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site: faq: history: yet another cleanup/cheer-up

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Simon Michael 2016-02-18 09:43:20 -08:00
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### History
I discovered John Wiegley's [Ledger](http://ledger-cli.org) in 2006, and was a happy user at first.
Then came a long period of stagnation in that project,
with missing and misleading documentation, irksome bugs, and a confusing release situation.
I discovered John Wiegley's [Ledger](http://ledger-cli.org) in 2006,
and was very happy to find this efficient command-line reporting tool with a transparent data format.
I urgently needed a reliable accounting tool that I enjoyed using. I also wanted to lower the barriers to entry for newcomers.
For a while I worked within the Ledger project, reporting bugs and setting up a new domain and website.
But, I didn't want to spend time learning C++. And I did want to spend time learning Haskell.
I felt Ledger could be implemented well and perhaps more efficiently in that language,
which has some compelling advantages.
Initially, I used it to generate time reports for my job.
Before long I wanted that to work a little differently - splitting the transaction at day boundaries, reporting in hours, etc.
John had got busy elsewhere and the Ledger project now entered a fairly long period of stagnation, with persistent bugs, documentation problems, and a confusing release situation.
I did what I could to help build momentum in the Ledger project, reporting bugs, supporting newcomers, and contributing a new domain and website.
But, I didn't want to spend time learning C++. I was learning Haskell, which I did want to spend time in.
I felt Ledger could be implemented well and, in the long run, more efficiently in that language,
which has some compelling advantages such as lower maintenance costs.
<!-- ([eg](http://neilmitchell.blogspot.com/2016/02/selling-haskell-in-pub.html)). -->
<!-- (It encourages the coding style known as pure functional programming, -->
<!-- allowing more bug-free, concise and maintainable software. It provides -->
<!-- a more abstracted, portable platform making installation easier. It is -->
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I couldn't expect John to start over - at that time he was not the Haskell
fan he is now - so in 2007 I began experimenting myself, built a
toy parser, and kept tinkering. I wanted
I urgently needed a reliable accounting tool that I enjoyed using.
I also wanted to see what I could do to reduce roadbumps and confusion for newcomers.
I couldn't expect John to start over - at that time he was not the Haskell fan he is now.
So in 2007 I began experimenting.
I built a toy parser in a few different languages, and it was easiest in Haskell.
I kept tinkering. Goals included:
(a) to get better at Haskell by building something useful to me,
(b) to learn how well Haskell could work for real-world applications,
and as increasingly time passed,
@ -30,16 +35,24 @@ and as increasingly time passed,
features, absence of user-visible bugs, and high-quality documentation and web presence.
Also to experiment with new user interfaces, APIs, etc.
Later the Ledger project revived and attracted more contributors. The
two projects collaborate freely and ideas have travelled in both
directions. Having two independent somewhat-compatible
implementations has been quite helpful for testing and
troubleshooting, exploring the design space, and growing the "*ledger"
community. I also give back to Ledger by providing infrastructure
like [ledger-cli.org](http://ledger-cli.org),
[LedgerTips](http://twitter.com/LedgerTips), IRC support on #ledger
etc. In 2014 I added a [#hledger](irc://irc.freenode.net/#hledger) channel
to allow more hledger-specific discussion.
Before too long I had a tool that was useful to me. With Ledger still installed,
and by maintaining high compatibility, I now had two tools with different strengths,
each providing a comparison for the other in case of confusion or suspected bugs,
which was itself quite valuable.
Later the Ledger project revived and attracted more contributors. I have
remained active in that community, sharing discoveries and design discussions,
and happily we have seen many ideas travelling in both directions.
I think having independent but compatible implementations has been
quite helpful for troubleshooting, exploring the design space, and
growing the "Ledger-likes" community.
My other projects in that direction include
the [ledger-cli.org](http://ledger-cli.org) site,
[LedgerTips](http://twitter.com/LedgerTips),
IRC support on #ledger,
and now [plaintextaccounting.org](http://plaintextaccounting.org).
In 2014 I added a [#hledger](irc://irc.freenode.net/#hledger) channel to allow more hledger-specific discussion.
### Future ?