From aa1fc3f2f2a81b415f31c8b7fbc82144c1518f6c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Simon Michael Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2016 15:25:21 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] site: faq: history: clean up, cheer up --- site/faq.md | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++------------------------- 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-) diff --git a/site/faq.md b/site/faq.md index b33c1fdc7..c22579e37 100644 --- a/site/faq.md +++ b/site/faq.md @@ -6,28 +6,29 @@ ### History -I was a happy user of John Wiegley's [Ledger](http://ledger-cli.org) -(begun in 2003) for some time. There was a long period of stagnation -in that project. I grew tired of bugs, missing and wrong documentation, -and explaining the situation to confused newcomers. -I really, truly needed a reliable accounting tool. -I really didn't want to spend time learning C++. +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 felt Ledger could be implemented well and perhaps even more -successfully in the Haskell programming language, which has some -compelling advantages. (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 attractive for contributors -to work on.) +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. + + + + -I couldn't ask John to start over - back then he was not the Haskell -lover he has since become! - so in 2007 I started prototyping a -parser, and kept going. My goals were to (a) learn how well Haskell -could do in this (simple, thought I) real-world application, and (b) -maybe, build on Ledger's experience to create a new implementation -prioritising ease of use. It would have simpler features, fewer bugs, -better documentation, and additional user interfaces. +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 +(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, +(c) to provide a new implementation with a greater focus on ease of use, simpler +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 @@ -37,11 +38,8 @@ 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. - -For some time hledger shared Ledger's IRC channel #ledger. In 2014 I -added the dedicated [#hledger](irc://irc.freenode.net/#hledger) -channel. +etc. In 2014 I added a [#hledger](irc://irc.freenode.net/#hledger) channel +to allow more hledger-specific discussion. ### Future ?