shop inventory under Linux

I'm becoming increasingly aware of how many things one has to have in a shop and the level of picky detail that they involve. I like to believe
in my ability to keep track of it all and to basically know where everything is and where everything ought to be and what needs to be replaced and what everything is really costing and what suppliers I normally use to replace or replenish particular items and what schedules and procedures are in place for routine maintenance of the shop. Even so, I'm interested in knowing whether anyone on this group uses some kind of software to keep track of all of these details, particularly under Linux. I think it might be helpful in planning projects as well as in maintaining the shop (not that I have a shop yet).
--
Ignorantly,
Allan Adler < snipped-for-privacy@zurich.ai.mit.edu>
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Allan Adler wrote:

I have not used it for this purpose, but a spreadsheet immediately comes to mind. I tried all the spreadsheets included on a past Linux distribution, and decided they were all atrocious. After trying out a couple (the only ones that existed at the time for Linux) of low-cost packages, I went with NeXS, by Grey Trout software. (The other one was a Korean package, but I couldn't get any updates or response from the makers.) I had a problem with NeXS when I updated to a new X11, and the makers got a patch to me within 24 hours!
See     http://www.greytrout.com / for more info. Just a satisfied customer.
Jon
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I'd use a database (not that I have bothered to so far) - spreadsheet seems like a poor choice. The usual thing under Linux seems to be something SQL based (and free), but I've only dabbled a tiny bit with those myself. I've been working (at work, not in my shop) with FileMaker (Macs/Windows), but it becomes more and more expensive to keep, so it's worth looking at free options first. Nice features to have that would be good for shop use include pictures as part of a record, and relational capability (linking several databses - for instance, your parts to your suppliers).
--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by

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Ecnerwal wrote:

Yes, I may have underestimated what the OP wants to use this for. if he wants to keep track of stock levels of drill bits, taps and end mills, then a spread sheet is really not the thing. If he wanted to keep track of major machines and tooling, the spreadsheet makes a little more sense.
I think there are a number of data base back ends that are part of the base distro, and there must be some front ends with nice GUI packages, too.
Jon
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MySQL with a PHP front end may be a better choice than a spreadsheet.
--
Anthony

You can't 'idiot proof' anything....every time you try, they just make
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I downloaded MySQL and installed it on my system several months ago in connection with astronomy (I was using it to try to make some sense of the Sloane Digital Sky Survey http://www.sdss.org ). I considered using it for the purpose of shop inventory and management, but I wanted to get some perspective on what others might be using under Linux. I don't know what a PHP front end is or does.
--
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writes:

using
get
know
Allan, Sorry for not responding sooner, but I have been out of town. PHP is a programming language for, usually, internet applications/websites. It is specifically designed to integrate to MySQL very nicely. You would basically have a web application on your internal lan where you have a server running both MySQL and say, Apache the PHP front end (front end is an interface application - think GUI) would be the webpage/site, and could be accessed through any computer on your LAN with a browser. You could do security/login if you wish that information to be secure.
--
Anthony

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Thanks, Anthony. Coincidentally, at this moment I'm in the middle of trying to figure out how to create a small LAN for my Linux systems.
--
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It would be simple to create a basic inventory system from scratch using Zope.     http://zope.org / It would also be easy to maintain and extend it. Adding, for example, photos/videos/audio to an entry would be trivial.
I'm trying to set up a shop in my garage. First step is getting all of the other stuff moved to the attic. (Especially after getting a brake and floor drill press from HF yesterday.) I plan to catalog everything in Zope so I'm not hunting around in the attic whenever I need something. It'll be handy to have photos of the boxes of smaller stuff.
--kyler
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Thanks, I'll look into it.
--
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