syc-task 0.0.7 → 0.1.15

data/README.rdoc

@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ The application can be installed with
     $ gem install syc-task
 
 == Usage
-syctask provides basic task organizer functions as create, update, list and complete a task. Additional functions are to plan tasks you want to accomplish today. If you are not sure in which sequence to conduct the task you can prioritize them with a pair wise comparisson. You can time tasks with start and stop and you can finally extract tasks from a minutes of meetings file. The schedule task will print a graphical timeline of the working day assigning the planned tasks to the timeline. Busy times are marked red. Meetings are listed with associated tasks that are assigned to the meetings.
+syctask provides basic task organizer functions as create, update, list and complete a task. Additional functions are to plan tasks you want to accomplish today. If you are not sure in which sequence to conduct the task you can prioritize them with a pair wise comparisson. You can time tasks with start and stop and you can finally extract tasks from a minutes of meetings file. The schedule task 
+command will print a graphical timeline of the working day assigning the planned tasks to the timeline. Busy times are marked red. Meetings are listed with associated tasks that are assigned to the meetings. With the statistics command you can print statistical evaluation of tasks duration and count.
 
 ===Create tasks with new
 Create a new task in the default task directory ~/.tasks
@@ -47,7 +48,8 @@ Invoke plan with a filter
 Move tasks to another days plan
     $ syctask plan today --move tomorrow --id 3,5
 
-This will move the tasks with ID 3 and 5 from the today's plan to the tomorrow's plan
+This will move the tasks with ID 3 and 5 from the today's plan to the tomorrow's plan. The duration will be set to the remaining processing time but at least to
+30 minutes.
 
 ===Prioritize tasks
 Planned tasks can be prioritized in a pair wise comparisson. So each task is
@@ -88,11 +90,21 @@ The plan or schedule command will print the tasks in the specified order
     3:  9 - My second task
 
 If only a part of the tasks is provided the rest of the tasks is appended to
-the end of the task plan.
+the end of the task plan. If you specify a position flag the prioritized tasks are added at the provided position.
+    $ syctask plan -o 7,9 -p 2
+    Tasks
+    -----
+    0:  3 - My first task
+    1: 10 - My fourth task
+    2:  7 - My third task
+    3:  9 - My second task
 
 ===Create schedule
 The schedule command will print a graphical schedule with assigning the tasks
-added with plan.
+selected with plan. When schedule command is invoked the planned tasks are 
+added at or after the current time within the time schedule. Tasks that are done
+and scheduled in the future are not shown. Tasks done and in the past are shown
+with the actual processing time.
 
 Create a schedule with working time from 8a.m. to 6p.m. and meetings between
 9a.m. and 9.30a.m. and 1p.m. and 2.45p.m.
@@ -135,6 +147,24 @@ will print
     -----
     0: 1 - My first task
 
+A task that is re-scheduled with
+    $ syctask update 1 -f tomorrow
+
+will be shown as done (green) in the schedule and instead of separator - it
+shows ~.
+    
+    Tasks
+    ----
+    0: 1 ~ My first task
+
+A started task will be indicated by *
+    
+    $ syctask start 1
+    $ syctask sche
+    Tasks
+    -----
+    0: 1 * My first task
+
 ===List tasks
 List tasks that are not marked as done in short form
     $ syctask list
@@ -145,6 +175,17 @@ List all tasks in long form
 Search tasks that match a pattern
     $ syctask list --id "<10" --follow_up ">2013-02-25" --title "My \w task"
 
+===Inspect tasks
+Lists each today's unplanned task and allows to edit, delete, mark as done or
+plan
+    $ syctask inspect
+    0016 Create command for inspection
+    (e)dit, (d)one, de(l)ete, (p)lan, (c)omplete, (s)kip, (q)uit: 
+
+===Edit task
+Edit a task with ID 10 in vi
+    $ syctask edit 10
+
 ===Update tasks
 Except for title and id all values can be updated. Note and tags are not
 overridden rather supplemented with the update value.
@@ -164,6 +205,36 @@ Delete tasks with ID 8 and 12 from the planned tasks of today. The tasks are
 only removed from the planned tasks and not physically deleted.
     $ syctask delete --plan today --id 8,12
 
