).
5 March 2005
Release 1.29e: Miscellaneous minor problems: Corrected fatal error crash on ball-by-ball edit where extras more than 6. Corrected toss entry problem when using tap keyboard. Added clear button on match result screen. Corrected fatal error crash when retrieving team names longer than 15 characters, by forcing team save names to less than 15 characters.
27 September 2004
Releases 1.29c and d: Miscellaneous minor problems: Correct ball-by-ball edit method of dismissal problem, when changed to "bowled". Correct loss of wicket problem, when backspacing over end of over after a bowler correction was made in the previous over.
19 April 2004
Releases 1.29b: Correct team save problem on Handspring Treo models with 32 kb RAM
13 April 2004
Releases 1.29a: Correct ball-by-ball edit of method of dismissal on models using PalmOS later than 3.5. Added umpire reminders: 2 beeps after 4 balls in the over, 1 beep after 5 balls.
11 April 2004
Release 1.29: Beaming of team sheets to another handheld device. Beaming of archived score-sheet to another handheld device. Delete a dot ball in any over, any innings, using ball-by-ball edit. Insert a dot ball in any over, any innings, using ball-by-ball edit. More accurate handling of retired batters, with automatic determination of "retired out" when a retiree does not bat again in the same innings. Politically correct usage of "batter" instead of "batsman". Display of batting and partnership minutes on batting summaries. More accurate calculation of partnership balls, in batting summary. Corrected "shuffle" error when handling retired batters. Replace "Exit" with "Done" on button labels . Correct the display error for overs in Fall of Wicket summary. Allow correction of method of dismissal in ball-by-ball edit. Allow swapping of batter dismissed, in ball-by-ball edit. Expand match screen to allow entry of match result and two additonal notes. Automatic expansion of score sheets to accommodate match notes when Palmcricket starts up. Previous databases are also expanded whenever archives created with prior revisions are restored. More precise change of strike messages after dismissals.
29 October 2003
Release 1.28: Clock timers for day, match, innings, session and dismissals. More accurate updates of maidens after ball-by-ball edits. No-balls now counted as balls faced. Accolade interval under user control (useful for younger players, where targets of 20 runs etc. are more meaningful). Corrected problem with no-balls plus runs off the bat, where no-ball extras are set to zero.
5 February 2003
Release 1.27: Save, retrieve and delete functions for storing up to 100 team sheets on the handheld. Comprehensive tests and warnings to prevent Palmcricket running out of memory during scoring.
14 January 2003
Release 1.26: Added innings timing function to bowling summary screen to display real-time progress per innings, tested in the field by author while umpiring Gauteng Sunday 5th league, Katlehong vs Rand Water. Also corrected minor bug on batting summary screen title, where retired wickets were not deducted from the total wickets fallen.
31 December 2002
Release 1.25: Enhanced ball-by-ball screen to allow correction of fielder for caught, stumped and run-out dismissals, at any time, during any innings. Expanded batsmen detailed analyses windows to show batting start and end times, with allowance for breaks in play, to calculate and display the total time spent at the crease.
17 December 2002
Release 1.24: New function to change bowler in any previous over and/or innings, accessed from the ball-by-ball edit screen. Correct minor bug related to a wicket falling in the current over where an incorrect bowler was replaced by the correct bowler (score-sheet print-outs still reflected the incorrect bowler in the batsman's dismissal column).
29 October 2002
Release 1.23: Added detailed bowling analysis by innings. New function to correct bowler selection error in current over. New function to shuffle the batting order, in any innings at any time. Correct incorrect display of Fall of Wickets under certain conditions.
11 August 2002
Release 1.22: Added detailed bowling analysis by player. Correct "hanging" problem on batting accolades screen on Palm IIIe models. Unbundled software, print server and documentation for more streamlined downloads.
4 August 2002
Release 1.21: Added cumulative scoring graphs, Manhattan skylines, batting targets and detailed batting analysis by player. Completely new HTML user documentation.
16 June 2002
Releases 1.20h and 1.20i: Change of striker update/reminder on dismissals and multiple wides/no-balls/no-ball plus. Correct handling of fielding penalties. Added batting accolades to batsmen, partnerships and total score when reaching milestones of 50, 100, 150, 200, etc. User manual converted to MS Word and HTML formats. June 2002 newsletter.
26 May 2002
Miscellaneous corrections and fixes 1.20c through 1.20g: Ball-by-ball edit clearance on Handspring visors, fatal error crash on undo of start of innings. Introduction of Crico character. Implemented on-line help.
