Is there anything *enjoyable* about our development process?

[Derek Atkins]

Quoting Martin Preuss <aquamaniac at gmx.de>:

> What frightens me most is scheme... I'm quite firm in C/C++, but having to
> learn another language just to get some things into Gnucash is currently no
> option for me (I simply don't have the time right now).

I wish I could stamp out this FUD about GnuCash.  The archives and
the FAQ try to be quite clear on this:

1) GnuCash is 80% C
2) Scheme is limited to an extension language
3) Scheme is only used /strongly/ in the QIF Importer and Reports

95% of new features can be done in C alone.

To sum it up:  unless you're hacking on the QIF importer or a Report,
it's VERY VERY VERY unlikely you need scheme to do what you want.

> But since Gnucash uses scheme for so long I believe there must be a good
> reason for using multiple languages in such a big project, so currently I
> must resign.

At this point:  no, there is not.  Scheme was chosen because the core
developers in the last century decided that they really liked Scheme.
At this point we're trying to move AWAY from scheme as a core language
in Gnucash, but it requires a slow process of drop-in replacements for
scheme-implemented functionality.

But I repeat:  for you to implement AqBanking support, you don't need
scheme.

> Another thing is that Gnucash is (or should I say: was?) still using gtk1.x.
> There isn't much information left about GTK1 (e.g. most documentation tell
> you not to use it and point to the docs of GTK2). Writing code for a toolkit
> that died long ago isn't too much fun...

Yea, this is being fixed with the g2 port.

> I think the last point might be the biggest barrier for new developers, as
> soon as there is a working and stable gnome2-version new developers might get
> attracted again :-)

Well, what's there is /mostly/ working and stable.. ;)

-derek
-- 
       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
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