[GNC] GNUCash becoming unusable ..v3.4

[Adrien Monteleone]

I’ll second that the SQlite backend improves speed considerably. I’ve been using it for a few years now.

Concerning reports, if you go the Python route, that isn’t ‘out of the box’ necessarily, but you don’t have to completely figure it out from scratch. Do a search for PieCash. (might be spelled PyCash, not sure)

You could also query the db file directly if you prefer. (just don’t *write* to it!!)

Before you go any further though, I’d ask:

What OS?
How much RAM?
Using an SSD? or Hard drive?

GnuCash loads the entire file into RAM no matter the backend. (the advantage is instant write with SQlite3 vs. a slower periodic save with XML)

If you are running something heavy like Win10 on only 4GB RAM and you have a data file that is 10years full of data, and if you also keep lots of GnuCash tabs open (not to mention lots of other apps) then you are probably going to see quite a bit of lag and sluggish behavior. And that is even discounting the processor. If you’ve got a hobbled cache CPU like a Celeron or a Pentium-M, you might see sluggish behavior. (note this last comment is just general, not specific to GnuCash)

A dev could offer more accurate insights here as they know exactly how GnuCash handles and manages memory and data.

I’ve run GnuCash over about 6 years on various Ubuntu versions (some on very old and hobbled processors) with 4GB and MacOS with anywhere from 4-16GB. I’ve never noticed any serious speed issues. I’ve never run GnuCash on any Windows platform.

There are various threads concerning Win10 startup, reports being slow, and some other performance issues. Check the archives as you may find some resolutions or workarounds if that is your OS.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Feb 1, 2019, at 4:08 AM, Jamestk <davidjamestk at hotmail.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> Saving as SQlite drops the file size down to 10mb from 15mb, unfortunately no
> noticeable difference with reports  via GNC, I assume it needs Python
> configuring to access DB directly.
> 
> Ideally it needs to be out of the box, otherwise likely to get in further in
> to something that long term may not be suitable.
> 
> Thanks,