Welcome

This site is dedicated to telling a little about some of the software I have created for others to use. Mostly, the things here are current but, of course, there were many things on the way that were learning experiences. Software is moving so fast now that new opportunities appear in every direction and much becomes history very quickly. The Internet has provided huge amounts of education and, sometimes, useful chunks of code that can be incorporated directly. I always try to acknowledge this.

Although this site may not be fancy I hope it gives clear information and is easy to navigate — that's the intention.

XY Family Tree

XY Family Tree is a fully featured family tree maker to record your ancestry. It allows unlimited numbers of spouses, children and associations. It takes a biological view of family structure and parentage. It has some unique features not found in other family tree programs. It's used worldwide and has a website where people can show their own family trees.

Motorway Traffic

Javascript is a great tool for websites. Here it's used for calculating how drivers keep their distance in a motorway situation. You can test various scenarios of traffic density and road conditions. You can simulate phantom traffic jams and real pile-ups. It works in your browser but best on a generous screen.

Calculators

Most calculators are one way only — enter your numbers, press equals and get a result. If you need to change the numbers you need to start again. But with these calculators it's different — you can edit the original numbers and try again. This might not matter for simple sums but these calculators work more like Excel and allow easy changes. Great for quick experiments.

A unique feature of these calculators is the ability to mix text and numbers. This is easy to see if you click on the link and look at the examples.

Because it can mix text and numbers it's great for sharing meal bills. Allocate item costs to each person and get individual bills.

Good Neighbours

Many communities operate schemes where volunteers take local people to places they would otherwise find difficult, like medical appointments but also a host of other simple helping hands. Because these schemes are usually small and local they are often set up with ad-hoc methods. GNTM makes this much more efficient as it's online and works securely everywhere in any browser.

Gambling

Gambling can destroy lives. For most people it's just an occasional frivolity but for some it's a serious problem. This demonstration using dice shows how easy it is to lose a fortune. Unless you have a good understanding of probabilities and a good understanding of how the betting business works you are doomed. Winning Dice shows you why.

The betting industry is not charitable and grows by drawing people in with tempting adverts. I have no objection to people enjoying an occasional risk but I have strong objection to anything that hooks people: any advertising that tempts with a free gift or any suggestion that betting is fair. It's an industry driven by money and without a conscience.

Minibus Passenger Bookings

Crowthorne Community Minibus is a charity that provides a much appreciated service in our village. It's a privilege to use my skills to help the operation run smoothly. Using a mixture of database, website and mobile technology it works very well.

Incorporated into the system is the use of What3Words and RouteXL to give our drivers an optimal pickup route.

Theatre Bookings

Windsor & Eton Opera is an amateur group that used to stage 2 shows per year, either in the Farrer Theatre in Eton or Norden Farm in Maidenhead. I was invited to improve their booking system which was then done in Excel.

Using a hybrid of MS Access and php it's possible to control bookings locally and also display them as a webpage. Print-at-home tickets contain a QR code to show exactly where booked seats are located. Scan the QR code on the ticket. There was also a link in the email with no scanning required.