On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 10:14 AM, Martin Blais <[email protected]> wrote: snip
> > I'm not trying to be nasty... just realistic. > The whole point of creating a language is so that we don't have to have a > UI. > My advice to the original user would be: go install some other software. > Try GnuCash, get QuickBooks, etc. > I'll start with the last stuff first. I have tried to install GnuCash and the dependencies are legion and result in me not having a viable installation. Tried Quickbooks and found that to get the level of detail that I wanted I would need to spend quite a bit of cash (IIRC I would need the 3rd or maybe even the fourth level of software and as all of the levels are in the software but only unlocked with greater fees I wasn't too terribly interested besides then I would be hostage to them forever for my information.). I have tried a number of other OSS programs and the skills that I would take to install them were far beyond me and when I got the assistance of a friend (engineer type with 30 years of Unix/Linux experience) and STILL couldn't get things installed (with 50+ hours of time) I wasn't too terribly impressed. Software should be installable without needing 30 years of hacker experience to do so. Then I found ledger CLI - - - seemed somewhat straightforward - - - - but until Eric stated ". . . creating and editing a plain text file . . ." there was absolutely ZERO indication on how to start. Now if you know what you're doing man pages (as well as the vast majority of computer software documentation) are useful - - - if you don't (on the other hand) they don't serve ANY USEFUL PURPOSE!! Something as basic as telling the user that you start with a text file and then edit it is very very simple - - - - its not in ANY of the documentation (I read each piece multiple times looking for a solution). This kind of documentation reinforces my thinking that programmers should NEVER EVER be allowed to write documentation - - - they don't know how to. For that you need people who know nothing about your software and how to use it. Now when you have explained what to do to such a person they will have a way of writing the documentation - - - which ANYONE will understand. But then I am assuming that you (the group) actually cares about those that would try to use the program. Comments like the last line above very much put the lie to that idea. Dee -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ledger" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
