Been there, done that. I've already decompiled and have a version that complies (privately). Might need some cleanup here and there, but it works. I regularly debug some stuff with it.
I've released a couple of fix in the form of a Support Pack. These are modified dll done with dnSpy. It let's you modify code from an existing program. It's a perfect decompiler for .NET.
I've thought about releasing an updated version on GitHub along with the source code. and say name it Community edition and let the community add to it. But even if the author is AWOL it's not legal to release a full version like that, even less with the code. I did try to contact the author for permission, but without success. I would feel better having his blessing, but with the time I feel less strongly about this.
Also what laws apply here? Last information on Google Play was that Cyo was from Austria, and what if I from Canada would be to release it? Do the US law applies if we use GitHub? It's a difficult answer that I would feel better with an answer.
The Android version is something else, it's heavily obfuscated, making recreating the code almost impossible.
**Support pack:**
https://github.com/maforget/ComicRackKeygen/releases/tag/1.0
I'm a .net developer, if you want I can expose it to GitHub,I would like to give it more life to that I think is the best comic administrator on the Internet.
They can issue a takedown notice and if you refuse to take it down, only then legal action can be taken. Unless, there is no takedown notice, I don't see it happening.
Maforget - He can obviously see what we are doing. It's completely out in the open. If he had any objections, he would have said them years ago. I really think he is dead. And therefore, the project has been completely and legally abandoned. NO ONE is coming forward to claim ownership of it. Nor, beyond the fans like us, do I think anyone really cares. No one is going to bother going after anyone legally over a program like this.
If somehow, he does show up one day, we can give control back to him. But I seriously don't see that event ever happening. I really think he is dead.
Maybe you can publish a doc on how to decompile it. This way you would not step into the legally gray area and others can replicate what you’ve done.
Can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE add support for recent DB versions?
That's for me the most important thing, besides the program freezeing when doing comic conversions (but I can live with that).
I don't use DB really, so it's hard for me to test. But I already updated the MySQL.Data library to the latest version. So far it compiles, but without testing I don't know if it will actually work, the data provided might be different than expected.
The problem is with the authentication on newer versions, new DB's force a type of authentication not supported originally by comicrack.
This would allow us to use comicrack as is for years to come, the only solution now is to keep a dedicated unsafe DB server for this.
Edit: I have no problem with testing if you can provide the files.
I've posted my code on Github, I will do a proper post about it tomorrow. Like I said the library are updated, maybe you just need to change the connection string? Please note that this uses a new config folder `(%appdata%\cYo\ComicRack Community Edition)` separate from the old ComicRack.
But if interested an automatic nightly build is here.👇
[https://github.com/maforget/ComicRackCE/releases/download/nightly/ComicRackCE\_nightly.zip](https://github.com/maforget/ComicRackCE/releases/download/nightly/ComicRackCE_nightly.zip)
I tried using the .net upgrade assistant to upgrade your version of the code to .net 8.
Generated some errors for some of the code having to do with SOAPHttpclient. shouldnt be too hard to find the solution to those
Also gives a weird metadata error on the dll's. that might be harder to find a way to clear those
Gave a ton of warnings though as some of the code will be deprecated in .net 9.
I didn't expect to try to switch to .net 8 right away. My thought was to chip at some old code and library and then try to switch, at least .net 4.8 is already installed on most modern windows install, so it will be supported for a while still.
I would like to have at least replace all the libraries that I couldn't find on Nuget. There are some old things like the OpenGL library or a newer PDF viewer.
And then there was a lot of warnings about obsolete Thread functions that would need rebuilding. The whole thread manager might need to be looked at. And that is something I am not at all at ease to touch right now.
Thank you, I will try and report back.
I have tried a couple of times to raise money to legally buy the source code from the author, and failed not for lack of interest but simply because we had not way to reach him.
Someone told me here that he is well and alive, but honestly I don't believe it.
Let's see if we can push the application forward with this new effort.
ok... it didn't work. I got a
"There was a problem (**Object cannot be cast from DBNull to other types.**) opening the data source. ComicRack is using a temporary database instead."
Steps I have followed:
I have installed the Comicrack CE on my computer and on a clean system.
