Thanks GNUCash

[Neil Williams]

On Monday 23 May 2005 4:07 am, Erik Evenson wrote:
> - It doesn't coddle me.  Strict double-entry accounting is appreciated by
> this MBA.  Keeps me from making mistakes.  There's a reason double-entry
> accounting has been used ever since those monks back in the 1300's invented
> it.
> - It's interface is simple and direct -- appreciated by this Engineer.
> - It will always be there -- GNUCash has no "sunset."  Quicken's biggest
> problem was that they completed the necessary features in the code years
> ago.  There was just nothing left to add and therefore upgrade to.
>
> What I don't like about GNUCash:
>
> - I would never recommend this program to "normal" users. 
> That, and neither is GNUCash's UI.  Don't get me wrong -- I love it.

Wait for the Gnome2 port - there are a lot of interface changes.

> - Flipside of the previous: it doesn't have a command line interface.  Gosh
> that would be nice when I'm ssh-ing into my Debian server box.

As far as the data is concerned, that too will be fixed with G2. Using a 
generation tool that I'm spinning out from the GnuCash engine, any number of 
command-line utilities can be created that provide access to data exported 
from GnuCash and that modified data can then be re-imported and merged into 
the existing file. Better that than allowing direct access to the GnuCash 
data file where modifications could cause grief elsewhere, this way the 
original data remains intact until and unless the user chooses to merge it 
and then the user has full control over how the new data is merged into the 
old.

> - It doesn't run on Cygwin.  I know there is a good reason, but I don't
> know what it is.

Again, wait for G2. The current GnuCash uses libraries that are simply too old 
and too varied - we are the last application in Debian to require Gnome1.4 
after all. There is a good chance that G2 will make such tasks a lot easier 
but this is not a primary goal of the G2 port, it's more of a nice by-product 
and just because G2 becomes available (later this year) it does NOT mean that 
it will miraculously work under Cygwin.

> If it did run on Cygwin, I could use GNUCash on my 
> laptop, which is hopelessly locked into an MS OS.

Unless it's v.new, that may not be the case any longer - one or two bits might 
not be detected and the internal modem is probably best forgotten, but do 
investigate that further by joining your nearest Linux User Group and going 
to http://www.linux-laptop.net - but that's by the by.

> - A calendar display of balances like Quicken 2002 had.  Gosh, this was key
> to me managing my personal checking account.  I miss it.

So do I but if I remember correctly, someone was talking about developing 
that.

> Nevertheless, a big thank-you.  If I knew who you were, I'd buy you a beer.

Making a donation at SourceForge is the next best thing.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/gnucash/

-- 

Neil Williams
=============
http://www.data-freedom.org/
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/

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