Derek, I understand the point, but my intention on this is to indicate that a user must separately install libdbi libraries in order to use MySQL and PostgreSQL. As I understand it (and from personal experience) I do not have to perform any additional driver installations when I choose either XML or SQLite. Your note that SQLite is also available in Windows makes it a clean sweep for availability by default.
David > On Aug 15, 2018, at 11:27 AM, Derek Atkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > SQLite uses libdbi, too. > > -derek > > On Wed, August 15, 2018 1:49 pm, David T. via gnucash-user wrote: >> Here is a newer version of the table: >> >> Storage Comparison Table >> XML SQLite MySQL PostgreSQL >> Installation Default Default libdbi libdbi >> File extension gnucash gnucash N/A N/A >> Additional software None None MySQL PostgreSQL >> Additional expertise None None DBMS DBMS >> Compression Y N N N >> Save on command Y N N N >> Save on commit N Y Y Y >> Uses log files Y N N N >> Multi-user N N N N >> >> How does that seem? >> >>> On Aug 15, 2018, at 10:34 AM, Adrien Monteleone >>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>>> On Aug 15, 2018, at 12:11 PM, David T. <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> On Aug 15, 2018, at 10:02 AM, Adrien Monteleone >>>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> But it’s not a ‘plain file’ as it is XML formatted. Someone expecting >>>>> plain text and trying to view it is going to be met with tag soup >>>>> they’ve never seen before and might very well not know how to read it. >>>> >>>> Not to mention that it’s compressed. >>> >>> True, forgot about that. Certainly, they’ll see gibberish mostly. >>> >>>> >>>>> >>>>> It also carries an .xml extension. So specifying the format is very >>>>> specific and informative, even for users who aren’t familiar with XML. >>>>> They’ll see in their file manager the extension, and/or the OS’s >>>>> interpretation of the file type itself. (in this case both XML) >>>> >>>> However, the file extension used is “gnucash” and not “xml” >>> >>> Facepalm. I forgot about that. (I honestly rarely even look at the >>> location where it’s stored anyway) I’d suspect unless Win10 uses the >>> file descriptor for file type instead of the extension as was the >>> practice through at least Win7, then no, those users won’t see XML >>> anywhere. (if the descriptor is set as XML that is) >>> >>> So I just checked on both MacOS and Ubuntu, MacOS reports the ‘Kind’ as >>> ‘Gnucash Document’ regardless if sqlite or xml, and at least with xml, >>> Ubuntu reports the file type as ’spreadsheet’. (yes, it’s registered to >>> open with GnuCash, but this was built from source, so perhaps the file >>> type was not registered properly, repo versions may vary) >>> >>> So I guess on that point I was way off. >>> >>> >>>> Perhaps the save process needs to be refactored to identify clearly and >>>> separately the name of the data file AND its format? >>> >>> Since .gnucash is not really proprietary or somehow a special format >>> from XML then I agree, the extension should be .xml. >>> >>> Combine this with the fact that the sqlite version of the file ALSO uses >>> the .gnucash extension can make for some confusion. At a glance, you >>> can’t tell what the format is. You can’t even tell until you try to open >>> it with something other than GnuCash. (or you notice that GnuCash >>> doesn’t offer a Save option) The only reason I know which is which is I >>> had to use filename.xml.gnucash to tell them apart. That’s a usability >>> bug in my opinion. I don’t know how hard that is to change, but I’d >>> support the move. >>> >>> On that note, the documentation somewhere (I suppose in the ‘file > >>> save/save as’ section) should document that the extension is currently >>> ‘.gnucash’. A new user shouldn’t have to go to a wiki or website FAQ >>> after reading the documentation for something this basic. >>> >>> Would it be out of order to include in your table that both use this >>> extension? If you expand the table to show MySQL and Postgres, I suppose >>> that row would have some other note since their data stores are very >>> different than single files. (though in this case they might store it >>> that way, I haven’t used either to know) >>> >>> Regards, >>> Adrien >>> >>> >>>> >>>>> >>>>> Knowing this might very well help them find their file if they know >>>>> the format they are looking for. >>>>> >>>>> But I do agree, the documentation should cover where files are stored. >>>>> Ideally, this should be made part of the Help or Guide in the Getting >>>>> Started section. It is certainly a common enough issue on the list. >>>>> >>>>> Regards, >>>>> Adrien >>>>> >>>>>> On Aug 15, 2018, at 10:24 AM, Christoph R >>>>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> Hi David, >>>>>> >>>>>>> The default file storage format is XML >>>>>> >>>>>> I would not call this “XML" but "plain file”. From a user perspective >>>>>> it is not important in which internal format it is stored. But it >>>>>> makes a big difference if it is a simple file created by Gnucash or >>>>>> if Gnucash needs to connect to a DBMS. >>>>>> >>>>>> And one of the biggest confusion for users on the mailing list is the >>>>>> question: “Where is my data?”. Pointing out that all your accounts >>>>>> and transactions are in a simple file might reduce that problem. >>>>>> >>>>>> Cheers, >>>>>> Christoph >>>>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> gnucash-user mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>> If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see >>> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information. >>> ----- >>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> gnucash-user mailing list >> [email protected] >> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >> If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see >> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information. >> ----- >> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > > > -- > Derek Atkins 617-623-3745 > [email protected] www.ihtfp.com > Computer and Internet Security Consultant > _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information. ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
