Does GnuCash possess a Journal Entry numbering facility

Michael Hendry hendry.michael at gmail.com
Mon Oct 6 13:48:11 EDT 2014


On 6 Oct 2014, at 16:13, Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> wrote:
> Michael Hendry <hendry.michael at gmail.com> writes:
> 
>> On 4 Oct 2014, at 14:12, David Britton <bbaruu at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Me? Patch? Code? Submit?  What fresh, new Hell that would be, Derek!  LOL
>>> Tx for the thought, though.
>>> 
>>> David
>> 
>> 
>> I had come to a similar conclusion in 2011, and adopted the
>> work-around I described earlier.
>> 
>> The word “patch” suggests a minor alteration, but this would be a
>> major upheaval, and even if I had intimate knowledge of the code I
>> would hesitate even to consider it.
> 
> I'm not convinced it would be a MAJOR alteration.  You would need to:
> 
> 1) add the data field to the Transaction object, and figure out how to
>   best store it.

Wouldn’t that just happen automatically when the (enhanced) object is stored? (shows how much I know!).

> 2) Store a global counter (we already have space for these)

There would also need to be a mechanism for starting the numbering at a user-specified number.

> 3) Use the counter every time a transaction gets posted (well, the first
>   time) to fill in the field

Yes, it would be necessary to distinguish between a newly created Transaction object and one which is being edited.

> 4) (optional) add a way to view the value from the register.

Yes, I would require this, so that I can mark the input document appropriately.

> 
> Note:  what do you do if you later delete a transaction?

I’d be inclined to deal with this with a Contra Entry, with a text reference to the transaction number of the transaction which is to be reversed. I’d probably also edit the original transaction to say it had been reversed, with a reference to the Contra Entries sequence number.

> 

You’ve whetted my appetite, just a little…

Michael

>> Judging from the traffic on the list at the moment, there are several
>> pressing problems demanding developer time.
> 
> This is very true.
> 
>> Michael
> 
> -derek






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