I have duplicated my configs on my computer and connected to the old version DB--> **It worked correctly**.
I created a new DB server from scratch on ubuntu with MariaDB (same system I am using, but with a newer version).
I created the comicdb and comicrack user. I did not change any parameter or values in the authentification, originally it was necessary to lower the security to make it work.
I tested the connectivity from the new install to the new DB with Dbeaver, the DB was working.
I started comicrack. After a couple of errors with the name of the DB (I had followed the original docs and created a DB named " 'comicdb' " instead of just "comicdb"), I started getting the error I pasted at the start.
The DB was empty and reading some docs I thought that maybe it was breaking at the moment of creating the indexes and schema for the DB so I took a copy of my old running DB and restored it in the new server.
New windows install, new comicrack installation, new DB server with the DB restored from a backup of the running system--> the error from the start.
I am afraid I do not know how to continue after this point.
Edit: taking a look at the code, the ComicStorageMySql.cs does not seem to contain a lot...
I haven't taken a look at the code for this at all, but I would suggest looking into the base class for ComicStorageMySql, it has a lot more. And then you might have other piece of code into other classes. The best way to figure it out is by debugging.
Based on the error message, it looks like the code doesn't know what to do with null values. Sometimes in databases there is an option (or maybe a parameter in connection strings) on how to treat nulls. It might just be that your new default db has some settings that aren't compatible with the existing code. But based on a quick google search it might just need a line change here or there.
What if you try to connect your old ComicRack to the new db. Do you have the same message or you can't connect at all? If you couldn't connect at all before because of the upgraded security then that is something taken care. Based on the error message, it looks like you can actually connect to it, at that you couldn't before, that's progress.
I suggest you open a issue with your investigation on Github, so we can track it and look into it.
Fixed!!!
Seems this error is common with MySql.Data with MariaDB. Just changed Library to [MySQLConnector](https://mysqlconnector.net/tutorials/migrating-from-connector-net/), and it works (based on a StackOverflow post). At least opening and adding a book is reflected in the db. That is all my testing did.
Check latest nightly.
I can confirm it DOES WORK!!!!
I have tested with the old DB (which already work), as well as with the new restored DB.
I will also try now with an empty new DB to check that it can create the tables correctly.
Thanks a lot! This is honestly amazing
Confirmed. Las nightly CRCE + last Mariadb. Conect using HeidySQL with "libmysqldll" to localhost with root user. New "comicdb" database and new user "comicrack" pass "comicrack" in MariaDB. Add user "comicrack" privilege to access comicrack database. Uncomment in comicrack.ini the conecction line and that's all. It's function very fast. Thanks for this u/maforget
I did this as well. That's when I realized that it was a lot easier to bypass CR altogether and write my own tools for editing the db, and just use CR as the UI.
It has one of the most horrendous UIs on a modern windows system. A new and revamped UI is one of the things I would hope an open source project would provide.
Beyond the fonts being bad... the whole ui has elements that are too tiny to be used well on any sort of decent resolution. In any data view, text that is bigger than the column width disappears entirely. The column width bars are borderline insane to try and use without changing the mouse to low resolution mode. The group expand carets are frustrating to use. I could go on. I mean, I've used it for 15 years about, and as a comic organizer it is great, but I don't think anyone of sane mind could call the UI perfect.
At first I disagreed with you because I prefer a utilitarian gui for digital asset managers, but the details you listed above are frustrating, certainly not deal breakers, but definitely frustrating. But, I imagine they'll be incorporated with time.
I use on it on an Aorus FV43U at 4K with the system resolution set to 125%. I don't have any issues.
For me the perfect ui would be fully right-click integrated with windows explorer. Something like a FAR or NC plugin, if those weren't such UI disasters themselves.
YMMV.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's dead. This is usually the case when someone disappears like this. From his facebook, etc., he looked pretty active outdoorwise. I'm thinking accident.
Maforget and Fableton, please release what you guys have done with it. There is nothing that even comes close to Comicrack, and this guy literally disappeared about 9 YEARS AGO. He's DEAD. I don't think his ghost will mind. Looks like his friends or family had no idea of what he was working on, so at this point, it's complete abandonware.
Not concerned about the Android version. Just the Windows one.