+===Settings
+The settings command allows to define default values for task directory and to create general purpose tasks that can be used for tracking and later statistical evaluation.
+
+Create general purpose tasks for phone and talk
+    $ syctask setting --general PHONE,TALK
+
+List all settings
+    $ syctask setting --list
+
+===Info
+Info searches for the location of a task and lists all task directories
+
+Search for task with id 102
+    $ syctask info --id 102
+
+List all task directories
+    $ syctask info --taskdir
+
+===Statistics
+Shows statistics for work and meeting times as well as for task processing
+
+Evaluate the complete log file
+    $ syctask statistics
+
+Evaluate work times, meetings and tasks between 2013-01-01 and 2013-04-14
+    $ syctask statistics 2013-01-01 2013-04-14
+
+Evaluate yesterday and today
+    $ syctask statistics yesterday today
+
 ===Task directory and project directory
 The global options --taskdir and --project determine where the command finds
 or creates the tasks. The default task directory is ~/.tasks, so if no task
@@ -182,6 +253,7 @@ In the table the relation of commands to --taskdir and --project are listed.
     delete        x          x     deletes the tasks in taskdir/project 
     done          x          x     marks tasks in taskdir/project as done
     help          -          -          
+    inspect       x          x     lists task to edit, done, delete, plan
     list          x          x     lists tasks in taskdir/project
     new           x          x     creates tasks in taskdir/project
     plan          x          x     retrieves tasks to plan from taskdir/projekt
@@ -189,22 +261,46 @@ In the table the relation of commands to --taskdir and --project are listed.
     scan          x          x     creates scanned tasks in taskdir/project
     schedule      -          -     schedules the planned tasks (see plan)
     start         -          -     starts task from planned tasks (see plan)
+    statistics    -          -     shows statistics of time and count
     stop          -          -     stops task from planned task
     update        x          x     updates task in taskdir/project   
 
 ===Files
 
+* ID
+id file contains the last issued id.
+
+* IDS
+ids file contains all issued ids.
+
 * Task files
 The tasks are named ID.task where ID is any Integer as 10.task. The files are
 saved as YAML files and can be edited directly.
 
 * Planned tasks files
-The planned tasks are save to YYYY-MM-DD_planned_tasks in the default task
-directory. Each task is saved with the tasks directory and the ID.
+The planned tasks are save to YYYY-MM-DD_planned_tasks in syctask's system
+directory. Each task is saved with the task's directory and the ID.
 
 * Schedule files
-The schedule is saved to YYYY-MM-DD_schedule in the default task directory. The
-files are saved as YAML files and can be changed manually.
+The schedule is saved to YYYY-MM-DD_time_schedule in the default task directory.The files are saved as YAML files and can be changed manually.
+
+* Log file
+Creating schedule and task processings is logged to tasks.log. For example when a task is started and stopped this is action is saved to tasks.log.
+
+* Tracked file
+A started task is saved to tracked_tasks. A semaphore file is created with
+ID.track when the task ID is started. When the task is stopped the semaphore
+file is deleted.
+
+* General purpose tasks
+With syctask setting -g PHONE so called general purpose tasks can be created.
+These tasks can be used for time tracking and later statistic evaluation to
+determine the amount of disturbences e.g. by phone. These tasks are saved to
+default_tasks. The general purpose tasks itself are also saved to the
+.syc/syctask directory as regular task files.
+
+* Default task dir
+The default task that is used e.g. with list is saved to default_tasks_dir. This can be set with the setting command.
 
 ==Working with syctask
 To work with syctask and get the most out of it there is to follow a certain
@@ -212,8 +308,8 @@ process.
 
