Revisiting the database

[Christopher Browne]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2000 18:36:11 PDT, the world broke into rejoicing as
Gary Bickford <garyb@fxt.com>  said:
> Folks who are used to watching Access grind away for hours can be
> surprised by the performance of a real, tuned ISAM database.
> 
> I can't see anyone having an accounting system large enough for
> performance to be a significant issue.  On the contrary, I would be very
> surprised if a db-based GNUCash weren't faster than the present system
> for large account sets.  For small ones, either approach would do but
> the maintenance and robustness points would
> still stand.

OK, fine.

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to build suitable scripts
that will ensure that a GnuCash installation that uses MySQL will require
NO user intervention.  Or that provides a GNOME Druid to walk them 
through the process with _GOOD_ defaults.

It will detect where MySQL is installed, transparently ensure that
there are appropriate versions of libraries, access them, set
up the database instance in a suitable location, with suitable
access rights.

By the way, this scheme needs to run on SuSE, Red Hat, Mandrake,
Corel, and HP/UX.  

Well, I'm kidding about HP/UX.  Granny isn't likely to be running HP/UX.
I _am_ serious that the scheme needs to cope with the fact that Granny
isn't an Oracle Certified DBA, and has absolutely no interest in edging
her toe over the line that would head in that direction.

If you detect an air of sarcasm here, that's not _quite_ fair.  I "do
sarcasm" unfortunately too well, so in trying to be a bit humorous about
the issue, a bit of excess sarcasm may leap in unbidden.

Very seriously, if you want to propose using a storage scheme that
is _not_ readily embedded, you'd better have some _seriously good_
ideas as to how to cope with implementing some sort of "DBA Druid"
to walk naive users through the installation process.

Along with the "pro-RDBMS" messages, there was also a message
that went across the list today indicating that a would-be user got
fed up with trying to get all the needed libraries installed.  

Throwing in the set of stuff needed to get MySQL or PostgreSQL up and
running will just add insult to the "injury of many libraries" that
folks already need to cope with.  I'm trying to get GnuCash to
compile right now on my Alpha box, and I've spent half an hour
searching for nagging little extra libraries.

[Aside:  A _VERY COOL_ idea would be to set up a "virtual package"
for Debian that might be called "gnucash-devel" that would consist
of dependancies on all the libraries you need to have installed in
order to get GnuCash to compile.  That may not help for RPM users,
but if it helps some, it would be a Useful Thing...]
--
cbbrowne@acm.org - <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/>
MICROS~1: The company that brought new meaning to "Nervous System"