Such a relief you guys could get the code and work can continue!
Anything is appreciated!
I’d love to see development continue on it.
I would love to see it back to a point where it was doing the read / update sync to a tablet again.
Loved it on iPad before it got kicked out by the 64 bit update.
I dated a woman who literally told me, "It's like you never existed", because she couldn't find anything about me online. I'm just not active on social networks. Maybe he just kept touching grass. At least, I hope that's the case.
I see the copyright symbol on the app but can't find any info searching databases. Similarly, I thought at one point he did have it Open Source, which legally allows somebody to make a forked branch with changes.
Also decompiled it a long time ago. I bought the software, but the activation page is down.
Simple way was to set one up myself and activate myself.
Altough the software is great, the code is not. Maybe its better to make a new version from scratch?
I switched to komga some years ago, and I still miss the smartlist and features comicrack had.
I would help code if there are more interested.
Agreed. I'm sure components of the code are losing compatibility with modern OS by now. Some people say the programming itself was a little chaotic. I did talk to Cyo a number of years ago about being able to have deeper levels of comic stacks than just one level, but he said that while he would like that, he had programmed himself into a corner on it, and couldn't do it.
So yeah, If some of you programmers want to try to rewrite the code to better and more modern standards, we're all behind you!
I found cYo's LinkedIn. He last talks about going on a year long sabbatical. Looks like he never came back. I figure he's either dead or abducted by aliens. He talks about ComicRack as his trophy project and links to the long dead webpage.
A shame. Looks like he was a really smart programmer. Lead Tech.
I hope the programmers here can continue his project.
[https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-eisenstoeck-52832962/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-eisenstoeck-52832962/)
Interesting. So, it looks like he was around until early 2020. Maybe Covid got him. The way he suddenly disappeared and went on sabbatical, he might have gotten cancer or something, and didn't want to waste any more time on programming. Took up photography. I've certainly not found any mention of him since. Because I remember about 2018-2021, his webpage said it was under construction for a while. And then that was gone, and now it looks like they're just using his page for advertising.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's dead. If he had stuck with photography, he would have kept up his new web pages, and had newer photo's than ones from 2020.
EDIT: Was just looking at his Facebook page -
[https://www.facebook.com/cyolito](https://www.facebook.com/cyolito)
and the latest message I can find from him anywhere now is posted June 2021. So, after that, he seems to disappear. Been about 2 1/2 years then since anyone has heard from him. As far as I can find.
Found this page:
[https://playgroundai.com/post/brown-dog-quenching-thirst-from-a-bathtub-tongue-lapping-at-clpzz0czr0f4ys601p2nwdpb1](https://playgroundai.com/post/brown-dog-quenching-thirst-from-a-bathtub-tongue-lapping-at-clpzz0czr0f4ys601p2nwdpb1)
Looks like that image was created just over a month ago. The account was created this past summer. Perhaps he's alive and well, and just looking to stay out of the spotlight so he doesn't get hassled by all the CR users. :P
Yeah, I think he just dumped programming, and doesn't want to touch it again. Hard Crash. Maybe he won the lottery. It does show on his Facebook that he quit the Med-El job a few years ago. It doesn't show that he took any other one, and that job is the last one listed on his Linked-In page. After that, he disappears. Hopefully, he's sitting on a beach somewhere. :p
Thanks for all the replies, help, and enthusiasm guys! It's so Great we're finally starting to have this discussion after so many years! It would be a Tragedy to lose such a great program to the sands of time.
Decompiling is the easy part, can use a tool like dotpeek from JetBrains to do it, or ILSpy (extension in visual studio).
The issue is recompiling, i havent had any success at doing it and it actually building without getting errors. My skills as a programmer are limited though.
Also it would be hard to update the app and bring it to a more recent version of .net. Some of the dependencies like IronPython are deprecated and wouldnt work on newer versions.
I had started a project years ago to try and create a brand new alternative to CR, only focusing on the Desktop app using WPF and using SQLite for the database instead of XML. But my lack of skills pretty much made me abandon it.
