DeadEnds is a C-based genealogical software project.
DeadEnds is a collection of libraries and command line programs that support genealogical operations.
DeadEnds is based on the UNIX-based LifeLines program, which I wrote in the early 1990s, before there were genealogical programs available for UNIX. Key features of LifeLines include:
- A B-Tree based database that stores genealogical records in Gedcom format.
- An ncurses-based user interface that provides a terminal-independent, simple windows-based interface.
- Capabilities to create, edit, merge and delete records of persons, families, sources and others. Linkages (to spouses, children, and sources) can be created, deleted and edited.
- LifeLines provides a programming subsystem that lets users write their own report generation programs.
As a followon system from LifeLines, DeadEnds has the following goals:
- Replace the LifeLines B-Tree database with an in-RAM system. When a DeadEnds based program starts up it reads a database from Gedcom files—these provide the backing store for DeadEnds. There are a number of Gedcom standards, one for syntax, and a variety for semantic variants. DeadEnds enforces only syntax standards.
- Embrace Unicode.
- Provide a clean API to genealogical operations to provide developers flexibility. I am imagining a SwiftUI interface.
The home directory of the DeadEnds repository is named, unsurprisingly, DeadEnds. It contains a number of files and sub-directories. The following sub-directories hold the C code libraries.
| Library | Description |
|---|---|
| Utils | Utility functions. Standard stuff. |
| DataTypes | Common data types, e.g. hash tables, lists, sets. Nothing specific to genealogy. Abstract data types useful in any context. |
| Database | In-RAM genealogical database. A database consists of record indexes and a name index. A record index maps record keys to Gedcom record roots. A name index maps name keys to lists of record keys. |
| Parser | The lexer and parser for the report programming language. The lexer is hand-crafted; the parser is yacc generated. |
| Interp | The interpreter for the report programming language. The parser builds abstract syntax trees whose nodes are PNodes (program nodes). The interpreter runs programs by interpreting these trees. |
| Gedcom | Gedcom library. Functions that deal with Gedcom and genealogical records constructed from trees of Gedcom nodes. |
Other subdirectories include:
| Directory | Description |
|---|---|
| Test | Test programs. Main programs that test the DeadEnds code base as it is developed. |
| Gedfiles | Gedcom files useful for testing. |
| Reports | Report programs useful for testing. |
| Docs | Documentation. |