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gnue/www faq.html
|
From: |
Neil Tiffin |
|
Subject: |
gnue/www faq.html |
|
Date: |
Sat, 15 Dec 2001 19:16:30 -0500 |
CVSROOT: /home/cvs
Module name: gnue
Changes by: Neil Tiffin <address@hidden> 01/12/15 19:16:30
Modified files:
www : faq.html
Log message:
Reformat faq to meet neilt's and dereks requirements (emacs and
hierarchial format).
CVSWeb URLs:
http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/gnue/www/faq.html.diff?cvsroot=OldCVS&tr1=1.20&tr2=1.21&r1=text&r2=text
Patches:
Index: gnue/www/faq.html
diff -c gnue/www/faq.html:1.20 gnue/www/faq.html:1.21
*** gnue/www/faq.html:1.20 Sat Dec 15 10:18:17 2001
--- gnue/www/faq.html Sat Dec 15 19:16:30 2001
***************
*** 1,1315 ****
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd";>
-
<html>
<head>
! <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1">
! <title>
! GNU Enterprise GNUe FAQ
! </title>
! <meta name="keywords"
! content="MRP, ERP, enterprise software, gnue, gnu enterprise, free
software, business technology, supply chain, inventory, object technology,
CORBA, SQL, relational database, FAQ, client server">
! <meta name="description" content="The GNUe Enterprise FAQ.">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div align="Center">
! <h2><font size="+2">GNUe FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions</font></h2>
</div>
<p>
! <b>The GNUe General FAQ Index</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.1">1.1 - What is GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.2">1.2 - What makes GNUe different?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.3">1.3 - How do I get help with GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.4">
! 1.4 - How do I report suggestions, errors or omission in this FAQ?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.5">1.5 - Who contributed to this FAQ?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.6">
! 1.6 - When was this FAQ last revised and where can I find it?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.7">1.7 - What is Enterprise Software?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.8">1.8 - Why is GNUe being developed?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.9">
! 1.9 - How does GNUe compare to Quickbooks, PeachTree or other
! shrink-wrapped accounting software?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.10">1.10 - What is Free Software?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.11">
! 1.11 - Why is GNUe GPL and what does that mean?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.12">1.12 - How do I help the GNUe effort?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.13">
! 1.13 - What standard technologies or standards are used in GNUe?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.14">1.14 - What is the history of GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.15">
! 1.15 - What are the technical features of GNUe?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.16">1.16 - What is the current status of GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.17">1.17 - What organizations are using GNUe?</a>
! </p>
! <p>
! <b>The GNUe Technology FAQ Index</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.1">
! 2.1 - What is the GNUe architecture (short version)?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.2">2.2 - What is GNUe-Forms and GNUe-Designer?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.3">2.3 - What is GNUe-Common?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.4">
! 2.4 - What is GNUe Application Server (GEAS)?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.5">2.5 - What is GNUe Reports (GNUeR)?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.6">
! 2.6 - What is GNUe Enterprise Wide Office Kommunication (EWOK)?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.7">2.7 - What database does GNUe require?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.8">2.8 - What is Data Transformation Tool?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.9">2.9 - What is Workflow Engine?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.10">
! 2.10 - What is Transaction Processing Engine?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.11">2.11 - What GUIs work with GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.12">2.12 - Why Python? Why not Java or Perl?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.13">2.13 - What about Windows or Macintosh?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.14">
! 2.14 - What about network traffic, bandwith and thin client?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.15">
! 2.15 - How do I create a simple form and where is it stored
! and run from?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.16">
! 2.16 - How will external systems interface to GNUe?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.17">2.17 - What is a Business Object?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.18">2.18 - What are Business Rules?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.19">
! 2.19 - Why not Glade instead of GNUe Forms?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.20">
! 2.20 - Why not Mozilla's XUL instead of GNUe Forms?
! </a>
! </p>
! <p>
! <b>The GNUe Installation FAQ Index</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-3.1">
! 3.1 - What hardware is required to run GNUe?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-3.2">
! 3.2 - What software is required to run GNUe?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-3.3">3.3 - Where do I get GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! 3.4 - How do I build GNUe?
! <br>
! 3.5 - How do I make GNUe work in my environment?
! <br>
! 3.6 - How do I request changes or modifications to GNUe?
! <br>
! 3.7 - How do I get and install updates to GNUe?
! <br>
! 3.8 - If I get into trouble, can I purchase timely support for GNUe?
! </p>
! <p>
! <b>The GNUe Business Process FAQ Index</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! 4.1 - What business processes could benefit from the current version
! of GNUe?
! <br>
! 4.2 - What are the financial benefits of using GNUe?
! <br>
! 4.3 - How do I determine if GNUe will fit my needs?