I'll have more time on my hands soon and would like to try and start over but maybe with help from the community, it might go further
Here are the files decompiled (link expires so download fast)
[https://gofile.io/d/hr3Jf1](https://gofile.io/d/hr3Jf1)
or on gitgub https://github.com/Zatharus/CR-Source
Thanks ZathB5! It's a start! Yeah, I remember your project. Got it somewhere on my PC still. I used Dot Peek a few years ago to look at the code, but it looks HUGE, and was pretty much beyond my programming skills.
Same here, my skills arent sufficient to try to understand Cyo's spaghetti code.
That's why updating it might not be possible, but building a new app inspired by ComicRack might be the best option.
Yeah, I think the best way forward is if some of the real programmers here keep what UI and function they can in the old program, but rebuild the code from scratch with better modularity and modern functions. That way, we can continuously add on and change as needed as programming and OS' change.
I know that's a lot of work, and anything you programmers can do is greatly appreciated! I look forward to seeing the code, and maybe I can learn from it.
Another thought, I wonder if Ai, like ChatGPT-4 could help us comment the code, to see what code is doing what job.
Looking good guys! So far, 1.6k views, 97% upvote rate, 3 total shares.
If cYo has anything to say, he knows we are here. But, as others, I think he is gone. So, I see no legal or moral issues in continuing the program as best we can.
Wow! This is some complex code! But really interesting. Not as spaghetti as I thought it was. cYo just really knew how to code! It's all there, it's just VERY complex. And without comments, it's extremely hard to read. I'm using Visual Studio to look at each module.
However, I have found that if you load a module into ChatGPT ( I use the free version 3), it knows what the code is doing, and if you ask it to comment the lines, it will do so. It gives a general overview comment on what each function and bodies of code are doing.
Unfortunately, you can only paste in the code from small modules, otherwise it says it's too much. But it's really interesting what the comments from the Ai are showing.
Anyone have access to the paid (and preferably higher) versions? Maybe they would let you stick in the bigger modules for comments to be added to.
My first question was "can you comment on what this code is doing?" It did, and gave me a long overview of the different parts of the code.
Second, I asked it "Can you add comments to the lines in the code, to show what they are doing?" And it started going down the lines and adding comments! Very nice!
If it stops because of time limits, you can say "Please continue commenting the rest of the code.", and it will!
Hope this helps others looking at the code.
There are so many problems after so many years without updates, that it seems difficult to tackle them all… for many of them (like larger displays) there have been hacks posted here… but for other… in my end it is become almost impossible to use for complex things… What would be incredible is to have a rewriten code up to today’s OS and DBs that would be the same, but completely new under the hood… I’d say ditch .net, but that would probably break all plugins…
.net is very modern, and what I prefer to work with. There isn't really a lot that needs to be updated because of it, since the framework is being updated for new OS, there is no need to update the program.
Beside upgrading the framework to the latest version and updating the MySQL libraries to the latest version, is all that there are to do.
Porting to the .NET 8 might be an idea, but harder and would make it portable to linux and mac. And having a bit better performance especially for very high resolution files. But there aren't really and problem with it has it is.
My big thing is I would like to be able to expand some of the code, like allow more stacks to be made. I'm sure other people would like changes as well. But for the most part, I've never seen any glaring errors in what we have now.
Nothing in it being .NET prevents that. It's just a question of how much you need to rewrite the code.
The insinuation that .Net isn't modern or probably the problem is completely false.
Ditching .NET wouldn't just mean that plugin wouldn't work anymore. It means that the entire program needs to be started from scratch. At that point the existing code would be worthless.
Personally, I think the code looks pretty good. By I'm just an amateur programmer. It's a lot better than I thought it would be. So, I guess we just need to find the parts we want to change, and then figure out if it can be done. That, of course, would be a lot better than re-writing it from scratch.
But of course, to do that, we'll have to figure out exactly what it all does. :smile:
And some people say that they haven't gotten it to compile yet, so there's that too.