 ===Creating a schedule
 ==== View tasks
-In the morning before I start to work I scan my tasks with syctask list to get
-an overview of my open tasks.
+In the morning before I start to work I scan my tasks with syctask list or 
+syctask inspect to get an overview of my open tasks.
     $ syctask list
     
 ==== Plan tasks
@@ -235,14 +331,20 @@ I assign the topics I want to discuss in the meetings to the meetings with
     syctask schedule -a "A:1,3,6;B:3,5"
     
 ==== Start a task
-To begin I start the first task in the schedule with syctask start 0 (where 0 is the sequence of the planned tasks, the ID is different e.g. 23)
-    $ syctask start 0
+To begin I start the first task in the schedule with syctask start -p ID (where ID is the ID of the planned (-p) tasks)
+    $ syctask start -p 10
 
 ==== End a task
 To end the task I invoke 
     $ syctask stop
 This will stop the last started task
 
+==== Re-schedule a task
+If I cannot finish a task than I update the task with a new follow-up date
+    $ syctask update 23 -f tomorrow
+
+The task will be shown in the today's schedule as done.
+
 ==== Complete a task
 When the task is done I call 
     $ syctask done 23
@@ -259,7 +361,7 @@ directory with the ID and save the files in this directory. If there is an
 existing directory I link to the file from the ID directory
 
 ==Supported platform
-syc-task has been tested with 1.9.3
+syc-task has been tested with 1.9.3. It also works in Windows using Cygwin.
 
 ==Add TAB-completion to syctask
 To activate bash's TAB-completion following lines have to be added to ~/.bashrc
@@ -308,9 +410,9 @@ To print to Dell-B1160w-Mono the following command can be used
 
     $ syctask schedule | lpr -P Dell-B1160w-Mono
 
-==Notes
+==Release Notes
 Version 0.0.1 
-new, update, list and done is implemented.
+Implementation of new, update, list and done commands.
 
 Version 0.0.4
 * delete: deleting tasks or remove tasks from a task plan
@@ -334,6 +436,48 @@ Version 0.0.6
 Version 0.0.7
 * updated rdoc
 
+Version 0.1.15
+* IDs are now unique independent of the task or project directory. After
+  upgrading from a version 0.0.7 or older the user asked whether to re-index
+  the tasks. It is adviced to tar the tasks before re-indexing with
+      $ tar cvfz tasks.tar.gz .tasks other_task_directories
+* start will now show a timer in the upper right corner of the screen when
+  started with the -t (--timer) flag.
+      $ syctask start 10 -t
+  In order to use the task timer ncurses has to be installed as the task timer
+  uses tput from the ncurses library.
+* The schedule has a heading with the schedule's date and the working time
+* Planned tasks are now added at or after the current time if they are not done
+  yet. Done tasks are shown in the past with the actual processing time. Tasks 
+  done before the start of the schedule are not shown in the schedule.
+* Meetings that are at the current time are indicated with a *. Active tasks
+  are indicated with a star, re-scheduled tasks are indicated with a ~.
+* Assigning tasks to meetings in a schedule is now done with the task ID
+* Statistics show statistics about work time, meeting times, general purpose
+  tasks and task processing. Total, min, max and average time and count is
+  listed. If you have used version 0.0.7 it is adviced to delete tasks.log that
+  lives in ~/.tasks before upgrading or in ~/.syc/syctask after upgrading.
+  Otherwise the statistic results seem odd. 
+* Meeting time in time line now shows correct duration
+* Info command searches for the location of a task and lists all task
+  task directories with the tasks contained.
+* Plan move command sets the duration to the remaining processing time but at
+  least to 15 minutes
+* With the setting command the default task directory can be set and general 
+  purpose tasks can be created. A general purpose task can be used for tracking 
+  to analyse how much time for phone calls is occupied.
+  setting -l list all general purpose tasks and the default task directory
+* Prio command now takes a position flag together with the order flag to 
+  determine where to insert the newly ordered tasks
+* All commands that take an ID as argument (done, edit, start, update) look up
+  the task file associated to the id in the ids file. If it is found the 
+  provided task directory is not considered for the task file. If the id is not 
+  contained in the ids file the task is looked up in the provided directory
+* Inspect command allows to list each today's unplanned task to edit, delete,
+  mark as done or plan
+* Update command now has a duration flag to set the task's duration
+
+==Tests
 The test files live in the folder test and start with test_.
 
