Scripting

[Hendrik Boom]

On Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:55:08 -0500, Derek Atkins wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> Hendrik Boom <hendrik at topoi.pooq.com> writes:
> 
> [snip]
>> (1) The bulk of the code for gnucash should be a shared library, whose
>> API (s) provide all the essential functionality of gnucash.  This would
>> include code for starting up gnucash, shutting it down, reading gnucash
>> fies, opeining the usual gnucash window, and so forth.  The current
>> work of converting ad-hoc code to use Gobjects could go a long way to
>> making this API consistent.
>>
>> (2) The gnucash main program itself should operate entirely by using
>> this library's API.
>>
>> Maybe (1) and (2) is how gnucash is already structured; I don't know.
> 
> This is already the case..  However it's not a single Shared Library.
> It's a ton of shared libraries.

Good.

> 
>> (3) This library would be the basis for scripting interfaces to
>> gnucash. The API would make the gnucash library itself indifferent to
>> the scripting language being used.  Of course, the API must still be
>> clearly documented, or it will be practically useless.  Documentation
>> in the header files may suffice.
> 
> This is also the case.  The Scheme and Python bindings are based on the
> C APIs by wrapping using SWIG.

Good.  By the Scheme bindings do you mean the hooks for the report-
generating guile code?

> 
> [snip]
> 
>> But now I'm getting far in advance of myself.  I'm currently arguing
>> only for a clear, conprehensive, documented API that others could use
>> to build their own edifices on top of gnucash.  That would open the
>> gates to all kinds of unexpected collaborations.
> 
> I agree wholeheartedly.  Are you willing to help document the APIs that
> exist?

Yes, in principle.

I hadn't known about the python bindings.  First, it would make sense for 
me to try to use the python bindings to see if I can do what I need, 
writing a kind of a diary of what I discover I need to know and producing 
bits of preliminary documentation as I go.  How does collaboration work 
with documentation?  Is it a wiki?  or svn access?  or something else?

-- hendrik