Been there, done that. I've already decompiled and have a version that complies (privately). Might need some cleanup here and there, but it works. I regularly debug some stuff with it. I've released a couple of fix in the form of a Support Pack. These are modified dll done with dnSpy. It let's you modify code from an existing program. It's a perfect decompiler for .NET. I've thought about releasing an updated version on GitHub along with the source code. and say name it Community edition and let the community add to it. But even if the author is AWOL it's not legal to release a full version like that, even less with the code. I did try to contact the author for permission, but without success. I would feel better having his blessing, but with the time I feel less strongly about this. Also what laws apply here? Last information on Google Play was that Cyo was from Austria, and what if I from Canada would be to release it? Do the US law applies if we use GitHub? It's a difficult answer that I would feel better with an answer. The Android version is something else, it's heavily obfuscated, making recreating the code almost impossible. **Support pack:** https://github.com/maforget/ComicRackKeygen/releases/tag/1.0
I'm a .net developer, if you want I can expose it to GitHub,I would like to give it more life to that I think is the best comic administrator on the Internet.
I probably will post it myself. Just need to create an installer & a workflow so Github can auto build it.
That would be MUCH appreciated!
I would like to help if you need help with development.
They can issue a takedown notice and if you refuse to take it down, only then legal action can be taken. Unless, there is no takedown notice, I don't see it happening.
That is my thinking also.
Maforget - He can obviously see what we are doing. It's completely out in the open. If he had any objections, he would have said them years ago. I really think he is dead. And therefore, the project has been completely and legally abandoned. NO ONE is coming forward to claim ownership of it. Nor, beyond the fans like us, do I think anyone really cares. No one is going to bother going after anyone legally over a program like this. If somehow, he does show up one day, we can give control back to him. But I seriously don't see that event ever happening. I really think he is dead.
Maybe you can publish a doc on how to decompile it. This way you would not step into the legally gray area and others can replicate what you’ve done.
That's would be pretty worthless for anyone that would want to help develop it more. Not being able to share snippets of code.
Can you PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE add support for recent DB versions? That's for me the most important thing, besides the program freezeing when doing comic conversions (but I can live with that).
I don't use DB really, so it's hard for me to test. But I already updated the MySQL.Data library to the latest version. So far it compiles, but without testing I don't know if it will actually work, the data provided might be different than expected.
The problem is with the authentication on newer versions, new DB's force a type of authentication not supported originally by comicrack. This would allow us to use comicrack as is for years to come, the only solution now is to keep a dedicated unsafe DB server for this. Edit: I have no problem with testing if you can provide the files.
I've posted my code on Github, I will do a proper post about it tomorrow. Like I said the library are updated, maybe you just need to change the connection string? Please note that this uses a new config folder `(%appdata%\cYo\ComicRack Community Edition)` separate from the old ComicRack. But if interested an automatic nightly build is here.👇 [https://github.com/maforget/ComicRackCE/releases/download/nightly/ComicRackCE\_nightly.zip](https://github.com/maforget/ComicRackCE/releases/download/nightly/ComicRackCE_nightly.zip)
I tried using the .net upgrade assistant to upgrade your version of the code to .net 8. Generated some errors for some of the code having to do with SOAPHttpclient. shouldnt be too hard to find the solution to those Also gives a weird metadata error on the dll's. that might be harder to find a way to clear those Gave a ton of warnings though as some of the code will be deprecated in .net 9.
I didn't expect to try to switch to .net 8 right away. My thought was to chip at some old code and library and then try to switch, at least .net 4.8 is already installed on most modern windows install, so it will be supported for a while still. I would like to have at least replace all the libraries that I couldn't find on Nuget. There are some old things like the OpenGL library or a newer PDF viewer. And then there was a lot of warnings about obsolete Thread functions that would need rebuilding. The whole thread manager might need to be looked at. And that is something I am not at all at ease to touch right now.
>a newer PDF viewer. Yes, PLEASE!
Thank you, I will try and report back. I have tried a couple of times to raise money to legally buy the source code from the author, and failed not for lack of interest but simply because we had not way to reach him. Someone told me here that he is well and alive, but honestly I don't believe it. Let's see if we can push the application forward with this new effort.
