From 7b36e2d398434318487d332ebfccbb54e44dcbc7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Simon Michael Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 00:27:12 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] site: update intro blurb & faq, link ledger more prominently --- MANUAL.md | 64 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------- README.md | 11 +++++----- 2 files changed, 45 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-) diff --git a/MANUAL.md b/MANUAL.md index 7e7af6bfd..e45c317bf 100644 --- a/MANUAL.md +++ b/MANUAL.md @@ -37,30 +37,44 @@ This is the manual for hledger 0.14.0. ## Frequently asked questions -- **How does hledger relate to John Wiegley's ledger project ?** +- **How does hledger relate to [John Wiegley's ledger](http://ledger-cli.org) ?** - hledger was very much inspired by, and is partly a clone of, - [ledger](http://wiki.github.com/jwiegley/ledger) (also called "c++ - ledger" in these docs.) I was a happy ledger user and contributor for - some time, and I still use it occasionally. I wrote hledger because I - wanted to develop financial tools in the Haskell programming language - and ecosystem, whose advantages I believe are compelling. I have also - tried to make hledger a little more simple, usable, installable, and - documented, and to provide alternate user interfaces and other - enhancements to make it more widely useful. - - ledger has more advanced command-line power features (periodic - transactions, budgets, capital gains tracking, value expressions, - custom output formats, ...) and it remains faster and more memory - efficient on large data files. - - The two projects (indeed the whole family of ledger-inspired projects) - collaborate freely, and we share ledger's IRC channel (but have our - own mail list.) We stay compatible with ledger wherever possible, - intending that you can use both tools on the same data, each for its - strengths. Here is - [more detail about compatibility](#compatibility-with-c-ledger). + Short version: hledger is a friendly, co-evolving, compatible + reimplementation in Haskell, lacking some of ledger's power features + and raw performance, and focussing on robustness, usability, ease of + development, and experimental add-ons, notably the (separate, + optional) [web interface](#web). + Long version: + + hledger was inspired by and is partly a clone of ledger (also called + "c++ ledger" here.) I was a happy ledger user and contributor for some + time; I still use it occasionally. I wrote hledger because I wanted to + develop financial tools in the Haskell programming language and + ecosystem, whose advantages I believe are compelling. I have also + tried to make hledger a little more simple, usable, installable, + documented, appealing to collaborators, and to provide alternate user + interfaces to make it more widely useful. + + ledger has more advanced power-user features on the command-line + (periodic and modifier transactions, budgets, capital gains tracking, + value expressions, custom output formats, etc.) and it remains faster + and more memory efficient (for now!)... + + hledger builds faster and has an up-to-date manual and an optional web + interface (which often works on ledger files too)... + + The two projects collaborate freely. We share the + [#ledger](irc://irc.freenode.net/#ledger) IRC channel but have + separate mail lists + ([hledger list](http://groups.google.com/group/hledger/), + [ledger-cli list](http://groups.google.com/group/ledger-cli/)). I try + to give back by providing infrastructure + ([ledger-cli.org](http://ledger-cli.org)) and IRC support. + hledger stays compatible with ledger wherever possible, so that you + can often use both tools on the same data file. Here is + [more about compatibility](#compatibility-with-c-ledger). + ## Installing hledger works on all major platforms *(except microsoft windows, as of @@ -822,8 +836,10 @@ Examples: The web command starts a web server providing a web-based user interface, and if possible opens a web browser to view it. The web UI combines the -features of the print, register, balance and add commands, and adds a -general edit command. +features of the print, register, balance and add commands, and also +supports data entry and modification. You can see it in action here: +[current release demo](http://demo.hledger.org), +[latest development demo](http://demo.hledger.org:5001). There are some web-specific options: diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 63bbbf585..6e439f793 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -4,12 +4,11 @@ title: hledger # hledger -hledger is a computer program for easily tracking money, time, or -other commodities, using standard accounting principles. It is -quite limited in features, but reliable. For some, it is a -bare-bones, less complex, less expensive alternative to Quicken or -Microsoft Money. hledger is available for free under the GNU -General Public License. +hledger is a computer program for easily tracking money, time, or other +commodities, inspired by [ledger](MANUAL.html#faq). It is quite limited in +features, but lightweight and reliable. For some, it is a bare-bones, +simpler, less expensive alternative to Quicken or GnuCash. +It is available for free under the GNU General Public License. hledger aims to help both computer experts and every-day users gain clarity in their finances and time management. I use it every day