After a very long wait, I’m happy to release the first beta of IMmerge 1.0! This is the first public release with the new graphical user interface. If you have hesitated to use IMmerge in the past because of the command line, please give this one a try!

This beta includes the following new features (for a complete list, see the Readme file):

• New GUI and New engine
• Trillian XML <-> LOG conversion
• Nickname suggestions for those cryptic ICQ user IDs
• Updated display name detection, with support for Trillian logs

This beta removes the following features, due to not enough time to test:

• Command-line interface (CLI)

Most of the features above have been discussed in a previous post.

Don't recognize your friend's UIN? IMmerge makes it easy.

Please keep in mind this is a beta version, so I recommend you make a backup of any files before you replace them. It’s been tested quite a bit, but there will always be something that I didn’t catch. There are also some known issues — so if you are insistent about having perfect logs, then I suggest keeping a backup handy.

There is one major issue I know of where I would suggest waiting for a fixed version:

If you used versions of Trillian OLDER than 4.0 (including 0.74 — 3.1) in MORE THAN ONE timezone, and you run IMmerge on these logs, then you will get duplicates in your logs in the wrong timezone. Logs from Trillian 4.0 beta (later than build 90, 2008-11-21), Trillian 4.0 FINAL and later are unaffected.

This is due to a bug in older versions of Trillian, where timezone information is not logged. Note that only those sessions that differ from the Timezone setting in IMmerge will be duplicated (and only duplicated once). If you are OK with that, then go ahead, but do make a backup.

Finally, feel free to leave your feedback and suggestions here in the comments, in the forum or by email. Thanks go to all the people who have emailed me in the past; you have definitely helped solve a great deal of bugs!

-Albert

This week, I took a vacation for the first time in 6 months, and coincidentally this will also be my first blog post about IMmerge in 6 months. During some downtime on the plane, I decided to whip out my laptop and figure out what is needed to get IMmerge finished. There’s nothing quite like breaking your daily routine to get you kickstarted on some new (or old) projects!

Interesting stats:

Last sync to IMmerge source code repository: Sun Mar 21 16:30:26 CST 2010
Last IMmerge-related blog post: January 11, 2010

So here is the current status. IMmerge 1.0 uses a new merge engine, so much of the code had to be rewritten; I am satisfied that all old features in 0.66 are working in the new 1.0 engine. Next, I will release a public beta of IMmerge 1.0, which will include the GUI, and Trillian LOG-XML interconversion, but no other new features. Before I release this, the following issues must be fixed:

• TrLogReader: multiple blank lines are collapsed into one
• TrLogReader: fails to parse message timestamp containing seconds

The following feature needs to be implemented:

• TrLogReader: does not distinguish between incoming/outgoing messages yet

The first 2 issues can be fixed quickly, while the 3rd (feature) will take some time. Note that all the issues deal with TrLogReader parsing, which is only used when a session in Trillian .LOG needs to be converted into some other format (currently only XML possible)

Question: Would you rather wait until the incoming/outgoing feature is finished, or is it acceptable to skip it for the first beta?

Here is a summary of new features to expect in the next major version of IMmerge, 1.0.

Graphical User Interface

The most obvious change from the user’s perspective is the introduction of a GUI at last! No more having to move and rename your log folders, as you can now select folders with your mouse. This is written in Java Swing and will use native look-and-feel of your OS where available. (I suggest you keep Java up-to-date. Many GUI improvements were made in Java 6.) It is also threaded properly so that if the merge operation errors or hangs (*knocks on wood*), it won’t take down the entire program. A log of IMmerge’s actions will be available like before.

New Command-Line Interfaces

(more…)

Now for the real reason to start a blog… Here is a taste of things to come!

To answer some quick questions: It will still be in Java and hence still be cross-platform, but with native look-and-feel (pictured on Vista). Also, this is a working version, not a mock-up.

-zAlbee

IMmerge is a program that I wrote in my spare time — a small command-line utility for merging IM logs (mainly Trillian). This could have easily been a throw-away program to forget about (the source code for the currently released version is shamefully unmodular!), but over the years I have maintained, supported, and added features to it. Unfortunately, I had left the website in this simplistic state.

It is time to update the website, which has been decidedly Web 1.0 for too long now. I still believe that having static webpages is the best way to provide information to new users, and I will continue to support this. However, the user input available through blogs and forums is too valuable to continue missing out on. So here we go — a blog to provide news and updates on ongoing development, and hopefully gain some user insight.

w00t!

–Albert Choi (zAlbee)
Program Author