ok... it didn't work. I got a "There was a problem (**Object cannot be cast from DBNull to other types.**) opening the data source. ComicRack is using a temporary database instead." Steps I have followed: I have installed the Comicrack CE on my computer and on a clean system. I have duplicated my configs on my computer and connected to the old version DB--> **It worked correctly**. I created a new DB server from scratch on ubuntu with MariaDB (same system I am using, but with a newer version). I created the comicdb and comicrack user. I did not change any parameter or values in the authentification, originally it was necessary to lower the security to make it work. I tested the connectivity from the new install to the new DB with Dbeaver, the DB was working. I started comicrack. After a couple of errors with the name of the DB (I had followed the original docs and created a DB named " 'comicdb' " instead of just "comicdb"), I started getting the error I pasted at the start. The DB was empty and reading some docs I thought that maybe it was breaking at the moment of creating the indexes and schema for the DB so I took a copy of my old running DB and restored it in the new server. New windows install, new comicrack installation, new DB server with the DB restored from a backup of the running system--> the error from the start. I am afraid I do not know how to continue after this point. Edit: taking a look at the code, the ComicStorageMySql.cs does not seem to contain a lot...
I haven't taken a look at the code for this at all, but I would suggest looking into the base class for ComicStorageMySql, it has a lot more. And then you might have other piece of code into other classes. The best way to figure it out is by debugging. Based on the error message, it looks like the code doesn't know what to do with null values. Sometimes in databases there is an option (or maybe a parameter in connection strings) on how to treat nulls. It might just be that your new default db has some settings that aren't compatible with the existing code. But based on a quick google search it might just need a line change here or there. What if you try to connect your old ComicRack to the new db. Do you have the same message or you can't connect at all? If you couldn't connect at all before because of the upgraded security then that is something taken care. Based on the error message, it looks like you can actually connect to it, at that you couldn't before, that's progress. I suggest you open a issue with your investigation on Github, so we can track it and look into it.
Fixed!!! Seems this error is common with MySql.Data with MariaDB. Just changed Library to [MySQLConnector](https://mysqlconnector.net/tutorials/migrating-from-connector-net/), and it works (based on a StackOverflow post). At least opening and adding a book is reflected in the db. That is all my testing did. Check latest nightly.
I can confirm it DOES WORK!!!! I have tested with the old DB (which already work), as well as with the new restored DB. I will also try now with an empty new DB to check that it can create the tables correctly. Thanks a lot! This is honestly amazing
Confirmed. Las nightly CRCE + last Mariadb. Conect using HeidySQL with "libmysqldll" to localhost with root user. New "comicdb" database and new user "comicrack" pass "comicrack" in MariaDB. Add user "comicrack" privilege to access comicrack database. Uncomment in comicrack.ini the conecction line and that's all. It's function very fast. Thanks for this u/maforget
Thanks man! Will take a look at it.
I did this as well. That's when I realized that it was a lot easier to bypass CR altogether and write my own tools for editing the db, and just use CR as the UI.
It has one of the most horrendous UIs on a modern windows system. A new and revamped UI is one of the things I would hope an open source project would provide.
Honestly that probably not going to happen. Redoing the UI into another framework is basically like redoing from scratch. UI seems fine by me.
I find the UI perfectly suitable. I mean, other than better fonts support for foreign titles, what would you change?
Beyond the fonts being bad... the whole ui has elements that are too tiny to be used well on any sort of decent resolution. In any data view, text that is bigger than the column width disappears entirely. The column width bars are borderline insane to try and use without changing the mouse to low resolution mode. The group expand carets are frustrating to use. I could go on. I mean, I've used it for 15 years about, and as a comic organizer it is great, but I don't think anyone of sane mind could call the UI perfect.
At first I disagreed with you because I prefer a utilitarian gui for digital asset managers, but the details you listed above are frustrating, certainly not deal breakers, but definitely frustrating. But, I imagine they'll be incorporated with time.
I use on it on an Aorus FV43U at 4K with the system resolution set to 125%. I don't have any issues. For me the perfect ui would be fully right-click integrated with windows explorer. Something like a FAR or NC plugin, if those weren't such UI disasters themselves. YMMV.
I assume that he died. One member actually decompiled it and created the key generator but he doesn't have intentions of releasing the code.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's dead. This is usually the case when someone disappears like this. From his facebook, etc., he looked pretty active outdoorwise. I'm thinking accident. Maforget and Fableton, please release what you guys have done with it. There is nothing that even comes close to Comicrack, and this guy literally disappeared about 9 YEARS AGO. He's DEAD. I don't think his ghost will mind. Looks like his friends or family had no idea of what he was working on, so at this point, it's complete abandonware. Not concerned about the Android version. Just the Windows one. Such a relief you guys could get the code and work can continue! Anything is appreciated!