 There is a rake file available to run all tests

data/bin/console_timer

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+
+require 'yaml'
+require 'rainbow'
+
+# ConsoleTimer prints a task and the lead time at the upper right corner of the
+# schreen. Invokation example:
+# * Create a semaphore like id.track
+# * Console time in a new ruby process
+#    semaphore = File.expand_path("~/.syc/syctask/#{id}.track"
+#    FileUtils.touch semaphore
+#    system "ruby lib/sycutil/console_timer.rb 60 10 semaphore"
+# This will start the ConsoleTimer with a lead time of 1 minute for task 10.
+# To stop the timer the semaphore has to be deleted
+#    FileUtils.rm semaphore
+class ConsoleTimer
+
+  # Create a new ConsoleTimer with the time to count down, the task's ID and a
+  # semaphore. The semaphore is a file named id.track where id is equal to the
+  # provided id. The semaphore is checked for existence. If the semaphore is
+  # deleted than ConsoleTimer is stopped.
+  def initialize(time, id, semaphore)
+    @time = time.to_i
+    @id = id
+    @start = Time.now
+    @semaphore = semaphore
+  end
+
+  # Starts the timer. The timer is run as long the semaphore is available
+  def start
+    track = true
+    while track
+      sleep 1
+      output
+      track = File.exists? @semaphore
+    end
+    exit 0
+  end
+
+  # Prints the id and the lead time of the currently tracked task. As long as
+  # the provided time is greater than 0 the time is printed in green, otherwise
+  # red
+  def output
+    color = :green
+    difference = @time - (Time.now - @start).round
+    if difference < 0
+      difference = difference.abs
+      color = :red
+    end
+    seconds = difference % 60
+    minutes = difference / 60 % 60
+    hours   = difference / 60 / 60 % 60 
+    count_down = sprintf("%d: %02d:%02d:%02d", @id, hours, minutes, seconds)
+    size = count_down.size
+    count_down = count_down.color(color)
+    command = "tput sc;"+
+              "tput cup 0 $(($(tput cols) - #{size}));"+
+              "echo #{count_down};tput rc"
+    system command
+  end
+
+end
+
+# Expects to receive parameters duration, id and semaphore
+if ARGV.size == 3
+  duration = ARGV.shift
+  id = ARGV.shift
+  semaphore = ARGV.shift
+  timer = ConsoleTimer.new(duration, id, semaphore)
+  timer.start
+else
+  exit -1
+end
+
+

data/bin/syctask

@@ -3,13 +3,17 @@ require 'gli'
 require 'syctask'
 include GLI::App
 include Syctime
+include Syctask
 
 program_desc 'A simple task manager'
 
 version Syctask::VERSION
 
+@settings = Syctask::Settings.new
+@general_purpose_tasks = '|' + @settings.read_tasks.keys.join('|')
+
 desc 'The directory where tasks are saved to'
-default_value File.expand_path('~/.tasks')
+default_value Syctask::WORK_DIR
 arg_name 'TASK_DIR'
 flag [:t,:taskdir]
 
@@ -17,6 +21,106 @@ desc 'Project name where tasks are saved'
 arg_name 'PROJECT'
 flag [:p, :project]
 
