Need information on file read/write sequence format

[Dave Peticolas]

"Alex J.P." writes:

> Have been reading the mail for the past couple of months. I would
> like to write a small routine to dump and read gnucash data off a
> MySQL database/tables. If it works, am thinking of writing a generic
> routine with a plugin feature to read and write gnucash data off any
> database realtime.  (Please let me know if this conflicts with
> anybody else's plans :) )

There are plans underway for a fairly complex system involving a
database store for gnucash data than can be accessed over a network,
with security features, a network protocol, etc.

If I understand you correctly, you are proposing something a bit more
modest -- having gnucash directly communicate to the database through
the BackEnd api, replacing the flat-file store with a database, but
otherwise remaining a single-user application. So I don't think this
is a conflict.


> I've looked at FileIO routines and the sample PostgresBackend and
> they have a lot of information, but a bit confusing.

> I was wondering if somebody could give me more information on how
> the data is arranged in the file and how I could get to it in the
> correct sequence.

I would look at the XML format in the CVS version. It is contains
newer data structures that are not used in the 1.4.x series (the
gnucash internals have undergone a lot of change). The binary
format in 1.4.x is deprecated.

Feel free to post any specific questions you have to this list.


> By the way I've been using Linux for the last 4 years while also using 
> windoze. Gnucash was the last application equivalent that I needed to move 
> completely off windoze. It's an excellent app. (It has grown so fast!!)
> 
> I know you have heard it from others enough times. But if you haven't heard 
> it recently, here goes .... 
> You have started an excellent product, Thank You Very Much.

Thanks!


> By the way I'm a mainframe programmer with a lot of experiance with app 
> development & design, primarily using DB2, CICS, Cobol and a little ALC 
> (Assembler). I currently trying to move into Database Administration on DB2 
> UDB on the mainframe.

Glad to have you here, and thanks for the work.


> p.s. which is the correct address to send to the deve list is it 
> gnucash-devel@lists.gnumatic.com or gnucash-devel@gnucash.org ???

I believe both will work, but gnucash-devel@gnucash.org should be fine.


dave