HBCI data structures and Gnucash

[Darius Powell]

Ross Boylan <RossBoylan@stanfordalumni.org> writes:

> On Wed, May 15, 2002 at 07:37:16PM +1000, Darius Powell wrote:
> > > > Apart from those details, online banking deals with just a few different
> > > > data types, and I'm going to describe which ones they are and where they
> > > > should belong to inside Gnucash, IMHO. This is meant to kick off a
> > > > discussion for both the HBCI developers as well as other Gnucash developers
> > > > (especially if they are working on yet more online banking standards) on
> > > > whether this seems to be the "right way" of implementing online banking in
> > > > Gnucash.
> > > 
> > > I dont know if I have the "right way" anymore than you do, but I am currently 
> > > working on OFX support, so here are my thoughts.
> > 
> > I'm currently working on a script to automatically download
> > transactions.  Currently it generates qif files for import.
> > 
> > However I would like to have more direct plumbing with Gnucash instead
> > of manually importing qif files.
> > 
> > It would be good if transactions were downloaded in the background at
> > scheduled times (even if Gnucash is not running).  Also the user
> > should be able to request transactions be downloaded from within
> > Gnucash.
> > 
> > If transactions are downloaded and Gnucash is not running then when it
> > is started next the transactions are imported automatically.
> > 
> > If transactions are downloaded (either scheduled or user request) and
> > Gnucash is running then Gnucash imports them immediately.
> > 
> > Perhaps what is needed is a module similar to the Quotes module for
> > online banking?  Or does something like this already exist?
> > 
> > This module could then (based on the account) interface to the
> > appropriate external program to perform online banking actions.
> > 
> > Comments / Ideas?
> > 
> 
> I think this is an area to be approached gingerly, because it probably
> gets into a lot of operating system and distribution specific
> dependencies.  Some people have continuous connections; others don't.
> As far as I know there isn't really a standard way to initiate a
> dial-up connection in Linux.  And some people may want their computer
> to dial up without them telling it, while others don't.

I suggest that issues regarding permanent connections vs dial-up and
whether dial-up should be initiated automatically are beyond scope.
There are already programs like diald that address this area and can
be configured appropriately if desired.

Basically, the script doesn't have any control over the connection to
the net, only that it will attempt to download at appropriate times.
If the connection exists then it will be successful, otherwise it will
be unsuccessful and it will try again later.

The script can also be run manually to attempt a download immediately
(as opposed to waiting for the next scheduled time).

-- 
Darius Powell (dariusp@ot.com.au)