r15094 - gnucash/branches/gda-dev - Initial commit of initial gda backend framework. See GDA_STATUS.

[Derek Atkins]

Quoting David Hampton <hampton-gnucash at rainbolthampton.net>:

> On Wed, 2006-11-08 at 17:22 -0500, Derek Atkins wrote:
>> Quoting Phil Longstaff <plongstaff at rogers.com>:
>>
>> > Question: A user updates to GC 2.2 (or whatever rev has the new backend)
>> > and opens his XML file.  He then saves the file using the Save button.
>> > Is it saved as SQLite?  Does the need for the Save button disappear
>> > because he runs from then on with the GDA backend?  Or, does he
>> > specifically need to Save As to convert to SQLite?
>>
>> This is still an open question.  There are multiple ways to consider
>> handling this.  One way is to do as you suggest; if you open an XML
>> file it stays as an XML file, but if you create a new file it's SQLite.
>> In this approach users much manually convert from XML to SQLite via Save-As.
>> In another approach GnuCash would automatically upgrade a user from XML
>> to SQLite..
>
> That would completely break backward compatibility.  Gnucash should
> automatically *offer* to upgrade any XML file to its Sql equivalent, but
> it should never take that action without explicit user approval.  The
> user should be informed that if they convert to SQL then they cannot go
> back to the Gnucash 2.0 without either a) using a backup file, or b)
> jumping through hoops to create a new XML file.  The user should have
> the option of continuing to use the XML file format in GnuCash 2.2
> without any further inquiries about upgrading.  I would have no problem
> pulling the XML back end in GnuCash 2.4 and relegating XML to a pure
> import/export format, but I don't believe its appropriate to do that
> with the first release of the new SQL back end.

I was thinking this myself, I just didn't explicitly say so.  Mea Culpa.

> David

-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
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available