Need Help with Open Source Genealogy Project

[Marshall Lake]

I could use some help with a new genealogy Open Source project called
MELGenKey. It's an ambitious project with several working functions, and
many proposed functions. Many/most of the working functions need
improvements. And all the proposed functions need ... well ... doing.

The project is very much in it's infancy though several functions are
workable.

The project is too big for me alone.

MELGenKey is written in JavaScript, HTML and CSS, and will run on Linux,
Windows or MacOS (not yet tested on MacOS).

See https://github.com/Snake69/MELGenKey

If interested, I recommend you read
https://github.com/Snake69/MELGenKey/blob/main/Notes/Notes2PossibleContributors.md
before deciding whether or not to contribute.

You can download and run the project (a test DB is included). See the
section "Installation Instructions" in
https://github.com/Snake69/MELGenKey?tab=readme-ov-file#readme

To get an idea of what needs doing in the project, see
https://github.com/Snake69/MELGenKey/blob/main/Notes/ToDo.txt


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Marshall Lake -- marsha...@gmail.com -- https://mlake.net

[paul...@gmail.com]

I should not have to follow a link to get a feel for what you're hoping to achieve and provide, but this did sum it up (after a fashion):

* Provide all functions useful to genealogists in one place.
* Ability to sync trees on host machine, any other host machines running MELGenSys and utilizing the same tree, and any public tree sites (e.g., WikiTree.com, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, etc)

So, firstly, how do "all functions" compare with what I can do in Family Tree Maker and Family Historian - my benchmarks for fairly comprehensive management capability.

Then, why should I want to sync with Ancestry, etc.?

Sorry to be brutal.

Paul

[Tom Morris]

I would be interested in a comparison to existing open source genealogy programs. What's different about this one in terms of functionality, implementation, philosophy, etc?

What made you decide to start from scratch rather than joining one of the existing projects? 

On Mon, Sep 29, 2025 at 6:25 AM pa...@dbnut.com <paul...@gmail.com> wrote:

So, firstly, how do "all functions" compare with what I can do in Family Tree Maker and Family Historian - my benchmarks for fairly comprehensive management capability.

One obvious and giant difference is that those programs are commercial products, not open source software.

Tom

[Andrew Hatchett]

There are several open source genealogy platforms designed for creating and managing family trees. Some of the most popular solutions include Gramps, which is a robust desktop tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux; webtrees, which is web-based and ideal for collaborative use; Ancestris, available on multiple platforms with strong editing and visualization features; HuMo-gen, a PHP/MySQL web application; GenealogyJ, a Java-based tool; LifeLines, with a text-based interface; and My Family Tree. These platforms provide essential genealogy features, including GEDCOM support, data privacy controls, and collaboration options. Gramps and webtrees are particularly notable for their active development and flexibility.

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[Thomas Wetmore]

I'm surprised anyone remembers LifeLines!! I wrote it in the late 80s early 90s when I only had access to UNIX.

I'm doing related work. If at all interested you can check on GitHub at TomWetmore/DeadEnds and TomWetmore/DeadEndsSwift. I'll be happy to correspond, but these are personal, post-retirement projects providing "end-of-life" recreation (I'm 76), not intended for "real things." DeadEnds is good old C.

The "innovation" of DeadEnds (over LifeLines) is eschewing databases. With today's tech very large Gedcom files can be read and validated into internal tables in milliseconds. Gedcom files are the only backing store required anymore. A couple other programs do this, likely none of the big ones. And wow does it simplify things.

DeadEndsSwift is a port to Swift using SwiftUI. It's a collaboration between ChatGPT and me because ChatGPT knows all about SwiftUI while I still struggle with it.

With all the software available I also question the need for another large collaborative project, though I am not against the idea. After all there is no reason for me to be doing what I am other than the fact that I love it so.

Best,

Tom Wetmore

[paul...@gmail.com]

An obvious difference is not an obvious advantage. That surely depends on what we as users are trying to achieve, how far our objectives are met by existing products, how responsive program authors are to user requests, our level of comfort with regard to commercial licensing, how much we can afford to pay, and probably many other factors that didn't come to mind in a few minutes' thought.

Most of us wouldn't think twice about buying a commercially made car - it has become the norm for comfort, safety and convenience. But home-built is not completely dead for those that need something very special or just get fun out of building.

As for open source software, there is a huge range of generally "small" utilities that many of us find indispensable (or nearly so) and these play an important part in honing development skills, show-casing new ideas, (etc).

It's also true, from my experience and IMHO, that many open source projects ultimately fail - for any number of reasons - as do commercial projects, of course.

Now as Andrew says, "There are several open source genealogy platforms designed for creating and managing family trees." We have to be careful, though, how to define "essential genealogy features". It's horses for courses.

As an example, attached is a screenshot of a customised (but otherwise standard) listing created from Family Historian (FH). For me, this is a vital tool to help navigate and manage large data sets of the sort encountered in One Name Studies.

Yes, no doubt similar results could be achieved by exporting a GEDCOM and using external tools for analysis. But FH makes that a doddle, not to mention so many other features helping me do what I want without too much pain.

Not everyone wants or needs FH, I'm not preaching, just pointing out we should be clear what it is we want to do and whether there are ready-made solutions to do it.

[Adrienne Waterman]

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From: root...@googlegroups.com <root...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of pa...@dbnut.com <paul...@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2025 3:37:39 PM
To: rootsdev <root...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [rootsdev] Re: Need Help with Open Source Genealogy Project

 

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[Marshall Lake]

> Tom Morris <tfmo...@gmail.com>: Sep 29 01:37PM -0400

>
> I would be interested in a comparison to existing open source genealogy
> programs. What's different about this one in terms of functionality,
> implementation, philosophy, etc?
> What made you decide to start from scratch rather than joining one of the
> existing projects?

I've never really used any genealogy software (Open Source or Commercial)
but I'm aware of them and know, for the most part, what they offer.

The main differences I envision for MELGenKey are the drop-in
module/function design allowing all genealogy-related tasks in one
software. Those tasks will encompass (in a general sense) data
management, Gedcom processing, networking, data syncing, creating Web
sites, data inspection, report processing, searches, analysis, problem
solving, DNA processing, miscellaneous functions. I think/hope there will
be many misc functions dropped in (e.g., photo clean-up/colorizing, deed
placement, translation, etc).

Tom Wetmore wrote in a separate message "there is no reason for me to be
doing what I am other than the fact that I love it so". I feel similarly.
There's not much else I can, or want to, do.

I'm not much of a "group joiner". I'm more of a strike-out-on-my-own kind
of guy. That was a large part of starting from scratch rather than
joining an existing project.

All my past projects have been solo. This is my first genealogy-related
project and I begrudgingly came to the conclusion that it needs to be a
colaborative project, largely because of my age (a Tom W.-like 76).