ANNOUNCE: moodss-15.7
Jean-Luc Fontaine
--- version 15.7 ---
- new MySQL myerrorlog module for monitoring local or remote database
servers error logs, with more 350 possible messages classified by
importance level
- MySQL myhealth module could fail at startup when database server
connection failed
- MySQL modules successfully tested on Windows ME and 2000 (except
myerrorlog not yet ready for Windows)
- MySQL modules threaded implementation successfully tested with ODBC
but disabled for now mysqltcl implementation can be declared thread
safe
- when discovering modules from File/Modules/Load menu, display
scanned module so that user does not think that the application is
hung
- in File/Modules/Load dialog box, display * characters when typing in
module options that end with "password"
- in File/Modules Load and Manage dialog boxes, made it clear that
module documentation is available by clicking on Help button after
module selection
- minor fixes so that moodss and its MySQL modules work on all windows
platforms
- added a zip distribution file for moodss for windows
- in thresholds dialog box, prevent parasitic dragging between table
rows
- fixed potential bug when opening a configuration file with a viewer
containing a cell belonging to a module unloaded prior to saving
configuration in file
- when saving in a configuration file, trim all trailing empty lines
from free text viewers contents
- depending on your Tcl and tcllib installation, smtp package
availability used for thresholds emails was not always detected
properly
- in moomps daemon, removed -q (--quiet) option (moomps is now quiet
as opposed to verbose by default), added --debug (as in moodss) option
- in moomps daemon, do a better job at detecting bad arguments and
problems in installation
- in arp module, added some hardware types based on Linux kernel
2.4.17 data
- freetext viewers with data cells originating from different modules
were sometimes restored from save file with cells in incorrect order
- in trace module, use internationally readable date and time formats
- improved the timing of the update messages at the bottom of the main
window so that the user can clearly see which module is having a
lengthy update
### README ###
This is moodss (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic SpreadSheet) version
15.7.
Moodss won in the Best System Admin Technology category (Tcl Tips and
Tricks, Valuable Real World Programming Examples) at the O'Reilly
Tcl/Tk 1999 Conference.
Linux Magazine calls it a "lifesaver".
Tucows gives it 5 stars (cows or penguins :-).
Moodss is a modular application. It displays data described and
updated in one or more modules, which can be specified in the command
line or dynamically loaded or unloaded while the application is
running. Data is originally displayed in tables. Graphical views
(graph, bar, 3D pie charts, ...), summary tables (with current,
average, minimum and maximum values) and free text viewers can be
created from any number of table cells, originating from any of the
displayed viewers. Thresholds can be set on any number of cells.
Moomps (shipped with moodss) is a monitoring daemon which works using
configuration files created by moodss. Thresholds, when crossed,
create messages in the system log, and eventually trigger the sending
of email alert messages.
Specific modules can easily be developed in the Tcl, Perl and Python
scripting languages or in C.
A thorough and intuitive drag'n'drop scheme is used for most viewer
editing tasks: creation, modification, type mutation, destruction,
... and thresholds creation. Table rows can be sorted in increasing or
decreasing order by clicking on column titles. The current
configuration (modules, tables and viewers geometry, ...) can be saved
in a file at any time, and later reused through a command line switch,
thus achieving a dashboard functionality.
The module code is the link between the moodss core and the data to be
displayed. All the specific code is kept in the module package. Since
module data access is entirely customizable (through C code, Tcl,
Perl, Python, HTTP, ...) and since several modules can be loaded at
once, applications for moodss become limitless.
For example, thoroughly monitor a dynamic web server on a single
dashboard with graphs, using the Apache, MySQL, ODBC, cpustats,
memstats, ... modules. If you have replicated servers, dynamically add
them to your view, even load the snmp module on the fly and let your
imagination take over...
Along with a core trace module, arp, cpustats, diskstats, interrupts,
kernmods, memstats, minimal, mounts, netdev, pci, ps, random, route,
sensors, system modules for Linux, MySQL (myerrorlog, myhealth,
myprocs, myquery, mystatus, myvars), odbcquery, ping, snmp, snmptrap
for UNIX, apache and apachex, Minimal and Random Perl modules, minipy
and randpy Python modules are included. Running "wish moodss ps
cpustats memstats" mimics the "top" application with a graphic edge
and remote monitoring capability.
Thorough help is provided through menus, widget tips, a message area,
a module help window and a global help window with a complete HTML
documentation.
Moodss is multi-langual thanks to Tcl internationalization
capabilities. So far only English and partially French are
supported. Help with other languages will be very warmly welcomed.
Development of moodss is continuing and as more features are added in
future versions, backward module code compatibility will be maintained.
I cannot thank the authors of the tkTable, BLT, MIME/SMTP and the HTML
libraries enough for their great work.
In order to run moodss, you need to install the following packages
(unless you can use the rpm utility, see below):
Tcl/Tk 8.3.1 or above, at (or at a mirror near you)
http://dev.scriptics.com/ or ftp://ftp.scriptics.com/
the latest tkTable widget library at:
http://tktable.sourceforge.net/
the latest BLT library at:
ftp://tcltk.sourceforge.net/pub/tcltk/blt/
eventually the latest tclperl library for writing modules in Perl, or
the latest tclpython library for writing modules in Python at:
http://jfontain.free.fr/
(see the INSTALL file for complete instructions, for UNIX and also
Windows platforms).
You also have the option of using the moodss rpm file (also in my
homepage), if you are using a Redhat Linux system (6.0 or above).
You can find the required tcl, tk, tktable, blt, tcpperl and other
rpms at: http://jfontain.free.fr/
Whether you like it (or hate it), please let me know. I would like to
hear about bugs and improvements you would like to see. I will correct
the bugs quickly, especially if you send me a test script (module code
with a data trace would be best).
###
you may find it now at my homepage:
http://jfontain.free.fr/moodss-15.7.tar.bz2
http://jfontain.free.fr/moodss-15.7.zip
http://jfontain.free.fr/moodss-15.7-1.i386.rpm
http://jfontain.free.fr/moomps-1.3-1.i386.rpm
http://jfontain.free.fr/moodss-15.7-1.spec
Enjoy and please let me know what you think.
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