You could also make it an online Web application written using
XML/XSLT with a lightweight database on the back-end that stores data,
such as MySQL. You can use a Web app like Cocoon to be the servlet
that consumes the XML and transforms it into HTML. That way, it
doesn't matter what platform accesses it (Sun, Linux, PC, Mac, Amiga,
whatever), it'll work. All the end-use needs is a browser and an
Internet connection. You'd certainly have a unique site!

Developing your idea in Cocoon would be about 25% of the work
required compared to doing it in Java. I wouldn't suggest doing it
that way. All you need is a server to host it. I have install
instructions I wrote that can get you started. Cocoon and MySQL are
open source freeware. You can use Tomcat to host the site.

Personally, I'd love to see you start small and built. Like,
perhaps create a page that does all the calculations. Someone can
input some beginning data, like SG, TA, pH, etc. Then add to the page
based on feedback from people here. You can have a button that
toggles between metric and other units. It's a lot easier to do
calculations in XSL/XSP than in Java. Once you're comfortable with
that platform, you could create a page like this in about a day.

However you end-up deciding to to this, I'm curious to see what
you produce! I think you have some superb ideas!

-Paul

hammerstein > wrote in message >. ..
> Considered doing this myself actually. I personally was thinking of
> creating a program that allowed you to deal with the process on a
> project basis, allowing you to enter the ingredients, and set up a
> timetable for fermenting and racking. The program could then have a
> global diary, letting you know what you need to get done in a certain
> week or on a certain day......i.e.
>
> Sat 14th Feb - Rack banana to secondary
> Rack tomato and basil (2nd Rack)
> Bottle Shiraz
> Buy wife flowers!!!
>
> Allow for a simple journaling feature, and then when it comes time to
> make the same wine again, you can fire up the old project and start it
> over. This time, however, all your useful comments and tid-bits will
> be there, so you can tweak a recipe over many iterations.
>
> Nice to have a few utility functions too. For instance, It'd be nice
> to have something to calculate the likes of:
>
> If I have 600ml of strawberry juice from a couple of cans of
> fresh strawberrys that has a PA of 22%, how much water and sugar do I
> need to add to make a galon of 13% wine. Obviously it can't be too
> accurate, as the strawberrys themselves could vary greatly in sugar
> content, but it could be as accurate as necessary for my purpose.
>
> The comment about not eveyone owning a windows PC is also worth
> bearing in mind, which would lead me to suggest that you either use a
> cross-platform language like Java, or you use a cross-platform library
> like wxWindows....I'd personally use the latter. Are you required to
> use a specific language for your course?
>
> j.