PostgreSQL & Freecoins
John F Meinel Jr
gnucash@johnmeinel.com
Mon, 04 Nov 2002 20:16:38 -0600
It's more that the data is already split up into "tables" so that he
doesn't have to worry about the layout of the final storage. That is
what I meant by db-db.
The way the storage is working on the palm is that you have 3 (now 4
with one for currency.) "tables". I believe they are each considered to
be a "database" by palm, but I will call them "tables" as I think it is
more accurate in this sense.
One is a listing of accounts, one is a listing of transactions, and the
third is a listing of splits. A transaction just records the name of
the transaction, and the memo for it. The splits include pointers to
the accounts the money came from/went to and a pointer to the
transaction. Accounts is the name of all the accounts and their current
total value. [And the currency lists the conversion rate between a few
different currencies, this is a new feature so I'm not sure exactly how
it works.]
The "ease" to go to another db format, is that everything is already
split up and referencing eachother. So it is already similar to an RDB.
I'm not a true database person, I'm only trying to figure out
information for someone else. I'm more sold on the XML format...
Actually, I'm mostly sold on using gnucash as the "front-end". But
that would restrict people to Linux, and freecoins is supposed to be
cross-platform. [At least I haven't heard of anyone that has gotten a
cygwin/win32 port of gnucash. If I'm wrong please correct me.].
Again, I'm looking into SQL more for someone else, than because it is my
personal favorite. But just telling me that it isn't well supported is
enough to give me a little more leverage to push another format.
Thanks for the quick reply,
John
=:->
gnucash@cbbrowne.com wrote:
>On Mon, 04 Nov 2002 19:19:30 CST, the world broke into rejoicing as
>John F Meinel Jr <gnucash@johnmeinel.com> said:
>
>
>>Once again I'm here to ask a question for freecoins, the palm record
>>keeping software (http://freecoins.sourceforge.net)...
>>Someone believed that gnucash supported a SQL backend instead of using
>>an XML file. Is that true? The reason is that the author and lead
>>developer of freecoins would like to see it connected with a SQL db as a
>>generic conduit. And then have gnucash connect to the same db.
>>So were they right? Or is that an old, unused feature that isn't
>>supported anymore?
>>I believe his thought was that since it is already in database format
>>(palm db), it is easier to convert it to another database format, then
>>to try and go back to QIF's or something like that.
>>John
>>
>>
>
>What do you understand "database format" to mean?
>
>The way I usually understand it as is as "something totally irrelevant
>that the DBMS takes care of so that I don't need to give a rip about
>it."
>
>At any rate, the SQL back end does function, at least marginally. It is
>not well-maintained, so it doesn't work well at this point.
>
>And it is totally irrelevant that FreeCoins uses "a database" and that
>GnuCash can use "a database;" that does nothing to establish that it
>will be easy to transfer data back and forth...
>--
>(concatenate 'string "chris" "@cbbrowne.com")
>http://cbbrowne.com/info/finances.html
>Rules of the Evil Overlord #38. "If an enemy I have just killed has a
>younger sibling or offspring anywhere, I will find them and have them
>killed immediately, instead of waiting for them to grow up harboring
>feelings of vengeance towards me in my old age."
><http://www.eviloverlord.com/>
>
>