Subsurface (software)

Overview

Subsurface allows a scuba diver or free diver to keep track of their dive data. It allows to read out many different dive computers and represent this data both graphically (depth profile, gas usage) as well as tabularly. Pictures taken during the dive can be added to the log and the location of the dive site is displayed on a map. Decompression information based on the Bühlmann model or the VPM-B model as well as gas usage information can be displayed. The program also includes an interactive dive planner. The logbook can be exported in many file formats and to a Git-based cloud storage. There is a version running on mobile devices that can mainly display the log book while downloading dives from dive computers is currently not supported.

Until version 3.9.2, Subsurface used GTK+ for its graphical user interface and with version 4.0, Subsurface switched to Qt 4. At the LCA2014, Torvalds and Hohndel explained why they choose to re-write the GUI using Qt.

Subsurface further depends on GConf, SQLite, ATK and makes use of OpenStreetMap and/or OpenSeaMap.

Subsurface officially runs on Linux, OS X and Microsoft Windows. It is written using the POSIX API and not the Linux API, so it should be portable to any POSIX-compliant operating system. The mobile version using Qt Quick runs on Android and iOS.

As Subsurface binary software deployment for Linux users for the various Linux distributions turned out to be problematic, the packaging was changed to a portable, self-contained, distro-agnostic AppImage in 2015.

Supported dive computers

As of release 4.2 in August 2014, Subsurface supports the downloading and processing of dive log data from the following dive computers: