NiceSchedule alpha 1 - Scheduler alternative
I wasn't satisfied with certain aspects of Scheduler, so yesterday I started writing my own schedule formatter.
Problems with Scheduler:
-Annoying to add classes; especially with all the "FSCC" classes, it's hard to find the right one.
-Doesn't print correctly, so schedule really only viewable online
-Looks a little too fruity for my taste
-I can't see the source code to modify it
So I started to write one that satisfies the following.
-Doesn't require me to add each individual course
-Makes printing easy and pretty
-Can be visually customized
-Is open-source
So far, only the first two have been implemented. (The fourth was left out because I haven't decided on a license yet.) Even so, it still outputs a nice, page-sized PNG that you can print easily. Here is an example of what the current version will give you.
Problems with this version:
-Not customizable (planning to fix)
-Not open source (planning to fix)
-Doesn't replace things like "BING" with things like "Bingham" (planned feature)
-Doesn't export PDF (odd bug with text, working it out)
-Doesn't grab your classes automagically from the Case site; requires you to paste your schedule from MyCase into a text file (which isn't very hard, but still. However, I have no plans to change it.)
Enjoy.
Comments
Posted by: Joe
Posted on: August 29, 2007 01:34 PM
I'd recommend color coding the schedule by course so it's easier to read. It'd be nice if the colors had different luminance, to facilitate printing in grayscale. Vector printing (presumably with PDF or something) would also be good, since the resulting image quality would be quite a bit higher.
If you're going to have it replace BING with Bingham, etc., perhaps have an option to toggle between the two. Some might prefer the former.
Automatic course filling would be great. Why no plans to implement it? Seems to me it'd greatly help to encourage people to use NiceSchedule, since they wouldn't have to do any work; just log in and print.
I assume this is a downloadable app rather than web-based? Web-based is generally rather more convenient.
Posted by: Stephen
Posted on: August 29, 2007 01:42 PM
Colors were in my plans, but I forgot to mention that.
Everything will be optional.
Automatic course filing would require me to put in much more time than I am now, and it's not worth it to me just yet.
Yes, downloadable, I have zero experience with web apps. If you want a web app, scheduler.case.edu is for you. It's just not for me.