[GNC] GNUCash becoming unusable ..v3.4

[David Carlson]

Adrien,

Most users are in the Windows 10 universe or in the Apple universe using
the 'standard' XML filetype on a computer that is less than 5 years old and
they probably could not tell you how much RAM they have or whether they
have a SSD, or whether it is normal for a file save to a network or cloud
service to take more than 10 or 20 seconds.  They do not have time to
experiment with ways to shave time or keystroke counts off of their
computer experience, they just think a clunky program isn't as modern as
one that flies across the screen.  They will choose the slick one without
considering whether it is technically 'better'.

On top of that, a lot of households are switching to Chromebooks or tablets
and smartphones and retiring their desktops along with their POTS phones.
They are automating their homes with light bulbs that change color on a
whim and posting their lives on Facebook.

While GnuCash is not trying to make a profit in this changing environment,
the GnuCash developers need to keep this in mind so that their dedication
and efforts remain relevant while they strive to eliminate deprecated code
and bugs along with occasionally introducing minor improvements.  We do not
thank them enough for that.

As long as people have bank accounts that they feel a need to monitor the
balance of or have small businesses that cannot afford a full time
treasurer there will be a place for GnuCash.

David Carlson




On Fri, Feb 1, 2019 at 8:13 AM Adrien Monteleone <
adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net> wrote:

> 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,
>
>
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