[GNC-dev] Import roadmap

[john]

> On Feb 5, 2024, at 03:40, Kevin Buckley via gnucash-devel <gnucash-devel at gnucash.org> wrote:
> 
> On Monday, February 5th, 2024 at 12:36, john <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
>> 
>> Those XML changes sound like the wrong direction.
>> XML code needs to stay in libgnucash/backend, not get mixed in with engine/QOF,
>> especially since the long-range plan is to turn XML into a backup format
>> with SQL being the primary storage and data access mechanism.
> 
> As someone who's always liked the ability to view/edit the XML (OK, make 
> that any plain text format) might I ask what is meant by "backup format",
> within the context of that plan?
> 
> I'm struggling to think of what use a "backup" file, XML or otherwise,
> that one wouldn't be able to "restore" from, as in with File->Open,
> would be.
> 
> Either an XML file encapsulates/serialises the GNC Book, as it was when 
> it was backed up, or it doesn't, in which case how would such a file be 
> used to do a "restore from backup"?

It would function as a portable alternative to the various SQL implementations' backup mechanisms. While in theory a SQL DUMP query should be readable by any SQL implementation the reality is that subtle differences in datatypes between implementations mean that's not quite true. 

You'd restore with File>Open.

Regards,
John Ralls