PostgreSQL & Freecoins

[Derek Atkins]

The SQL backend is currently a little bit-rotted, but it should still
work for the core business functionality.  Someone is working on
completely re-writing it, but that probably wont happen for a bit and
frankly the tables are probably going to change.

Have you thought of outputting an XML, csv table, OFX, or some other
format?  As an alternative, have you ever thought of writing code that
uses the Gnucash engine?  It can read your freecoins data format and
then call the functions to generate the gnucash equivalents..

Another thing you could do is output the scheme code that would do it,
too. :)

-derek

John F Meinel Jr <gnucash@johnmeinel.com> writes:

> 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/>
> >
> 
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-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord@MIT.EDU                        PGP key available