[GNC] Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?

[Geert Janssens]

Op dinsdag 19 maart 2019 22:10:29 CET schreef Adrien Monteleone:
> I never understood the need or benefit to differentiate simple vs. split
> transactions since *all* transactions are split into two entries at least
> once. Perhaps dropping that distinction is in order, or does it serve some
> purpose that isn’t outweighed by the confusion it causes?
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
To my mind it serves a case in that we can offer a simplified input interface 
for the two-split transactions.

We have long had the single-line interface to enter two-split transactions as 
most new users find that interface easier to understand and use.

But this simplified interface can't be extended generically to also support 3-
or-more split transactions. In the personal accounting use case these are less 
common however so we have optimized for the two-split use case (at least 
that's what I suppose - it has been like that before I came into the project).

So you are right that all transactions are multi-split and it's not for the 
transactions themselves we differentiate. We differentiate because for the 
special case of only two splits we can offer simplified input interfaces.

Regards,

Geert

> > On Tue, Mar 19, 2019 at 5:45 AM Michael Hendry <hendry.michael at gmail.com>
> > 
> > wrote:
> >> David,
> >> 
> >> The guide says:
> >> 
> >> "Every transaction in GnuCash has at least two splits, but a transaction
> >> can have more than two splits. A transaction with only two splits is
> >> called
> >> a simple transaction, since it only involves the current account and a
> >> single remote account. A transaction with three or more accounts is
> >> called
> >> a split transaction.”
> >> 
> >> A recurrent observation on this list is that GnuCash is based on the
> >> traditional paper-and-pen double-entry bookkeeping system, often linked
> >> with the comment that many of the queries that come up are not problems
> >> with GnuCash but with the poster’s lack of understanding of the manual
> >> system.
> >> 
> >> There seems to be no good reason for introducing the term “split”, and
> >> wielding  Occam’s Razor I suggest:
> >> 
> >> "Every transaction in GnuCash has at least two Ledger Entries, but a
> >> transaction can have more than two Ledger Entries.”
> >> 
> >> “A transaction with two Ledger Entries is called a simple transaction.”
> >> 
> >> “A transaction with more than two Ledger Entries is called a compound
> >> transaction.”
> >> 
> >> These three statements are entirely in keeping with bookkeeping usage,
> >> whereas saying that a transaction with three “splits” is a split
> >> transaction and then that one with two “splits” is something else is
> >> muddling.
> 
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