10 April 2002
Palmcricket update 1.20a & b: Minimum number of balls per over reduced to at least one ball.
05 April 2002
Website download page updated with Palmcricket 1.20 and Palmcricket viewer 1.05, after in-depth testing and confirmation of stable operation of both applications from beta testers.
30 March 2002
Palmcricket viewer 1.05 released to registered users (not yet available as a download). New features include allowance for retired and re-entrant batsmen, fall of wicket analyses for such batsmen and vertical scrolling to roll over top or bottom of viewed pages.
29 March 2002
Palmcricket revision 1.20 released to registered users (not yet available as a download). Fall of wicket and batting partnership analyses. Allowance for retired and re-entrant batsmen. Vertical scrolling of all summary displays (batting, bowling, fall of wicket, partnerships) for players 12 to 15. More pronounced warning sound at end of over. Control over sounds via the Palm preference settings. Smoother handling of archive copy/restore.
19 March 2002
Palmcricket revision 1.19 released to registered users (not yet available as a download). New features include clear and/or fill match details and team names with dummy information.
11-17 March 2002
Palmcricket score-sheet viewer (printing from Windows desktop) completed and added to website. A few minor revisions were required for compatibility with different operating systems and printers.
3 February 2002
Palmcricket's dedicated website, palmcricket.com, goes live on the internet. Revision 1.18 made available for download, with introductory pages completed.
3 February 2002
Twelth live test run. Scored the 12th ODI match between Australia and South Africa, played at Perth, direct from live TV transmission. Discovered one or two minor problems related to breaks in play, and ball-by-ball edit. Bugs corrected, for first release on the internet (revision 1.18)
2 February 2002
Early morning quick-fix correction of the player selection bug, rushed over to Marais Viljoen High School to beam corrected program to Walter Pike, who was scoring the Alberton School's Association U14 match against Parktown Boys High (50 overs). Beaming of Palmcricket to Walter's Palm™ V handheld worked fine! Completed the draft revision 1.18, with in-depth testing for four hours.
1 February 2002
Eleventh live test run (testing revision 1.17). Alberhart Cricket Club U15 vs. Glenvista, Gauteng informal junior league (30 overs each, day-night game). Scored while umpiring. Another system crash, this time introduced by a change made in 1.17 relating to error messages on selection of same bowlers or batsmen. Scoring abandoned after completion of Alberhart's innings. At least the Palm m100 was completely visible under lights, without using the Palm m100's back light.
29 January 2002:
Revision 1.17: Corrected the various bugs discovered by Walter Pike and the software crash on 27 January, and introduced a few cosmetic changes, such as smooth exits from all screens upon unexpected termination, improved bitmaps for scoring events, more stringent error messages on selection of next bowler or batsman etc. E-mail latest version to Walter Pike.
27 January 2002
Tenth live test run (using revision 1.16). Alberhart Cricket Club U15 vs. Heidelberg, Gauteng informal junior league (35 overs each). Scored the match from the side of the field, with manual back-up. First innings worked fine, start of second innings, total disaster! Made an error with selection of opening bowler, then selected the same bowler for the second over and discovered the error by the start of the third over. Tried to undo the first three overs, ball count went negative, fatal system crash. Had to reset the Palm handheld, but by then the database was corrupted, and Palmcricket refused to continue. Scoring abandoned and resorted to manual scoring. The joys of beta testing...
26 January 2002
Ninth live test run, Alberton Schools Association U14 vs. Northcliff High (50 overs each). Scored from the middle whilst umpiring. Successful trial. Uncovered minor problem related to a batsman retiring but otherwise no problems. Great match as well, Fraser Nixon of Alberton scored 207 (not out, retired).
22 January 2002:
Revision 1.16: Registration procedures implemented. Walter Pike, chairman of the Old Parktonians Cricket Club's junior section, agrees to test the beta version in the field. Walter becomes the first user to register with Palmcricket, and finds 5 bugs within the first two hours of usage!
19 January 2002:
Ball-by-ball editing completed. Released revision 1.15.
25-26 December 2001:
Eighth live test run. Attempt to score 2nd Test, Australia vs. South Africa, Melbourne, while viewing the match on TV. Early mornings (01:30 am starts) take their toll, and only able to complete days 1 and 2. Trial reasonably successful but frustrated by lack of ball-by-ball editing, due to a few TV transmission failures and scoring errors. Decide to add limited ball-by-ball editing features.
