[GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Geert Janssens]

Op vrijdag 22 maart 2019 21:00:02 CET schreef Derek Atkins:
> > Why not just use the term 'parts' or 'transaction parts' or even invent a
> > new word 'transparts'; (after all, GnuCash is a made up word too.)
> > Just because GnuCash developers previously defined the 'parts' of a
> > transaction as 'splits' doesn't mean that the definition shouldn't be
> > changed to make it clearer.
> 
> The data file contains "Splits".  Having different terms in the UI vs the
> underlying data is a way to cause irreperable brain damage down the road
> when someone not alive today becomes a developer in a couple decades and
> tries to mentally map a Foobob to a Split and doesn't understand why the
> name was changed.
> 
This is a valid point. It only makes sense to change the term if it happens on all levels. That's 
what I hinted at in one of my first replies (that it would be hard to make this change and 
potentially create an extra burden on our translators).

> Not saying we CAN'T do it, but seriously, how many words in the English
> language have both a verb and a noun and can mean slightly different
> things?  (cheating answer:  many).
> 
There are many. The confusion however comes from the fact that split (noun) is ambiguous in 
itself. It sometimes means the parts you get after splitting something (like in your wine 
example), and sometimes it refers to the gap between the pieces instead. The latter meaning is 
clearly the more obvious one for Micheal and Alan. So if we can avoid this confusion by using 
another term that could make gnucash easier to learn.

Pondering it some more among a few developers the term "entry" without the explicit "ledger" 
comes up as the most likely alternative so far. It can be disambiguated in certain contexts with 
account, invoice, bill,...

Regards,

Geert