[GNC] Archive part of my data

[Adrien Monteleone]

I use Sqlite (on MacOS) and the loading is the same. But the normal operations are quicker because there is no periodic save. (writes are instant)

The biggest change in loading time I’ve found isn’t the file size, it is how many tabs I left open the last time I closed it. If you normally run with one or more registers open and several standing reports, those can take a while to re-load when you re-start GnuCash. (reports are likely the culprit as Scheme is quite slow compared to the C/C++ register code)

My workflow however is to simply never exit the software. I just leave it running on its own workspace 24/7. (I use it daily anyway) The only hiccup here is that for now, I have to leave the Due Reminder windows open or else I’ll have to run them manually. (but they update in real time if left open) I understand that won’t work for everyone, but it is something to consider.

I could be mistaken, but I seem to recall a discussion about the db backends to change how the data is loaded in the future. (when those backends are complete and likely only for MySQL - still a few years away) Instead of loading everything into RAM, GC will just access what it needs as it needs it. But my memory may be fuzzy on that. If this is the case, it might be better to switch to a db in anticipation of that and at least gain the immediate advantage of instant writes without periodic backups. (something you’d handle separately anyway)

The initial save to SQlite was very quick, about the same as XML. I don’t know if using that as an intermediate step (or using some outside tool to convert from SQlite to MySQL) would improve the conversion.

Maybe switch to SQlite for now and hold off on MySQL until that work is completed. Improvements might also be made in the conversion process by that time.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Mar 14, 2019, at 2:06 PM, davelist--- via gnucash-user <gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
> 
> I don't think there is (it would have to add adjustments to starting balances effective the starting date), but I've started wondering if using one of the database formats would work better. I have data going back to 2002 so loading and saving is starting to get pretty slow.
> 
> So can anyone answer Jonathan's question and if the answer is no, would switching from XML to a database format (I can't remember if we can use Sqlite or just MySQL) give better performanc?. I would think it would unless the first thing gnucash does is read the entire database into memory.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave
> 
> 
>> On Mar 14, 2019, at 2:46 PM, Jonathan Heard <jonathan.l.heard at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Good Morning,
>> 
>> I have been using GnuCash for a long time and the file containing my
>> records goes back 10 years.
>> 
>> Is there a way to snip off the first 5 years and hold in a separate
>> (Archive) file? This would speed up the loading of my system.
>> 
>> There used to be a tool in the Old MS Money program to allow you to create
>> an archive file and then open it if you ever needed it.