No Limits: The Invisible Giant Update

Sometimes it's the most noticeable new features, which only require a few hours of development time.

And sometimes days of work go into an update that you initially see almost nothing of.

The version 0.136 of the caller's caddy It clearly belongs to the second category. It contains one of the biggest technical changes since the beginning of development – and eliminates a limitation that already existed in Callers Caddy 1.0 under Windows XP.

Why sequences were previously limited to 15 calls

When I was developing the database for the first Callers Caddy, I asked myself a very practical question:

How many calls can a singing call sequence consist of?

I counted and came up with a maximum of 15 calls. Therefore, I planned for exactly 15 fields for them in the database.

That was a sensible decision at the time. Storage space and large database queries weren't necessarily expensive, but they did cost money. Performance. Therefore, databases were designed to be as compact as possible.

Many other functions were later built upon this structure:

Saving and editing sequences
the import from different sources
searching for included calls
Filter by program and difficulty
Duplicate detection
the evaluation and presentation of the sequences

The limit of 15 calls was therefore not simply a number I could change somewhere. It was deeply embedded in the architecture of the caller caddy.

The requirements have changed.

Today, storage space and processor power hardly matter anymore. Modern computers can process amounts of data that we could only dream of in the Windows XP era.

Nevertheless, I continue to pay very close attention to performance. For major technical changes, I conduct before-and-after measurement series. I don't want to assume that a function is fast enough – I want to prove it. can prove.

At the same time, more and more callers are using the caller's caddy. This has also led to a growing demand for longer modules and sequences.

So I probably started that largest and at the same time most inconspicuous update in the development so far.

Programming isn't always the biggest part of the job.

Many users probably assume that the actual programming takes the longest when making such a change.

But most of the time that's not the case.

First, I had to find out where in the program the existing sequence structure was used. And there were a lot of them.

Then I needed a plan:

What should the new data structure look like?
How can existing databases remain readable?
Which import routes need to be adapted?
Which filters and evaluations are affected?
How do I measure performance before and after?
How do I prevent existing sequences from being damaged?

Only then did the actual implementation begin.

I now get help with programming from Claude Code. The AI is, in a way, my [unclear - possibly referring to a specific tool or program]. bricklayer. She can assemble building blocks and implement changes very quickly.

But I must the Architect To remain: I need to know what is to be created, what the consequences of a decision are, and whether the result is truly stable and meaningful.

The limit is gone.

The work is now complete:

Previously, a maximum of 15 calls per choreography sequence was possible. This limit no longer applies from version 0.136 onwards.

Longer modules and pattern sequences are now fully stored, displayed, searched, and processed.

The change also remains backwards compatible. Older versions of the Caddy caller can continue to work with the same database – even if they cannot yet fully utilize the additional calls.

The ultimate stress test: more than 10,000 sequences

How do you test whether the new structure is really fast enough?

By giving her a lot of work.

Previously, the delivery of the Caller Caddy included approximately 2,500 singing call sequences. The new installation of version 0.136 now includes well over 10,000 sequences.

And it's no longer just singing-call sequences. The library now contains numerous different sequence types, including:

Corner Progressions
Right-Hand Lady Sequences
Singing Breaks
Zero variants
Modules
longer pattern sequences
and many other forms of choreography

Despite the fourfold increase in data volume, search and analysis are demonstrably not slowed down..

On the contrary: the switchover allowed me to cut some outdated technical ties. As a result, certain processes now run significantly faster than before.

The import process has also been fundamentally optimized. Importing approximately 10,000 sequences now takes only a few seconds instead of about a minute.

Here's how to get the new sequences

The new sequences are already included in a fresh installation of the caller Caddy.

If you are already using Callers Caddy and only install the update, they will not be automatically written to your database.

This is intentional: The Callers-Caddy-Update.zip It will not overwrite your existing database. After all, you want to keep your own sequences, ratings, and settings.

The complete sequence library is therefore supplied as a separate import file.

You can find them in the program folder after the update under:

Sequence-Import/sequence-import-v0136.json

Here's how to import the sequences

Update the Caller's Caddy to Version 0.136 or higher.
Open in the menu Sequences → Import Sequences.
Select the file sequence-import-v0136.json out.
Set Override on Auto.
Choose at Type the attitude From File.
Choose at Difficulty also From File.
Activate Detect duplicates and skip them.
Start the import.

The import process takes only a few seconds. Existing sequences are detected and skipped, so no duplicates are created.

Afterwards, you will not only have access to many new sequences, but also numerous additional features. Sequence Types available.

Many sequences – but still finding the right one quickly

Of course, a large library is only an advantage if you can quickly find the right choreography in it.

Therefore, you can filter the new sequences as usual:

by included calls
by Sequence Type
according to difficulty level
after the desired dance program
after unwanted calls
after an upper or lower program limit

For example, you can specifically Show Plus sequences and hide purely mainstream sequences..

The internal "Contains" filter now uses an indexed lookup index. This ensures that searches remain fast even with more than 10,000 sequences.

The small, visible improvements

Although most of this update works invisibly in the background, version 0.136 also includes some visible improvements:

Editable dropdown fields now open with a click on the entire field – no longer just via the small arrow.
Typing to search within the fields remains possible.
In the theme win11 The previously barely visible dropdown arrow is now clearly recognizable.
Call Mapping has new search fields for call text, character, and source.
The call mapping opens immediately and displays feedback while loading.
Duplicate or inconsistent Sequence Type designations have been merged.
Incorrect pseudo-categories such as "Complete Dance Routine" have been corrected.
Call texts now remain easily readable even in dark theme mode.

Additionally, a bug in singing call sections has been fixed: headings such as „ALTERNATE OPENER – BREAK – CLOSER“ are now correctly recognized as additional blocks and are no longer confused with the actual opener, break and closer sections.

For affected songs, you need to perform the synchronization again.

An update that you'll barely see – but will feel everywhere.

Version 0.136 does not bring any spectacular new button that I could present in a screenshot.

Instead, it modernizes a structure that has existed since the first version of the caller Caddy. It removes the old limit of 15 calls, speeds up importing, improves the search function, and creates the foundation for significantly more extensive choreography libraries.

More than 10,000 sequences. No more limit on sequence length. And yet at least as fast as before.

I hope you celebrate this biggest and probably most inconspicuous update as much as I do.