[deepamehta-users] Deepa Mehta

Jörg Richter jri at deepamehta.de
So Jan 15 03:28:04 CET 2012


Hi Asif,

thank you very much for the kind and encouraging words about DeepaMehta!
I'm happy to hear that DeepaMehta might be useful for you and that you're trying it out.

Yes, the usage is not fully intuitive and the users guide in the Wiki is outdated (applies to DeepaMehta 2). Unfortunately for the moment we have no up-to-date documentation for the current DeepaMehta 4.

Some info about the software status: the DM project exists for more than 10 years. Most of this time is covered by DM version 2 (which is now obsolete). This is where most of the available documents apply to. In 2009 we started a complete rewrite (DM version 3) with a new web-based interface (instead of Java) and in mid-2011 again the software architecture and data model underwent considerable changes, which led now to DM 4. Now we think with DM4 we are on the right track and things will become more settled in the near future. However, DM4 is quite young: the data model is not fully consolidated yet and -- as you've experienced -- there's no users guide yet.

Besides the software, currently we're working on a website relaunch and user documentation. First user documentation for DM4 is available only in german (so I don't even send you a link, unless you wish so :-)

For the meantime we'd love to help you out with your questions, preferred via the deepamehta-users mailing list or the trac ticket system (feel free to register at https://trac.deepamehta.de/). BTW: welcome to the mailing list!

To your questions:

> On my windows desktop, I am unable to create a meaningful topic-relationship diagram.

To create an association (a.k.a relationship) right-click a topic (on the canvas). Choose "Associate" from the context menu. Move the association to the target topic and click there. The association is now created.

> Aspects like logon etc has been removed from 4.6 - or maybe I didn't find it

DM4 has no user management yet (and no access control), and thus provides no login. User management and access control is the top development priority. This will be available (hopefully) in 2-3 months.

I hope DM can be useful for you. Today or tomorrow. I'm looking forward for your questions and possible collaboration.

Cheers,
Jörg


On Jan 13, 2012, at 20:53, Asif Mohammed wrote:

> Hi Jörg .
> 
> First of all I would like to congratulate you on the conceptualization and implementation of a very insightful software - DeepaMehta
> 
> Currently, I am a student. I have in my previous "incarnation" developed and managed the development of software, done research (business and technology) among various other activities.
> 
> I was quite intrigued with the concept of DeepaMehta - more so, since I was searching for software/tool which would allow me to manage information and knowledge. 
> 
> I would continue to try to use Deepa Mehta 4.6 and see if I can leverage the inherent capabilities for my purpose. However, I find that the online help/documentation can be further improved to make it more intuitive for the first-time user. For example, a first time user would typically start creating topics and relationships -- On my windows desktop, I am unable to create a meaningful topic-relationship diagram. Also the manual available and the wiki although very description, does not describe the features of the current version -- this makes navigating the ui a non-trivial task. Aspects like logon etc has been removed from 4.6 - or maybe I didn't find it -- this makes it quite complex and confusing for the user. If you do possess such a user-guideline document or one which describes the underlying concept / architecture of DeepaMehta, I would be very obliged if you can forward this to me.
> 
> Thanks and Kind Regards,
> Asif 




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