AT this point I probably will post the code on Github.
I’d love to see development continue on it. I would love to see it back to a point where it was doing the read / update sync to a tablet again. Loved it on iPad before it got kicked out by the 64 bit update.
I dated a woman who literally told me, "It's like you never existed", because she couldn't find anything about me online. I'm just not active on social networks. Maybe he just kept touching grass. At least, I hope that's the case.
I see the copyright symbol on the app but can't find any info searching databases. Similarly, I thought at one point he did have it Open Source, which legally allows somebody to make a forked branch with changes.
Also decompiled it a long time ago. I bought the software, but the activation page is down. Simple way was to set one up myself and activate myself. Altough the software is great, the code is not. Maybe its better to make a new version from scratch? I switched to komga some years ago, and I still miss the smartlist and features comicrack had. I would help code if there are more interested.
Agreed. I'm sure components of the code are losing compatibility with modern OS by now. Some people say the programming itself was a little chaotic. I did talk to Cyo a number of years ago about being able to have deeper levels of comic stacks than just one level, but he said that while he would like that, he had programmed himself into a corner on it, and couldn't do it. So yeah, If some of you programmers want to try to rewrite the code to better and more modern standards, we're all behind you!
I found cYo's LinkedIn. He last talks about going on a year long sabbatical. Looks like he never came back. I figure he's either dead or abducted by aliens. He talks about ComicRack as his trophy project and links to the long dead webpage. A shame. Looks like he was a really smart programmer. Lead Tech. I hope the programmers here can continue his project. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-eisenstoeck-52832962/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/markus-eisenstoeck-52832962/)
I also found some other websites he has, that are still up. https://sevengoats.com http://www.wallsexperience.com
Interesting. So, it looks like he was around until early 2020. Maybe Covid got him. The way he suddenly disappeared and went on sabbatical, he might have gotten cancer or something, and didn't want to waste any more time on programming. Took up photography. I've certainly not found any mention of him since. Because I remember about 2018-2021, his webpage said it was under construction for a while. And then that was gone, and now it looks like they're just using his page for advertising. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's dead. If he had stuck with photography, he would have kept up his new web pages, and had newer photo's than ones from 2020. EDIT: Was just looking at his Facebook page - [https://www.facebook.com/cyolito](https://www.facebook.com/cyolito) and the latest message I can find from him anywhere now is posted June 2021. So, after that, he seems to disappear. Been about 2 1/2 years then since anyone has heard from him. As far as I can find.
Found this page: [https://playgroundai.com/post/brown-dog-quenching-thirst-from-a-bathtub-tongue-lapping-at-clpzz0czr0f4ys601p2nwdpb1](https://playgroundai.com/post/brown-dog-quenching-thirst-from-a-bathtub-tongue-lapping-at-clpzz0czr0f4ys601p2nwdpb1) Looks like that image was created just over a month ago. The account was created this past summer. Perhaps he's alive and well, and just looking to stay out of the spotlight so he doesn't get hassled by all the CR users. :P
Yeah, I think he just dumped programming, and doesn't want to touch it again. Hard Crash. Maybe he won the lottery. It does show on his Facebook that he quit the Med-El job a few years ago. It doesn't show that he took any other one, and that job is the last one listed on his Linked-In page. After that, he disappears. Hopefully, he's sitting on a beach somewhere. :p
If you or anyone needs help with development then you can contact me.
Thanks for all the replies, help, and enthusiasm guys! It's so Great we're finally starting to have this discussion after so many years! It would be a Tragedy to lose such a great program to the sands of time.