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.4">4.4 - What is a GNUe Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.5">4.5 - What is the GNUe Accounting Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.6">
! 4.6 - What is the GNUe Budget Management Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.7">
! 4.7 - What is the GNUe Customer Relations Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.8">4.8 - What is the GNUe E-Commerce Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.9">
! 4.9 - What is the GNUe Human Resources Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.10">
! 4.10 - What is the GNUe Project Management Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.11">
! 4.11 - What is the GNUe Research & Development Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.12">
! 4.12 - What is the GNUe Supply Chain Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.13">
! 4.13 - What is the GNUe Manufacturing Package?
! </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.14">4.14 - What is the GNUe Sales Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.15">
! 4.15 - What is the GNUe Business Intelligence Package?
! </a>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe General FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.1"></a>
! <b>1.1 - What is GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe stands for GNU Enterprise. GNUe is both free software and
! a modular architecture that provides automated support for most
! business processes. This type of software is sometimes referred
! to as Enterprise Software. Many proprietary commercial Enterprise
! Software applications exist (i.e. from manufacturers like SAP,
! Manugistics, PeopleSoft, etc.) that provide similar functionality.
! </p>
! <p>
! GNUe installation will typically provide integrated business software
! for human resources, payroll, inventory, purchasing, accounting,
! finance, planning, sales order entry, customer support, forecasting,
! and other business processes.
</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.2"></a>
! <b>1.2 - What makes GNUe different?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe is free software and built around open standards for the most
! popular computer systems in the world. It is also designed from
! the ground up as a modular international system utilizing the latest
! in object technology. Object technology means that parts of the
! overall system may be improved and capabilities added without monolithic
! or system wide changes. International design includes capability
! for multiple currencies, languages and international support.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.3"></a>
! <b>1.3 - How do I get help with GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! First, read the documentation. It can be found at
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/docs";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/docs</a>.
! Business object (accounting, supply-chain, etc.) documentation
! can be found at
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/sc.html";>
! http://www. gnuenterprise.org/~neilt/sc.html</a>.
</p>
<p>
! Once you are familiar with the documentation you should review
! the mail list archives which can be found at
! <a href="http://lists.gnue.org/mailman/listinfo";>
! http://lists.gnue.org/mailman/listinfo</a>.
</p>
<p>
! You may also ask you question on the IRC chat channel which can
! be found at
! <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=3";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.4"></a>
! <b>
! 1.4 - How do I report suggestions, errors or omission in this FAQ?
! </b>
</p>
<p>
! All suggestions, errors, omission or other comments regarding the
! GNUe FAQ should be emailed to
! <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.5"></a>
! <b>1.5 - Who contributed to this FAQ?</b>
</p>
<p>
! This FAQ was originally written in November 2000 and is maintained
! by Neil Tiffin. Contributors to this FAQ include, in no particular
! order, Derek Neighbors, James Thompson, Andrew Murie, Alan Clifford,
! Reinhard Muller, Andrew Hill, and Jason Cater.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.6"></a>
! <b>1.6 - When was this FAQ last revised and where can I find it.</b>.
</p>
<p>
! This FAQ is $Revision: 1.20 $ $Date: 2001/12/15 15:18:17 $. The
! most recent version (automatically updated from CVS) can be found at
! <a href="http://www.gnu.org/projects/gnue/faq.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/projects/gnue/faq.html</a>.
! Another version is located at
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.7"></a>
! <b>1.7 - What is Enterprise Software?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Enterprise Software refers to a software system where most of the
! software used to operate a business is integrated together and
! business information is maintained in a way that reduces or eliminates
! duplication, provides timely access by all parts of the organization,
! provides a high level of accuracy, and requires minimal manual
! intervention.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.8"></a>
! <b>1.8 - Why is GNUe being developed?</b>
</p>
<p>
! As an alternative to proprietary systems because:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! proprietary systems can be very expensive over the life of the
! software. If you have a system that works why should you pay a
! huge monthly fee just for the privilege of using the system.
! </li>
! <li>
! proprietary systems are usually designed by computer companies,
! not end users. GNUe is flexible and designed to support realistic
! business processes and future development is driven by users.
! </li>
! <li>
! proprietary systems may have limited life and are proprietary.
! If the proprietary system manufacturer or outside consultant goes
! out of business (or your internal technical developer leaves) you
! may end up with no reliable support. Why should you pay for a manufacturers
! poor business practices? GNUe is free software. This provides you
! with everything needed to support the software yourself -- even
! if everyone else quits using it. The GNUe project is designed as
! a cooperative effort. This will benefit all users in the long run.
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe offers unparalleled flexibility. You may use an existing business
! model, expand upon an existing business model, or create your
! own business model from scratch.
! </li>
! <li>
! small businesses can get the same benefit from GNUe that previously
! were only available to large businesses using proprietary enterprise
! software.
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.9"></a>
! <b>
! 1.9 - How does GNUe compare to Quickbooks, PeachTree or other
! shrink-wrapped accounting software?
