Status on 1.3.0 RC1 timeline

[Chris Travers <..hidden..>]

Hi;

Here is an update.  I will probably release another snapshot tomorrow
based on the progress made.

OUTLINE
========
1)  New code documentation complete
2)  File attachments to AR/AP/GL, Invoices and Orders complete
(includes Quotations and RFQ's)
3)  Bug Reports (open, deferred)
4)  Migration and installation tools partly working

NEW CODE DOCUMENTATION
=======================
The new code has POD added for all functions.  This also means that
the review of new code is complete for 1.3 and no further pruning or
refactoring is expected outside of bug reports.  This is a big step
forward and it means one of the major requirements for 1.3.0 RC1 has
been completed.  Files have also been annotated with Perl comments as
to opportunities for better structuring them as we review the material
after 1.3 branches off.  In a few places, comments have been added to
the old code to note particular problem spots.

In the course of the project we've gone from zero documentation and 4%
of the codebase being comments (and no POD) to 14% of the codebase
being POD and comments, as well as a substantial portion of the
codebase being documentation itself (ERD's the manual, etc).  The
codebase is smaller on an absolute basis and more functional, but it
is also far better documented.  This being said, none of the
documentation is where we want it, so help is always appreciated.

FILE ATTACHMENTS
================
File attachments are now confirmed working on latest svn.  This
provides a mechanism to uploading arbitrary files and attaching them
to financial transactions and orders.  As of now, these are confirmed
working on AR, GL, and AP transactions as well as sales/vendor
invoices, and all forms of orders and quotations.  Currently the
functionality does not provide the links the system is capable of
providing when orders are consolidated.  Additionally it is unlikely
to be feasible to add automatic linking of files to invoices (from the
original order) when orders are invoiced  until the invoices and
orders are on the new codebase.  A tool may be provided as an add-on
to fill this need after 1.3 is out.

BUG REPORTS
================
The following bugs are currently open on Sourceforge.  Listing them
here along with their status:

 3385894	"Process Transactions" output mixed with HTTP Headers

This affects recurring transactions and probably involves use of
uninitialized variables  The code is very hard to maintain here.  This
is is not considered to block a release candidate.


 3384985	file mime type table does not include openoffice formats

This affects the new file attachments and will be fixed before RC1.
It's a simple omission on my part.

 3384900	subtotal on tax report is displayed as HASH()

Reported via IRC.  Has not been investigated or confirmed yet, but
should be shortly.

 3384896	No way to see taxable amount in tax report

Reported via IRC.  Has not been investigated or confirmed yet, but
should be shortly.

 3384895	ic_taxpart dropdown option not displayed right

Reported via IRC.  Has not been investigated or confirmed yet, but
should be shortly

 3384894	Long invoice does not break item list for pages

This is an issue which may affect a few users of 1.2.x.  Nonetheless,
given that 1.2 templates have to be rewritten to work on 1.3, this is
being deferred until after RC1.

 3382927	LaTeX escaping

Reported via IRC.  Not investigated or confirmed yet, but should be shortly.

 3380253	1.3, print check from AP transaction screen fails

The check template format has changed, and this makes it impossible at
present to print a check from the AP transaction screen.  Because of
the changes in workflow I think we may remove this functionality and
force checks to go through the other interfaces.

 3380041	Clearing voided against a voiding invoice: returns an error

This occurs when issuing a zero-amount payment through the new single
payment interface.  Troubleshooting has only just begun.

 3380036	Both VOIDing and original invoice showing 'open' in receipt

This is behavior in common with 1.3 and SQL-Ledger.  It will not block
1.3.0, and may not be changed until at least 1.4.0.

My estimation is that there are enough bugs here to keep me pretty
occupied for a week.

MIGRATION AND INSTALLATION SCRIPTS
================================
These represent the last major development area for 1.3.0 RC1.  We
currently have decent installations scripts written in bash, and these
will be ported to Perl.  Migration is a little bit different in that
we have some SQL scripts but they have to be modified ahead of time.
These have been good enough to get my business running on 1.3.0.  A
web-based interface will be prepared which checks 1.2.x db's for known
problems, provides an opportunity to correct them and walks the
individual through the migration one step at a time.

These may take 1-2 weeks to get complete.

This suggests a current timeline of 2-3 weeks before 1.3.0 is in
release candidate phase.

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers