[GNC-dev] automated tech for setup of builds + HELLO

[Dale Phurrough]

Hi. I'm Dale and introducing myself + an inquiry.
I migrated Quicken->Gnucash 3.5 in April. I chose GnuCash so that I can
contribute.

===Inquiry
*Where is the standard automated setup and build process for gnucash app
and docs?*

One of the issues I encountered is a doc issue. To resolve, I need to
edit/build gnucash docs. I also read recently on this mailing list someone
trying to get a dev build environment setup. And what happens when all the
devs currently compiling official releases on GnuCash die...what is the
project continuance? These are common problems likely with a shared
solution using technology like containers/Docker.

I found in the git repo the Docker pieces for Travis. However, I have not
found a standard automated setup and build process for creating
release-quality apps and docs. What is the one command I can execute that
will do all setup and build of everything needed to make runnable assets at
a quality level like those assets provided with a public GnuCash release?

The multiple pages of wiki documentation, HACKING file, and exceptions for
setup of a build environment is unwieldy. Doc is good, yes. Automation of
that doc is better. We can automate the entire setup of the OS install,
dependencies, and the c/make. Like the Six Million Dollar Man, "We can
rebuild him; we have the technology"

If there is no such automated setup and build process tech, *I offer to
create the first two of them*. One to build doc, and one to build an x86_64
for Ubuntu 14.04. Naturally, I'll leverage the work with Travis and consult
with people on this mailing list. When these are successful, I also offer
to insert documentation into the existing build docs to offer people the
second option of a one-step container that will setup/compile.

===Intro on me
One of my lives was a 13-year career at Microsoft building front- and
backend solutions for hundreds of millions around the world. I did this as
program mgmt and dev, as an individual contributor and a leader of
leaders/teams. Made lots of inventions, one was public/patented. In my
current life, I am an occasional-landlord and independent tech/artist/dev.
Ongoing, I make software for researchers, educators, and artists to use the
Kinect sensor.

During my Quicken->Gnucash migration I captured many first-time/migration
issues that can only be captured once per person. Because after that
first-time, a person and their data is forever tainted. I see a lot of
opportunity in this space that I can contribute. Some of these issues I
already opened bugs in your tracker. A few dozen others I have offline that
may lead to new bugs in the tracker if I can I isolate them and develop
clear repo steps.

I currently live in Berlin, Germany. Mein Deutsch ist...funktional.
English-US is my mother tongue.

--Dale