+desc 'Settings for syctask'
+command :settings do |c|
+
+  c.desc 'Define general purpose tasks to be used with the start command'
+  c.arg_name 'TASK'
+  c.flag [:g, :general], :must_match => /^\w+(?:,\w+)*/
+
+  c.desc 'Define the default task directory. System default is ~/.tasks'
+  c.arg_name 'DIR'
+  c.flag [:t, :taskdir]
+
+  c.desc 'List all settings'
+  c.switch [:l, :list]
+  
+  c.action do |global_options,options,args|
+    settings = Syctask::Settings.new
+    filter = [:general, :taskdir, :list]
+    options.keep_if {|key, value| filter.find_index(key)}
+    if options[:general]
+      settings.tasks(options[:general])
+    end
+
+    if options[:taskdir]
+      set_taskdir = true
+      puts options[:taskdir]
+      dir = File.expand_path(options[:taskdir]) unless options[:taskdir].empty?
+      if dir
+        unless File.exists? dir
+          puts sprintf("Directory %s doesn't exist!", dir).color(:red)
+          print sprintf("%s ", "Create it (Y/n)?").color(:red)
+          set_taskdir = gets.chomp == 'Y'
+          if set_taskdir
+            FileUtils.mkdir_p dir
+            puts sprintf("--> Created directory %s", File.expand_path(dir)).
+              color(:green)
+          end
+        end
+        if set_taskdir
+          File.write(Syctask::DEFAULT_TASKS_DIR, dir)
+          puts sprintf("--> Set %s as default task directory", dir).
+            color(:green)
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    if options[:list]
+      puts sprintf("Default task directory: #{global_options[:taskdir]}").
+        color(:green)
+      general_purpose_tasks = settings.read_tasks
+      puts sprintf("%d general purpose tasks", general_purpose_tasks.size).
+        color(:green)
+      general_purpose_tasks.each do |key, value|
+        puts sprintf(" + %s (%s)", key, value).color(:green)
+      end
+    end
+
+  end
+
+end
+
+desc 'Information about tasks and task directories'
+command :info do |c|
+
+  c.desc 'Directory where to start searching the task'
+  c.arg_name 'DIR'
+  c.flag [:d, :dir]
+
+  c.desc 'Find task with the given ID'
+  c.arg_name 'ID'
+  c.flag [:i, :id], :must_match => /^\d+/
+  
+  c.desc 'Show task directories'
+  c.switch [:t, :taskdir]
+
+  c.action do |global_options,options,args|
+    dir = options[:dir]
+    dir ||= "~"
+    dir = File.expand_path(dir)
+    help_now! "Directory #{dir} does not exists" unless File.exists? dir
+    id = options[:id]
+    if id
+      tasks = Syctask::get_files(dir, "#{id}.task")
+      tasks.each {|task| puts sprintf("%s", task).color(:green)} 
+      puts sprintf("--> No task with ID %s found", id).
+        color(:red) if tasks.empty?
+    end  
+    if options[:taskdir]
+      dirs = Syctask::get_task_dirs_and_count(dir)
+      task_count = 0
+      dirs.each do |key,value| 
+        puts "#{key} (#{value})"
+        task_count += value
+      end
+      puts sprintf("--> %d task directories with %d tasks found", 
+                   dirs.length, task_count).color(:green)
+    end
+  end
+
+end
+
 desc 'Create a new task'
 arg_name 'TASK_TITLE'
 command :new do |c|
@@ -27,11 +131,11 @@ command :new do |c|
 
   c.desc 'Follow-up date'
   c.arg_name 'FOLLOW-UP'
-  c.flag [:f, :follow_up], :must_match => /\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
+  c.flag [:f, :follow_up], :must_match => /today|tomorrow|\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
   
   c.desc 'Due date'
   c.arg_name 'DUE'
-  c.flag [:d, :due_date], :must_match => /\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
+  c.flag [:d, :due_date], :must_match => /today|tomorrow|\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
 
   c.desc 'Description of the task'
   c.arg_name 'DESCRIPTION'
@@ -46,6 +150,8 @@ command :new do |c|
   c.flag [:t, :tags], :must_match => /^\w+(?:,\w+)*/
 
   c.action do |global_options,options,args|
+    options[:follow_up] = extract_time(options[:f]) if options[:f]
+    options[:due_date]  = extract_time(options[:d]) if options[:d]
     filter = [:tags, :description, :prio, :due_date, :follow_up, 
               :note]
     options.keep_if {|key, value| filter.find_index(key)}
@@ -55,6 +161,7 @@ command :new do |c|
     end
     task_numbers = nil
     args.each do |title|
+      title.gsub!("\n","")
       task_number = @service.create(global_options[:t], options, title)
       add_task_to_plan @service.read(global_options[:t], task_number)
       if task_numbers.nil? 
@@ -178,33 +285,50 @@ command :list do |c|
   end
 end
 
-desc 'Show planned tasks'
-arg_name 'DATE'
-command :showplan do |c|
+desc 'Show statistics for time, count and optionally tags'
+arg_name '[FROM[ TO]]'
+command :statistics do |c|
 