16 December 2001:
Seventh live test run of Palmcricket, Alberhart Cricket Club U15 Dads vs Lads (40 overs), scoring on the field while umpiring/playing, with help from the boys, 3 of whom also scored while umpiring. Success, especially with young "raw users", who are far more adept with new technology than the older generation!
8 December 2001:
Sixth live test run of Palmcricket, Alberhart Cricket Club U15 vs Alberton at the Alberton main Oval, , Gauteng informal junior league (30 overs each). Successful trial, with score sheets printed at the match.
1 December 2001:
Fifth live test run of Palmcricket, Alberhart Cricket Club U15 friendly match against Randburg U16 (40 overs), scoring on the field while umpiring. Score sheets printed on HP deskjet 350† at the venue, at change of innings and at match completion, all battery-driven, no electrical power used. Successful trial, all round.
18 November 2001:
Revision 1.14: Added archive restores and deletes.
15 November 2001:
Revision 1.13: Miscellaneous "undo" features added (eg end of innings, match).
14 November 2001:
Revision 1.12: Mid-over bowling change implemented, with full undo ability.
13 November 2001:
Revision 1.11: Successful implementation of direct score-sheet printing via infra-red, using Stevens Creek Software† printer driver, after in-depth research relating to IrDa standards during October/ November.
4 November 2001:
Fourth live test run of Palmcricket, Alberhart cricket club U15 local derby match (40 overs), scoring on the field while umpiring. Success, all new features worked well.
3 November 2001:
Third live test run of Palmcricket, Alberton High U15 friendly match against Pretoria Boys High (30 overs), first attempt at scoring on the field while umpiring. Very successful trial, with no problems.
30 September 2001:
Revision 1.09: Expand batting summary to display multiple innings, resolve irritations uncovered during live trial run of 22 September.
22 September 2001:
Second live test run of Palmcricket, Alberton High U15 league match against Dinamika (50 overs), as scorer with manual back-up. Successful trial, all new features worked well, no software crashes, a few minor irritations only.
20 September 2001:
Revision 1.08: Display bowling summary for current innings on screen.
17 September 2001
Registered domain palmcricket.com for development as a dedicated website, using Afrihost.com as the internet service provider. Also reserved the domain palmcricket.co.za. Posted initial notification home page on the website.
16 September 2001:
Revision 1.07: Display batting summary for current innings on screen.
14 September 2001:
Revision 1.06: Implement undo feature for end of over roll-back.
10 September 2001:
Revision 1.05: Undo feature for scoring events implemented.
9 September 2001:
Purchased HP deskjet 350 portable printer for evaluation of infra-red direct printing facilities.
1 September 2001:
First field test of Palmcricket on Palm m100, whilst scoring manually for Alberton High's U15 league match against Elspark Technical High (50 overs each). Quite successful, except severely restricted by the lack of an "undo" feature. Scoring had to be accurate with no mistakes, almost humanly impossible to achieve. High levels of interest and excitement persuade author to market and sell the system via the internet.
28 August 2001:
Revision 1.04: Add multiple innings. No development since 4 February 2001, due to work pressure.
4 February 2001:
Revision 1.03: Introduce breaks (drinks, lunch, tea, end of innings, end of match etc).
14 January 2001:
Revision 1.02: Complete revision of Out button handling to allow multiple simultaneous events (i.e. stumpings on a wide, no-ball with runs off the bat with a run-out, etc). No development since 11 November 2000, due to other work pressure.
11 November 2000:
Revision 1.01: Revise many miscellaneous scoring events: Change striker, no-ball plus button, match restarts etc.
30 October 2000:
Revision 1.00: First workable but primitive version of Palmcricket complete after intense programming effort.
September 2000:
Investigate Palm development systems and costs. Decided upon gcc as the most useful "bare bones" development environment, download all development tools from Palm OS®, start development testing (exceptionally steep learning curve!).
6 September 2000:
Purchase Palm m100 from Mustek Electronics for evaluation. Download two cricket scoring demos from the internet (unimpressed with quality and features). Decide to write a new scoring program with maximum functionality for personal use only.
July/August 2000:
Initial ideas formulated for computerised scoring. Author investigates PC software available on the internet, two very good systems found (BICS† and Willows†), download and evaluate. Tried scoring at Alberton High under 14 league matches (50 overs per side), using laptop running BICS, but severely frustrated after battery power runs out before completion of 25 overs. Next match, tried running the laptop off a car-battery, but poor readability of LCD screen in sunshine and lack of printing facilities make this approach unwieldy and frustrating. Decide to explore other avenues.
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This page was last updated on 18 December 2006 at 21:23 South
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