Month: October 2024

Last week, our new accounting software finally started to print good-looking sales receipts. We used it to run day-to-day TurtleSoft business for a few days, then took a break to fix all the bugs that turned up. That on/off cycle will continue for a while, with longer ons and shrinking offs.

The nastiest bug was in the memory cache system: code that decides which records to keep in RAM. It zapped some records, but also was the easiest to fix. Just one missing line of code when duplicating records. Easy-peasy.

The most complex bug happens for linked records. It’s a basic interface problem. Goldenseal puts everything in separate windows. It makes a cluttered screen, and needs windows-inside-a-window on MS Windows. The new accounting/estimating app has just one main window with tabs, for a more orderly screen. But it adds a new problem. What happens when you want to see a linked record?

The solution is to pop it into a separate window. In fact, you can still put everything in separate windows if you want.

But what happens if it used to be in a tab? The solution for that is to move tab contents into the window, then delete the tab so they won’t get out of sync. That has been working for a while.

But what happens if you close the window? There’s the bug: the tab is still gone. Slightly annoying. Going window-to-tab is the reverse of tab-to-window, but the code is complex and can’t just be flipped. Our staff is working on that now.

Breakdown tables have always been difficult, and there’s also more to do there. Most things display OK, but Billing Records, Bank Transactions and Payroll Records have more than one type of table. They still need a way to deal with that.

Meanwhile, the subcontractor working on networking is making good progress. Some time in the next month or two, we could use help testing the remote access feature. You’d need a static IP address, so clients can find the test server from afar.

Dennis Kolva
Programming Director
TurtleSoft.com

 

 

TurtleSoft just hired a developer to write networking code for our new accounting software. It will allow more than one person to log into a company file over a local area network (LAN), using Ethernet or a wireless connection. The interface will be similar to the one in Goldenseal.

The new accounting app also adds something nifty: log in from remote locations. To make that happen, you’ll need a fast Internet connection on your laptop (Mac or Windows). Also, the server must be on a computer with an Internet connection and a static IP address. That’s something you can get from your ISP (ours costs $10 a month; your service may already include one).

The second half of the project is to build mobile apps for Android and iOS. They will only write a starter version with a user log-in screen and a few fields. Later, our staff will add the guts to make single-function apps for phone or pad. A few ideas come to mind right now:

• Material Purchases/Subs/Other Costs, for expenses entered from anywhere.
• Labor Hours, so employees can enter their hours from job sites.
• Estimates, for quick field generation of quotes.

Networking should be ready soon after the first, early release of the single-user version. Mobile apps will take a bit longer.

Beta versions of our new accounting software are guaranteed to have some bugs and missing features. Hopefully, they will be good enough for daily use. We will update weekly, so bugs won’t linger long.

Goldenseal went through 3 years of alpha and beta status, then a few more years when important features were added gradually.

Fewer things will go wrong in this release, since the accounting and business management code hasn’t changed.  That’s where most of the Goldenseal bugs were during the first ten years.

Dennis Kolva
Programming Director
TurtleSoft.com

Soon after the last post, we abandoned the C++ diamonds, and found a better way to modify breakdown tables in our new accounting software. There’s still more we can do in Custom Layouts, but it’s finally good enough for a first release.

Printing also is coming along. Breakdown tables now print a list of items on sales receipts, which was a biggie. But it’s still not finished. Right now, multi-line fields don’t print anything, thanks to some Qt complications. Popup fields and smart fields do print, but they look like a data entry screen. Our staff found a new approach that should solve all those problems at the same time.

Meanwhile, we just posted on UpWork and Guru.com, looking for a subcontractor to write code for the multi-user version. The first day drew 70+ applicants. Narrowing down to those actually qualified is a gradual process. Hopefully, we’ll learn enough about Qt networking along the way to make a good decision.

Part of the project specs is to make a very simple mobile app for iOS and Android. It’s step one in creating links from phone to home computer, so you can manage purchase, estimates and other tasks while in the field.

Dennis Kolva
Programming Director
TurtleSoft.com