Linux distribution packaging
Hello,
I ran across this Tom's Hardware review of Linux financial apps and was surprised that Moneydance was overlooked. I dropped a note to the author suggesting he include it (someone has to look out for you guys), and his reply was interesting:
I'm aware of MoneyDance and it does look pretty sweet. Unfortunately, they do not provide a .deb or .rpm, nor is the application available in any of the major 3 desktop distro's repos. This app roundup series is really focused on people who are completely new to Linux (Windows users) and we're only showcasing apps that a total newb will be able to install without hassle. The fact is, once the words 'open up a terminal' are uttered, 90% of the people in the room leave.
As someone who has to support total newbs, I think he has a point. Now maybe the size of the Linux newbie market doesn't justify the effort of distributing Moneydance in the ways he described. From my perspective, the more customers, the development there will be on my favorite personal finance app. I hope that helps!
guanxi
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1 Posted by Jessica Little on 10 Aug, 2010 02:05 PM
Hi guanxi,
I actually completely agree with you. Creating deb and rpm files has sort of been on our "would be nice" list for a while, but we've been generally so swamped with support requests and other work that we just haven't devoted time to it. However, this might be enough to move it from the "would be nice" list to the "need to do" list. I'll check in with Sean, and hopefully you'll be seeing debs and rpms for Moneydance soon!
Jessica Little
Moneydance Support
2 Posted by mlschechter on 28 Nov, 2010 02:43 AM
Jessica,
I'm a big fan of Moneydance, and appreciate the value of the software. Unfortunately, I think there's been a minor confusion here. There are Linux shell installers (with and without a JVM), and an RPM, all of which have been available at http://moneydance.com/download/2010/installers/ since sometime after May 2010. I've used the RPM installation, and it's pretty straightforward (the desktop file could use a little work, though, and should be auto-installed).
I think where Tom's Hardware got confused is that only one of these three options is listed on the download page. That page is also missing the non-Unix tar.gz versions, and a Unix version that appears to be bundled with a Java 5 JRE (at http://moneydance.com/download/2010/Unix/).
If I may, I'd like to suggest the following:
- Add the deb file creation to the schedule - Update the Gnome desktop file so that it's a little more complete, including all the relevant standard information as specified in the specification; I've attached my current version for reference
3 Posted by Ben Spencer on 29 Nov, 2010 03:05 PM
We will be using a new build environment in the very near future. As a result of this we will be releasing moneydance for Linux primarily packaged as a .deb.
Ben
4 Posted by mlschechter on 30 Nov, 2010 03:17 AM
Ben,
Please pardon my confusion (again). The only thing I was pointing out as a (very mild) negative was that the existing installation mechanisms are not completely or consistently available to the end user. I also offered what I hoped was constructive input for improving the Linux content. My understanding of the Gnome desktop implies that the desktop file changes I proposed are cross-distribution portable.
I am really unclear as to why there do not seem to be any plans for a Moneydance RPM, especially as it has been packaged that way in the present. A quick check of the DistroWatch top 10 distributions would seem to indicate that RPM-based distributions are almost as popular as DEB-based distributions.
Did I miss something here?
5 Posted by Ben Spencer on 30 Nov, 2010 02:28 PM
I am sorry if i caused confusion with my last reply. My intention was to convey that we will be making it easier for our Linux users to install ubuntu. Our new build system makes it just as easy to produce a DEB as it does to make an RPM. We will make both available.
Ben Spencer
Moneydance Support
System closed this discussion on 31 Mar, 2015 03:30 PM.