updating unit trust prices automatically

[Linas Vepstas]

On Wed, Aug 01, 2001 at 08:21:50AM +1200, Glenn Walbran was heard to remark:
> Hello
> 
> I've recently started using gnucash and would like to use the gnu-prices
> feature to update the prices of the unit trusts I have. The problem is
> the unit trust prices are not listed on the stock tickers that are
> supported.

The thing to hack on is the Finance::Quote perl module.  Its designed to
allow 'easy' addition of new sources of prices.  I think the url
is financequote.sourceforge.net or something like that.  I have write
access if you need to check in patches.

(finance quote is used by both gnucash-1.4 and 1.6, but in different
ways. Its more 'integrated' in 1.6)

> I was planning on hacking the gnu-prices script to work for me but then
> thought that others might want the same feature. I was thinking that a
> "file" option could be added to the stock ticker options in gnucash.
> This would tell the gnu-prices script to get price information from a
> file. Then the user would have to create the file (or script to generate
> the file) with the updated prices.

Well, that sort of makes an end-run around the infrastructure. It would
make more sense to (for example) store the price info in the file in the
same format as say, for instance 'yahoo' (which is comma-delimited or
somethig like that), and then use the yahoo backend to fetch not from
www. yahoo.com, but instead fetch from /home/glenn/somefile.csv

----
Separetely, there's a 'plan' to make the whole thing more modular, i.e. 
to ask finance::quote what price sources it supports, and display those
in the gnucash menus.

--linas

p.s. a better place to discuss development issues is on
gnucash-devel@gnucash.org

-- 
I'm very PUBLIC-MINDED, I'm helping a NIGERIAN get his $25,000,000 back!