grok, formerly called "xmbase-grok", before which it was called "grok", is a simple database manager and UI builder that can -
- keep phone and address lists (like a rolodex)
- store phone call logs
- keep todo lists
- manage any other database after simple GUI-driven customization
- customized data export and printing, HTML and plain text export built in
See the build section below if you just want to get started using grok.
More precisely, grok is a program for displaying and editing strings arranged in a grid of rows and columns. Each row is presented as a "card" consisting of multiple columns, or "fields", that allow data entry. The presentation of the data is programmable; a user interface builder that allows the user to arrange fields on a card graphically is part of grok. Grok also supports a simple language that allows sophisticated queries and data retrieval. Grok comes with the above examples and a few others as pre-built applications.
Grok is not a general-purpose database program. It was designed for small applications typical for desktop accessories. If you attempt to run your major airline reservation system or your space shuttle project with it, you are guaranteed to be disappointed.
The distribution contains sample applications and sample databases in the "demo" directory. If grok is started in a directory that contains databases, the contents of that directory are presented in grok in addition to the ones from ~/.grok. This is meant to allow experimenting with grok without having to copy files to one's home directory.
Send bug reports to https://github.com/darktjm/grok/issues. I will likely ignore bug reports from anonymous users, since it's impossible to reply to them, so you may need to create a github account before reporting. Don't forget to include the version number as printed by "grok -v". If you have new applications (forms) that would be of general interest, I'd appreciate to get a copy for inclusion in the next release. I will also review git pull requests, but I don't actually use git/github for source code control, and will likely lose some metadata if I merge them. You can also bug thomas@bitrot.de if you like, but he is not responsible for any changes that I made.
You can see the tags (releases) on the download page:
You can see my development in progress on my github page:
You may also wish to check out some of the other files included in this project, such as my notes on the QT port (QT-README.md), my current plans (TODO.md) and the high-level change list (HISTORY). You can also see the HTML documentation in the doc directory. The original README (now absorbed here) mentioned a PostScript/TeX manual, but that was not in the above-mentioned archive (I believe it was converted to HTML in 1.5; 1.4.3 still has the TeX sources).
Before starting, install C++ development tools (C++-11 minimum; tested with gcc and clang), cmake (tested with 3.13.1), Qt 5 (tested with 5.15.2; make sure to include the "private" headers, e.g. qtbase5-private-dev on Debian) and GNU Bison (tested with 3.2.2):
cmake . && make # if you want to install it now: sudo make install/strip # if you want to package it: make install/strip DESTDIR=/tmp/pkg_root
If you prefer, you can build from an alternate directory and/or compile in parallel:
mkdir build && cd build && cmake .. && make -j4
If you don't like the default installation locations, you can set set them most easily by replacing cmake with either ccmake or cmake-gui. In particular, CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX is a common variable to change, and you can change it on the cmake command line as well:
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr .
This application is a continuation of xmbase-grok, originally written by Thomas Driemeyer. That application used Motif instead of Qt. I made some changes to the latest version I found, released 23 May 2001:
ftp://ftp.fu-berlin.de/pub/unix/graphics/grok/xmbase_grok-1.5.tar.gz
The first checkin of this project is an exact copy of this archive. I initially made changes to address issues I noticed while using grok with my own database, and released those changes as "1.5.1":
https://github.com/darktjm/grok/archive/refs/tags/xmbase_grok-1.5.1.tar.gz
That corresponds to the git tag xmbase_grok-1.5.1, and is the last
version I released using Motif. It builds at least on Linux using
OpenMotif 2.3.8. It turned out that additional changes were made by
Thomas Driemeyer (up to version 1.5.4), but I have no intention of
merging these changes with the Motif version. Instead, I merged a few
small changes from that release into the Qt version. The only major
component in 1.5.4 but not yet in the Qt version is the partial
translation to German.
If you like the Motif look, Qt sort of supports it with a style
plugin. This used to come with Qt, but now it has been moved to its
own site, where it will
slowly rot away due to lack of maintenance. Once the plugin is
installed, you can invoke it with the Qt standard command-line
agrument -style=motif. Don't expect that style to make grok look
exactly like before, though. Not only did I make some fundamental
changes in how a few things worked, but Qt's Motif emulation is
imperfect at best. I also do all of my testing with the default
Linux/gtk-like style, so there may be issues specific to the Motif
plugin. If you find any, feel free to report them.
Grok is Copyrighted by Thomas Driemeyer, 1993-2001. License to copy, publish, and distribute is granted to everyone provided that three conditions are met:
- my name and email address, "Thomas Driemeyer thomas@bitrot.de" must remain in the distribution and any documentation that was not part of this distribution. In particular, my name and address must be shown in the About popup.
- if you redistribute a modified version, the fact that the version is modified must be stated in all places that my name is shown.
- this copyright notice must be included in your distribution.
If these conditions are met, you can do whatever you like. The idea is that I would be pissed if someone else claimed he wrote the thing, and I don't want bugs introduced by others attributed to me. Make as much money with it as you can. Drop me a line, I am curious.
If you put plan on a CD, send me a free copy if your company policy allows it and you want to. (Not obligatory, I just collect trophies.)
There are no implied or expressed warranties for grok. I do not claim it is good for anything whatsoever, and if you lose your precious data or your cat dies this is entirely your problem.
Additional changes were made by Thomas J. Moore. All changes by that author, as represented by the SCM changes at https://github.com/darktjm/grok/ are granted to the public domain.
I got sick a few weeks ago and abandoned all activity for a while. Now I can't motivate myself to work on this project at all any more. If you care, fork this and make it your own. If not, well, I don't care, either.
While I still lack enthusiasm, I guess getting even sicker a short while ago (including heart stoppage and amputation) has prompted me to resume work on grok, so I can get something out the door before I die. Being even sicker does mean slower work, though.