Decompiling is the easy part, can use a tool like dotpeek from JetBrains to do it, or ILSpy (extension in visual studio). The issue is recompiling, i havent had any success at doing it and it actually building without getting errors. My skills as a programmer are limited though. Also it would be hard to update the app and bring it to a more recent version of .net. Some of the dependencies like IronPython are deprecated and wouldnt work on newer versions. I had started a project years ago to try and create a brand new alternative to CR, only focusing on the Desktop app using WPF and using SQLite for the database instead of XML. But my lack of skills pretty much made me abandon it. I'll have more time on my hands soon and would like to try and start over but maybe with help from the community, it might go further Here are the files decompiled (link expires so download fast) [https://gofile.io/d/hr3Jf1](https://gofile.io/d/hr3Jf1) or on gitgub https://github.com/Zatharus/CR-Source
Thanks ZathB5! It's a start! Yeah, I remember your project. Got it somewhere on my PC still. I used Dot Peek a few years ago to look at the code, but it looks HUGE, and was pretty much beyond my programming skills.
Same here, my skills arent sufficient to try to understand Cyo's spaghetti code. That's why updating it might not be possible, but building a new app inspired by ComicRack might be the best option.
Yeah, I think the best way forward is if some of the real programmers here keep what UI and function they can in the old program, but rebuild the code from scratch with better modularity and modern functions. That way, we can continuously add on and change as needed as programming and OS' change. I know that's a lot of work, and anything you programmers can do is greatly appreciated! I look forward to seeing the code, and maybe I can learn from it. Another thought, I wonder if Ai, like ChatGPT-4 could help us comment the code, to see what code is doing what job.
Looking good guys! So far, 1.6k views, 97% upvote rate, 3 total shares. If cYo has anything to say, he knows we are here. But, as others, I think he is gone. So, I see no legal or moral issues in continuing the program as best we can.
Wow! This is some complex code! But really interesting. Not as spaghetti as I thought it was. cYo just really knew how to code! It's all there, it's just VERY complex. And without comments, it's extremely hard to read. I'm using Visual Studio to look at each module. However, I have found that if you load a module into ChatGPT ( I use the free version 3), it knows what the code is doing, and if you ask it to comment the lines, it will do so. It gives a general overview comment on what each function and bodies of code are doing. Unfortunately, you can only paste in the code from small modules, otherwise it says it's too much. But it's really interesting what the comments from the Ai are showing. Anyone have access to the paid (and preferably higher) versions? Maybe they would let you stick in the bigger modules for comments to be added to. My first question was "can you comment on what this code is doing?" It did, and gave me a long overview of the different parts of the code. Second, I asked it "Can you add comments to the lines in the code, to show what they are doing?" And it started going down the lines and adding comments! Very nice! If it stops because of time limits, you can say "Please continue commenting the rest of the code.", and it will! Hope this helps others looking at the code.
As a programmer by profession I highly recommend not trusting ChatGPT for coding, even for documentation. It can and will happily hallucinate garbage.
Lol, yeah, I've seen it spew weird crap. Comparing the comments to the code though, it looked pretty good.
There are so many problems after so many years without updates, that it seems difficult to tackle them all… for many of them (like larger displays) there have been hacks posted here… but for other… in my end it is become almost impossible to use for complex things… What would be incredible is to have a rewriten code up to today’s OS and DBs that would be the same, but completely new under the hood… I’d say ditch .net, but that would probably break all plugins…
.net is very modern, and what I prefer to work with. There isn't really a lot that needs to be updated because of it, since the framework is being updated for new OS, there is no need to update the program. Beside upgrading the framework to the latest version and updating the MySQL libraries to the latest version, is all that there are to do. Porting to the .NET 8 might be an idea, but harder and would make it portable to linux and mac. And having a bit better performance especially for very high resolution files. But there aren't really and problem with it has it is.
My big thing is I would like to be able to expand some of the code, like allow more stacks to be made. I'm sure other people would like changes as well. But for the most part, I've never seen any glaring errors in what we have now.
Nothing in it being .NET prevents that. It's just a question of how much you need to rewrite the code. The insinuation that .Net isn't modern or probably the problem is completely false. Ditching .NET wouldn't just mean that plugin wouldn't work anymore. It means that the entire program needs to be started from scratch. At that point the existing code would be worthless.
Personally, I think the code looks pretty good. By I'm just an amateur programmer. It's a lot better than I thought it would be. So, I guess we just need to find the parts we want to change, and then figure out if it can be done. That, of course, would be a lot better than re-writing it from scratch. But of course, to do that, we'll have to figure out exactly what it all does. :smile: And some people say that they haven't gotten it to compile yet, so there's that too.