--As of Saturday, November 12, 2005 1:58 PM -0500, Bill Dika is alleged to
have said:
> I eventually (some time in the distant future) want to write a Canadian
> open source income tax program for individuals using PostgreSQL as a back
> end and a GUI front end.
>
> In the meantime (to teach myself), I want to create a program to keep
> track of the cost basis of shares traded on the North American stock
> exchanges. I would use this program for work, to keep track for income
> tax purposes, of the cost of shares over time to our clients. Something
> we currently make do with using a flat file database in MS Excel.
>
> My Problem:
>
> I have introductory books on Python, Perl and Tcl/Tk. I feel comfortable
> setting up the database in PostgreSQL, but in creating the GUI front end,
> I'm not sure how to invest my time. Should I use Tcl/Tk, Python with
> Tkinter or wxPython (using BOA Constructor?), Perl with ???. Which will
> get me most productive in the shortest amount of time (considering I'm
> not a programmer). Which combination works best with PostgreSQL? I expect
> the income tax program to be computationally intensive but I also expect
> most of this computation to take place in PostgreSQL and not the front
> end.
--As for the rest, it is mine.
(I'm not sure if this is the best list for this question, but I can't think
of a better one to refer you to.)
What type of front end are you considering using? Web-based? Native
Windows? Cross-platform? If want to build one, would another type be
useful/possible later?
How do you intend to have people use the program? Install it themselves?
Run a web-service? Have an expert install it for them?
Just trying to get some idea of the direction you intend to go with the
program. You could go with Visual Basic (or it's close cousin, RealBASIC),
as a first suggestion. That would allow you to use your current
programming knowledge easily. You just treat PostgreSQL as another OBDC
data source.
I like some of the above languages, but they and others have strengths and
weaknesses for different purposes, and for different thought styles. Which
is best for your project will depend on the project and yourself.
Daniel T. Staal
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