-  c.desc 'Print complete task'
-  c.switch [:c, :complete]
+  c.desc 'Show statistics for tags'
+  c.switch [:t, :tags]
 
   c.action do |global_options,options,args|
-    case args[0]
-    when 'today'
-      date = Time.now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
-    when 'tomorrow'
-      date = (Time.now + (60 * 60 * 24)).strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
-    else
-      if args[0] and args[0].match(/\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/)
-        date = args[0] 
-      elsif args[0].nil?
-        date = Time.now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
+    from = extract_time(args[0],true) if args[0]
+    from ||= ""
+    to   = extract_time(args[1],true) if args[1]
+    to   = from unless to
+    stats = Syctask::Statistics.new
+    STDOUT.puts stats.report(Syctask::TASKS_LOG, from, to)
+    puts "tags not implemented yet" if options[:tags]
+  end
+
+end
+
+desc 'Edit task in editor'
+arg_name 'ID'
+command :edit do |c|
+
+  c.action do |global_options,options,args|
+    task = @service.read(global_options[:taskdir], args[0])
+    if task
+      task_file = "#{task.dir}/#{task.id}.task"
+      if File.exists? task_file
+        system "vi #{task_file}" if File.exists? task_file
+      else
+        puts sprintf("--> Task %s doesn't exist", task_file).color(:red)
       end
+    else
+      puts sprintf("--> Task with ID %s doesnt't exist", args[0]).color(:red)
     end
-    count = 0
-    @planner.get_tasks(date).each do |task|
-      task.print_pretty(options[:complete])
-      count += 1
-    end
-    STDOUT.puts sprintf("--> planned %d tasks for %s", count, date).
-                        color(:green)
+  end
+
+end
+
+desc 'Inspect tasks and edit, delete and mark as done'
+command :inspect do |c|
+
+  c.action do |global_options,options,args|
+    @planner.inspect_tasks(@service.find(global_options[:t], options, false))
   end
 
 end
@@ -223,7 +347,7 @@ command :plan do |c|
 
   c.desc 'Move planned task to another day'
   c.arg_name 'DATE'
-  c.flag [:m, :move], :must_match => /today|tomorrow|\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
+  c.flag [:m, :move],:must_match => /yesterday|today|tomorrow|\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
 
   c.desc 'Filter for ID'
   c.arg_name 'ID1,ID2,ID3|[<|=|>]ID'
@@ -376,13 +500,19 @@ command :prio do |c|
   c.arg_name 'ID1,ID2,ID3,...'
   c.flag [:o, :order], :must_match => /^\d+(?:,\d+)*/ 
 
+  c.desc 'Put task at specified position'
+  c.arg_name 'POS'
+  c.flag [:p, :position], :must_match => /first|FIRST|last|LAST|\d+/
+
   c.action do |global_options,options,args|
     time = extract_time(args[0])
     planner = Syctask::TaskPlanner.new
     if options[:order]
-      ordered, rest = planner.order_tasks(time, options[:order].split(","))
-      puts sprintf("--> put %d task%s into new order and %d appended to end", 
-                   ordered, "#{'s' if ordered > 1}", rest).color(:green)
+      options[:position] ||= 0
+      ordered, rest, pos = planner.order_tasks(time, options[:order].split(","),
+                                               options[:position])
+      puts sprintf("--> put %d task%s out of %s into new order at position %d", 
+                   ordered, "#{'s' if ordered > 1}", rest, pos).color(:green)
     else
       planner.prioritize_tasks(time)
     end
@@ -390,43 +520,52 @@ command :prio do |c|
 end
 
 desc 'Start tracking a task'
-arg_name 'TASK_NUMBER|PLAN|TALK|PHONE|EMAIL'
+arg_name "TASK_ID#{@general_purpose_tasks}"
 command :start do |c|
 
+  c.desc 'Show task timer'
+  c.switch [:t, :timer]
+
   c.desc 'List currently tracked task'
   c.switch [:l, :list] 
  
