2012-11-03

Gnucash: "Provide an official XML schema" DECLINED

votes
declined
+1 vote

Provide an official XML schema

(No Status) → Declined
There is an informative RELAX NG schema that describes the current xml file format, which you can use to learn about the xml file format.
It is however impossible to code various accounting constraints in such an xml schema (eg to enforce each transaction has a zero balance). For this reason it is formally strongly discouraged to use any external tool to modify the xml data, unless it does so via the GnuCash api.
So there is no incentive for the GnuCash developers to spend more effort on a more elaborate xml schema.
Geert Janssens
Admin, GnuCash 

Yea...right....as if that API even existed for other languages (Java) or for platforms like Android or iOS.
I no longer have the time to maintain my unofficial XML schema that is the basis for a number of automated accounting tools. 
Since I can no longer maintain the XML schema, I fear my automatic PDF-invoice-parsing from IMAP-emails, HBCI/Paypal/Wirecard/CSV transaction syncronisation and the unfinished Android+iOS tools based on my jGnucashLib will vanish. :(

2 Kommentare:

Unknown hat gesagt…

Competely agree. Wanted to use your lib for simple web app to allow remotely post entries to my gnucash file, but unfortunately current version of xml is not supported by your lib last version (gdate is unknown tag).

The Editor hat gesagt…

Try the sourcecode.
Sounds like a situation that is already fixed in the extremely strict XML-schema.
But of cause there are many places and constellations with g:date and I specifically allow only constellations I have seen and know are correct data.

I can no longer maintain that code. Sorry.