The latest beta release of DesiGen is now released, to fix some layout issues and connection explanations based on user feedback after the application was first rolled out. User feedback is most welcome.
Details on how to install this version can be found on the installation page of the documentation.
New in this release:
Enhancement: More pleasing layout of the initial datastore connection page, and better explanations of the usage of the datastore connection on this page to reduce confusion.
Enhancement: Better explanations of the usage for datastore connections for the upgrades page.
Bugfix: avoid a crash if datastore upgrade step 11 is rerun after initialisation, as can happen if the permissions of the everyday connection are not modified correctly after datastore initialisation.
Known issues/limitations in this release:
Clicking on a link in the design menu causes unsaved changes made on the current page to be lost. This will be fixed when the application is upgraded to .NET 6; this will take place later in the year. The workaround is to click either the Next or Back button before navigating away from the design section.
The functionality on the risk assessment page is incomplete, in that the 'Add From Suggestions' button takes you to a page that appears to do nothing. This is because there are no suggestions yet. Watch this space.
The Word export feature is currently incomplete; neither references nor risks are exported. This will be resolved when the risk management part of the design has been completed, which is what I am currently working on.
There is no ability to create or edit your own templates yet; this is a high priority feature in the backlog.
There are a limited set of templates at the moment. We do not intend that we deliver all of the templates you will ever need; instead you will be able to create your own. However, there are a number of solution quickstarts that we do intend to add, such as a template for a Blazor WebAssembly solution.
The navigation between the design section and the rest of the application is incomplete, such as how you close designs. We are currently seeking feedback on how navigation should be enabled. For the moment, you should click on the application name at the top of the design menu to return to the main menu.
There is no ability to change settings at the moment. In the future it will be possible to modify behaviours, including default code generation behaviours such as how naming conventions are applied, but this currently remains on the backlog for prioritisation.
There is no functionality to assist with collaboration between team members, including design reviews. We will assess what extra work is required in this area as part of a future development phase. The workaround for the moment is to interact via other channels. If you wish to do offline collaboration, we suggest generating a Word document, which you could print and review by hand, or use the notation features in built into Word to enable collaboration upon it.
There is no status change functionality at this point in time; we are still deciding on what functionality is required as part of this feature. This will probably be tackled as part of the collaboration featureset.
There is no data management in place, such as the scheduled deletion or archiving of old designs.
Additional styling and UI tidy up is on the backlog for prioritisation.