Yes, if gnucash was running as a remote service, it might be able to deal with multiple users. Imagine that gnucash becomes a web service and the user interface is a relatively simple web page. Even in this scenario, you would need to avoid processing too much in JavaScript and local files under the web browser, so the remote server has updated data at all times. But already gnucash often leaves a modified transaction not committed to the saved storage, even with auto save. When my cron job kills gnucash to update prices, it sometimes loses such transactions typed but not committed by leaving that line. It might be an improvement to remedy that!
If the data is in an RDBMS (not XML read into, and later written from, memory structures) and you allow two or more applications that ignore or miss the lock file, there is still stale data in the memory of each application not yet sent to the RDBMS. I am not sure how closely gnucash keeps the RDBMS in sync with memory. If the data was in memory mapped files, and the files were on a remote server, it is conceivable that multiple apps mapping the same files into their VM could learn to keep out of each other's hair, and could use a mutex in that memory mapped file space. However, I have seen memory mapped remote files not transmit changes to the local RAM until the file is refreshed, say by listing the directory! One solution is to run gnucash under a virtual desktop like VNC and XWindows on Linux. You can connect a window to the virtual desktop from any host, and continue working with the same gnucash session and application on the original server. I used to pick up work at home that was in process at work, or vice versa, but I had a VPN to put me on the work network from home. Security is a concern, but you can run VNC through an SSH tunnel. Some ISPs frown on you running any sort of TCP server. I wonder if anyone has come up with a UDP protocol to hide the presence of a service from the ISP? :D _______________________________________________ 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.