-  c.desc 'Number of planned task'
+  c.desc 'ID of planned task'
   c.switch [:p, :plan]
 
   c.action do |global_options,options,args|
+    if args.empty? and not options[:l] and not options[:p]
+      help_now! sprintf("%s", "no arguments and options given").color(:red)
+    end
     tracker = Syctask::TaskTracker.new
     if args[0]
       if options[:plan]
-        task = @planner.get_tasks[args[0].to_i] 
+        task = @planner.get_tasks(Time.now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d"),
+                                  {id: args[0]})[0]
       else
         task = @service.read(global_options[:taskdir], args[0])
       end
       help_now! sprintf("%s", 
                         "no task with id #{args[0]}").color(:red) unless task
-      started, stopped = tracker.start(task)
+      started, stopped = tracker.start(task, options[:timer])
+      if stopped
+        puts sprintf("--> stopped %s",
+                     "#{stopped.id} - #{stopped.title}").color(:yellow)
+        puts sprintf("    %s", "#{string_for_seconds(stopped.lead_time)}").
+          color(:yellow)
+      end
       if started
-        puts sprintf("--> tracking %s", 
+        puts sprintf("--> started %s", 
                      "#{task.id} - #{task.title}").color(:green)
       else
-        puts sprintf("--> allready tracking %s", 
+        puts sprintf("--> allready started %s", 
                      "#{task.id} - #{task.title}").color(:red)
       end
-      if stopped
-        puts sprintf("--> stopped %s",
-                     "#{stopped.id} - #{stopped.title}").color(:green)
-        puts sprintf("    %s", "#{string_for_seconds(stopped.lead_time)}").color(:green)
-      end
-    end
+     end
     if options[:list]
       task = tracker.tracked_task
       puts sprintf("%s", "--> no task tracked").color(:red) unless task
-      puts sprintf("%s", "--> #{task.id} - #{task.title}").color(:green) if task
+      puts sprintf("%s", "--> #{task.id} - #{task.title}").
+        color(:green) if task
     end
   end
 end
@@ -438,7 +577,8 @@ command :stop do |c|
     task = tracker.stop
     if task
       puts sprintf("--> stopped %s", "#{task.id} - #{task.title}").color(:green)
-      puts sprintf("    %4s", "#{string_for_seconds(task.lead_time)}").color(:green)
+      puts sprintf("    %4s", "#{string_for_seconds(task.lead_time)}").
+        color(:green)
      else
       puts sprintf("--> %s", "no task tracked").color(:red)
     end
@@ -446,7 +586,7 @@ command :stop do |c|
 end
 
 desc 'Update the task'
-arg_name 'TASK_NUMBER'
+arg_name 'ID'
 command :update do |c|
   c.desc 'Priority of the task, 1 highes priority'
   c.arg_name 'PRIO'
@@ -454,11 +594,15 @@ command :update do |c|
 
   c.desc 'Follow-up date'
   c.arg_name 'FOLLOW-UP'
-  c.flag [:f, :follow_up], :must_match => /\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
+  c.flag [:f, :follow_up], :must_match => /today|tomorrow|\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
   
   c.desc 'Due date'
   c.arg_name 'DUE'
-  c.flag [:d, :due_date], :must_match => /\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
+  c.flag [:d, :due_date], :must_match => /today|tomorrow|\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/
+
+  c.desc 'Duration'
+  c.arg_name 'DURATION'
+  c.flag :duration, :must_match => /\d+/
 
   c.desc 'Description of the task'
   c.arg_name 'DESCRIPTION'
@@ -473,8 +617,10 @@ command :update do |c|
   c.flag [:t, :tags], :must_match => /^\w+(?:,\w+)*/
 
   c.action do |global_options,options,args|
-    help_now! "TASK_NUMBER required" if args.empty?
-    filter = [:tags, :description, :prio, :due_date, :follow_up, 
+    help_now! "ID required" if args.empty?
+    options[:follow_up] = extract_time(options[:f]) if options[:f]
+    options[:due_date]  = extract_time(options[:d]) if options[:d]
+    filter = [:tags, :description, :prio, :due_date, :follow_up, :duration, 
               :note]
     options.keep_if {|key, value| filter.find_index(key) and value != nil}
 
