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Re: [Fsfe-uk] Re: Accountants
From: |
Oliver Elphick |
Subject: |
Re: [Fsfe-uk] Re: Accountants |
Date: |
28 Feb 2002 21:28:23 +0000 |
On Thu, 2002-02-28 at 19:51, Richard Ibbotson wrote:
> Oh ... Oliver :) I've not heard anything from you for at least a
> year. Hope you are well.
Yes, thank you!
> Having had a look through the entire rack full of MS killer apps and
> the entire rack of GNU/Linux killer apps I know that the one true and
> certain way of getting the attention of the international financial
> community is by providing them with accountancy software that fits in
> with standards in the local area and international standards as well.
> So, the .RPM and .DEB packages lend themselves to this very well.
> You can add or subtract a package to increase functionality or
> decrease it in the way that you might want. Good way to do things ?
Yes.
Obviously it must be designed in a modular way to start with, but there
are a certain set of standard modules that must always exist, whatever
they are called in different countries. The tricky bit is dealing with
special per-country rules in a convenient and aesthetic way, taking care
not to obstruct the future implementation of the completely different
rules of a country you have never heard of!
> In our case in the UK Governement PKI standards come to mind as an
> obvious issue. This is what stopped Jalia from becoming a success.
I've missed them! (Probably because they only involved MicroSoft trash?)
Where is the spec?
> My own pet accountant is completely hopeless with computers but even
> his own perception of GNU/Linux firewalls and Samba servers is that
> they are much better than anything else that he has seen. So, he'd
> like to see more of them. Or, better still, move to GNU/Linux on his
> desktop. Which he can't due to the lack of an accounting package.
The very first software I ever wrote was an "incomplete records"
accounting suite, in BASIC on a Jacquard (anyone else ever heard of
them?). That was when I was still employed as an accountant.
"Accountancy was my life until I discovered Smirnoff^Wcomputers"
> I think specifying a standard for an office package for financial use
> is probably something of a severe test of somones or anyones
> organisational abilities ?
Get a good modular design and let it flow out of that, a bit at a time.
I'll do it anyway, one day, but if there's anyone around to provide some
money, I'll do it sooner.
--
Oliver Elphick address@hidden
Isle of Wight http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
GPG: 1024D/3E1D0C1C: CA12 09E0 E8D5 8870 5839 932A 614D 4C34 3E1D 0C1C
"These things have I written unto you that believe on
the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name
of the Son of God." I John 5:13