Scripting

[Derek Atkins]

Hendrik Boom <hendrik at topoi.pooq.com> writes:

>>> (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?

Amongst others, yes.  The reports use the scheme bindings, but there are
more APIs wrapped than just those used by the reports.  For a while back
in the 1.x days the gnucash "application" was actually a guile script.

>> [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?

It depends.  There may be some docs in the wiki, but the primary docs
are probably in the "pythondoc" sources, which means they are in SVN.
For now the best way would be to work with the active devs and supply
documentation patches against svn trunk (or git's trunk, if that's how
you roll).

> -- hendrik

-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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