@@ -482,15 +628,15 @@ command :update do |c|
 
     add_task_to_plan @service.read(global_options[:t], args[0]) if success
 
-    STDOUT.puts sprintf("--> sucessfully updated task with TASK_NUMBER %s ", 
+    STDOUT.puts sprintf("--> updated task %s ", 
                         args[0]).color(:green) if success
-    STDOUT.puts sprintf("--> could not update task with TASK_NUMBER %s ", 
+    STDOUT.puts sprintf("--> could not update task %s ", 
                         args[0]).color(:red) unless success
   end
 end
 
 desc 'Mark task as done'
-arg_name 'TASK_NUMBER'
+arg_name 'ID'
 command :done do |c|
   c.desc 'Print task after marked as done'
   c.switch [:p, :print]
@@ -503,12 +649,12 @@ command :done do |c|
 
   c.action do |global_options,options,args|
     help_now! sprintf("%s", 
-                      'TASK_NUMBER is required').color(:red) if args.empty?
+                      'ID is required').color(:red) if args.empty?
     task = @service.read(global_options[:t], args[0])
-    exit_now!("Task with TASK_NUMBER #{args[0]} does not exist") unless task
+    exit_now!("Task with ID #{args[0]} does not exist") unless task
     task.done(options[:note])
-    @service.save(global_options[:t], task)
-    STDOUT.puts sprintf("Marked task with TASK_NUMBER %d as done", args[0]).color(:green)
+    @service.save(task.dir, task)
+    STDOUT.puts sprintf("--> Marked task %d as done", args[0]).color(:green)
     task.print_pretty(options[:c]) if options[:p] 
   end
 end
@@ -520,15 +666,33 @@ pre do |global,command,options,args|
   # Use skips_pre before a command to skip this block
   # on that command only
 
+  proceed = true
+
+  Syctask::check_environment
+
   @service = Syctask::TaskService.new
   @planner = Syctask::TaskPlanner.new
 
-  dir = File.expand_path(global[:t])
-  dir += "/" + global[:p] if global[:p]
-  global[:taskdir] = global[:t] = dir.squeeze("/")
-  
+  if command.name == :start and not args[0].nil? and @settings.
+                                                      read_tasks[args[0].upcase]
+    global[:taskdir] = Syctask::SYC_DIR
+    args[0] = @settings.read_tasks[args[0].upcase].to_s
+  else
+    dir = File.expand_path(global[:t])
+    dir += "/" + global[:p] if global[:p]
+    global[:taskdir] = global[:t] = dir.squeeze("/")
+  end
  
-  true
+  if command.name == :new and not File.exists? global[:taskdir]
+    puts sprintf("Directory %s doesn't exist!", global[:taskdir]).color(:red)
+    print sprintf("%s", "Create it (Y/n)? ").color(:red)
+    proceed = STDIN.gets.chomp == 'Y'
+    if proceed
+      FileUtils.mkdir_p global[:taskdir]
+    end 
+  end
+
+  proceed
 end
 
 post do |global,command,options,args|
@@ -540,27 +704,41 @@ end
 on_error do |exception|
   # Error logic here
   # return false to skip default error handling
-  true
+  if exception.to_s == "exit" and exception.status == 0
+    false
+  else
+    true
+  end
 end
 
-# Extracts the time out of a time string. Accepts 'today', 'tomorrow' or a date
-# in the form 'YYYY-MM-DD'. Returns the date contained in the time_string
-def extract_time(time_string)
+# Extracts the time out of a time string. Accepts 'today', 'tomorrow',
+# 'yesterday' or a date in the form 'YYYY-MM-DD'. Returns the date contained in 
+# the time_string or if time = true in a Time object
+def extract_time(time_string,time=false)
   time_string = 'today' if time_string.nil?
   case time_string.downcase
   when 'today'
-    date = Time.now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
+    date = Time.now
+    date = date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d") unless time
   when 'tomorrow'
-    date = (Time.now + (60 * 60 * 24)).strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
+    date = Time.now + 60 * 60 * 24
+    date = date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d") unless time
+  when 'yesterday'
+    date = Time.now - (60 * 60 * 24)
+    date = date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d") unless time
   else
     if time_string.match(/\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2}/)
       date = time_string 
+      date = Time.xmlschema("#{time_string}T00:00:00") if time
     elsif nil
-      date = Time.now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
+      date = Time.now
+      date = date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d") unless time
     else
-      help_now! "Arguments may be 'today', 'tomorrow', YYYY-MM-DD or <RETURN>"
+      help_now! "Arguments may be 'yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow', YYYY-MM-DD"+
+                " or <RETURN>"
     end
   end
+  date
 end
 
 # Add task to task plan