I may not remember correctly which recent seeming regressions were actually which, but I know some were caused by changes to software that is maintained by other developers and that the GnuCash developers have no control over. Then they were stuck between a rock and a hard place because it would have required a huge investment to fix or work around something that they didn't even break.
I am very happy that they work as hard as they do, with what little thanks that they are given. On Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 5:13 PM Jim DeLaHunt <list+gnuc...@jdlh.com> wrote: > On 2024-04-23 14:31, Yann Salmon via gnucash-user wrote: > > Since there is, if I understand correctly, a fix to this major bug, I > > really think a 5.6.1 release would be helpful.… > On 2024-04-24 15:24, Yann Salmon via gnucash-user wrote: > > …the one thing I learned is : you do not break things, and if you do, > > you unbreak them as quickly as possible.… > > > > …I would be interested to know the bigger picture that I am obviously > > missing in the decision not to publish a .1 that fixes a regression > > (especially on a stable release) and allows Otto Normaluser and his > > Grandma to quickly get back on their feet by simpling doing what they > > know and have been educated to do : upgrading their software. > > Oh, I think I can help you see the bigger picture. > > Please run a report on your financial records in GnuCash. Look for all > the payments you made to the GnuCash developers, in order to have the > use of GnuCash software. If your records are like mine, the total > amount will be: > > 0.00 EUR (approximately 0.00 CAD, 0.00 USD, 0.00 CNY, at current > exchange rates) > > I suspect that the GnuCash team has spent at least double that amount, > and applied it to making a 5.6.1 release. It was sufficient for them to > reach 0% of the way to completion. (I am being sarcastic. I don't know > the internals of the GnuCash project.) > > Putting aside sarcasm, please remember that the GnuCash developers are > volunteers. They are donating their time and expertise to develop > GnuCash. There are not many of them. Yet they deliver regular releases, > complete with bug fixes, and ever-increasing capabilities. The > appropriate tone to take with them is one of gratitude. > > At the same time, the GnuCash developers have granted you a license to > GnuCash's source code. You are permitted to see the source code, to > diagnose the problem yourself, and to come up with a fix. If you wish, > you can donate the fix back to the GnuCash developers. Or, you could > make your own 5.6.1 release with the fix (but this is "forking", and you > should give the new software a different name). If you own skills do > not extend to diagnosing and fixing the problem, you are free to hire a > skilled software engineer, and have them diagnose, fix, and release a > version of the software for you. If you want to pay the software > engineer for an extended time, so that they can build up a relationship > with the GnuCash developers, they might be able to take on the task of > making bug-fix releases. It could be your contribution to GnuCash. > Please, go right ahead! > > However, you may discover that this costs you more in time and money > than the 0.00 EUR which you have paid for GnuCash so far. > > Best regards, > —Jim DeLaHunt > > > On 2024-04-24 15:24, Yann Salmon via gnucash-user wrote: > > Hello, > > > > Le 23/04/2024 à 23:48, David Carlson a écrit : > >> Sir, > >> > >> In my experience most financial institutions that offer QIF exports > >> also offer OFX format which will often go under a similar name. > > > > Alas, a hundred times alas, not always. Not in France, at least. They > > should… > > > > I was able, however, to use <https://github.com/georggrab/qif2ofx>. I > > had to reverse all transactions (which is easier to do in the QIF, > > btw) because my bank seems to directly produce a QIF for my point of > > view while GnuCash seems to expect a QIF with transactions from the > > bank's point of view, but that is another story. > > > > > >> If you need the QIF format then you will probably be stuck either > >> waiting for the 5.7 windows release or reverting either to an earlier > >> 5 series or maybe even 4 series if you have an older Linux based > >> machine as I do. > > > > Even though the Gnucash team has been releasing new versions at a > > steady and formidable rythm of one every 3 to 4 months, that still > > makes 4 months of non-working QIF import — downgrading is really not a > > straightforward route as software managers, for good reasons, make > > upgrading software easy and downgrading it harder (and one would have > > to get the idea of doing so). > > > > While I admit I am not and have never been trained to be a software > > project manager, I did write some (extremely) modest pieces of > > software that are used by some other people, and the one thing I > > learned is : you do not break things, and if you do, you unbreak them > > as quickly as possible. > > > > People can be patient with a desired functionnality not being present > > yet, or even a new functionnality being buggy from its start, but not > > when something that had been working, and that they are thus using, > > stops working. It disrupts their workflow, it may mean that something > > they had to do by some date, and that they were expecting to do with > > the software, suddenly cannot be done as planned anymore : all in all, > > it makes the software look unreliable — if faults appear today, and > > are not fixed, then more and bigger faults could appear tomorrow. And > > I think this is especially true for a software like GnuCash that is > > important to users because it is usually great at doing important > > things like accountancy. > > > > I would be interested to know the bigger picture that I am obviously > > missing in the decision not to publish a .1 that fixes a regression > > (especially on a stable release) and allows Otto Normaluser and his > > Grandma to quickly get back on their feet by simpling doing what they > > know and have been educated to do : upgrading their software. > > > > -- > > Cordialement, > > > > Yann Salmon > > _______________________________________________ > > gnucash-user mailing list > > gnucash-user@gnucash.org > > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > > ----- > > 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 > gnucash-user@gnucash.org > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > ----- > 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 gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. 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