The GnuCash Project Needs Help [LWN.net]

Benoit Grégoire has posted a plea for developer help for GnuCash, a popular open-source personal finance management application.

I hate to admit it, but in our quest for new features, choices had to be made and a lot of important things are currently being neglected. If the GnuCash project can't manage to attract more contributors and refocus the efforts of those it already has, it's going to become unmanageable. We often say that Linux would survive even if Linus got hit by a bus. Well, right now I am not too certain that GnuCash would currently survive if Derek Atkins got hit by a bus.

Apparently, the project developers added a few too many features too quickly, and now find themselves unable to cope with maintenance of the code and documentation.

Lower the entry barrier for new developers.
Build an up-to-date architecture and API reference.
Put together a report writing HOWTO document.
Fix some problems with the core capabilities of the GnuCash engine.
Improve interoperability with new modules and other financial software packages.
Improve the GnuCash developer environment and web site:
- Add search capabilities for the mailing lists.
- Open up web site write access to more developers.
- Implement a Wiki system.
- Deal with frequently asked questions more efficiently.

Certainly, GnuCash is much too important of a project to just let it fade away and die. Interested developers should consider lending a hand. This would be a good opportunity to show the skeptics how well the open-source development model works, even in the face of adversity.

to post comments

The GnuCash Project Needs Help

Posted Aug 14, 2003 11:03 UTC (Thu) by ekj (guest, #1524) [Link]

Gnucash needs to compile. It needs to get its dependencies sorted out. Currently you are unlikely to manage to compile the current CVS-version even if you have multiple years experience with developing under Linux.

Several of the howtos linked to from Gnucash.org like the one about "Business Use" start by stating this fact: "Dont even *TRY* to compile this software yourself."

How can I contribute meaningfully if I cannot even compile the current version ?

From mailing-list traffic, irc-traffic, website-comments and other sources I get the idea that I am by *FAR* not alone in having this problem.

The GnuCash Project Needs Help

Posted Aug 14, 2003 13:21 UTC (Thu) by borgille (guest, #3742) [Link]

After reading about this, I am reminded of one of the greatest mistakes of developing applications amidst a small group of core developers -- lack of documentation. The GnuCash project apparently has "put the doxygen plumbing in place," but this might be too little too late. The lack of documentation creates a barrier that typically discourages new developers from contributing to a project. If I recall correctly, the DRI project also has this problem. Of course, one reason that I feel so strongly about it is the amount of time that it has taken me at my own job to figure out undocumented code there. So, if you are a developer of a new project, do yourself a favor and document the code. It's good for the project, new developers, and even yourself.