! </b>
</p>
<p>
! It doesn't. GNUe is professional strength software designed for
! multi-user operating systems with either a two or three tier client
! server architecture. It is built to be scalable and maintainable
! -- supporting organizations with over 2000 users. Of course, it
! will also support organizations with just a few users and run on
! a single computer (with just a little overkill). It can be run
! out of the box or completely customized by developers. It is free.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.10"></a>
! <b>1.10 - What is Free Software?</b>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe project fully supports the concept of Free Software. See
! <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.11"></a>
! <b>
! 1.11 - Why is GNUe licensed under the GPL and what does this mean?
! </b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe is released under the GPL license. Please see the sample GPL
! license at
! <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html</a>.
! The actual license covering GNUe is included in all GNUe distributions.
</p>
<p>
! For a description of why GPL and why free software see
! <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.12"></a>
! <b>1.12 - How do I help the GNUe effort?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Become familiar with the GNUe system; then, email
! <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>.
! There is always something that needs to be done. We need all
! types of talent -- programming, documentation, business process
! analysis, and, most importantly, users. Please don't be bashful.
</p>
<p>
! To formally contribute to GNUe, we will require a signed Free Software
! Foundation copyright assignment. More information can be obtained
! by sending email indicating your area of interest to
! <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.13"></a>
! <b>1.13 - What standard technologies or standards are used in GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe potentially makes use of SGML, HTML, XML, XML-EDI, CORBA,
! SQL, and several GNU technologies. No doubt some I missed.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.14"></a>
! <b>1.14 - What is the history of GNUe?</b>
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! July 1999 - Project obelisk managed by James Thompson (USA) and
! Didier Legein (Belgium) and the GNU G/L (FSF Project) managed by
! Jonas Oberg (Sweden) merged to become GNU Enterprise. The goal
! to do more that just G/L.
! </li>
! <li>
! February 2000 - Project sanity (ERP) managed by Jade Meskill (USA)
! and Derek Neighbors (USA) inquired and merged with GNUe.
! </li>
! <li>
! March 2000 - The start of the current incarnation of GNUe. Finalized
! and merged the current technical architecture from the previous
! projects. During the late spring and early summer Reinhard Muller
! (Austria), Arno Pedusaar (Estonia), and Bill Hamilton (USA) joined
! the core team.
! </li>
! <li>
! July 2000 - Treshna, represented by Andrew Murie (New Zealand)
! and Andrew Hill (New Zealand), joined the core team, committed
! full time resources, and started work on GNUe Application Server (GEAS).
! </li>
! <li>
! October 2000 - GNUe Application Server v0.0.2 released with relational
! database support for MySQL and PostGRES. GNUe Forms v0.0.3 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! November 2000 - GNUe Forms 0.0.4 and GEAS 0.0.3 released and Project
! Management and Inventory modules started. Neil Tiffin (USA) joined
! the core team.
! </li>
! <li>
! December 2000 - Chris Spence (UK) joined the core team.
! </li>
! <li>
! January 2001 - GNUe Forms 0.0.5 released. GEAS undergoing major
! rewrite and API change.
! </li>
! <li>
! February 2001 - Demonstrations at Linux World were hits.
! </li>
! <li>
! March 2001 - GNUe Forms 0.0.6 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! April 2001 - GNUe Application Server (GEAS) 0.0.4, GNUe Forms 0.0.7,
! GNUe Common 0.0.1 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! June 2001 - GNUe Application Server (GEAS) 0.0.5, GNUe Forms 0.0.8
! and GNUe Common 0.0.2 released. New interactive web site introduced at
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>.
! </li>
! <li>
! July 2001 - GNUe Forms 0.0.9, GNUe Common 0.0.3 and GNUe Designer
! 0.0.1 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! August 2001 - GNUe Application Server (GEAS) 0.0.6 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! November 2001 - Kernel Cousins (IRC summary) brought on-line. GNUe-Forms
! 0.1.0, GNUe-Designer 0.1.0, and GNUe-Common 0.1.0. released.
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.15"></a>
! <b>1.15 - What are the technical features of GNUe?</b>
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! Modular System Design - You only install and maintain what you need.
! </li>
! <li>
! Open Architecture - No internal secrets or technology -- you are
! in control of your destiny.
! </li>
! <li>
! Powerful Development Framework - Provides high level development
! and productivity tools.
! </li>
! <li>
! Freedom from Single Source Vendors - All source code included.
! </li>
! <li>
! Easy Maintenance - Customized components are separate from generic
! distribution.
! </li>
! <li>
! Package Library - Easy specialization for specific business processes.
! </li>
! <li>
! Reuse of Free Software - Does not reinvent the wheel.
! </li>
! <li>
! Versioning System - Ease of updating.
! </li>
! <li>
! Best Practice - Design based on best international practices.
! </li>
! <li>
! International Design - Currency, Language, and core team representatives
! located around the world.
! </li>
! <li>
! Industry Specific Templates - Easy specialization for specific
! industry needs.
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! For a more complete description please see the document "GNU Enterprise
! - Developers Introduction" at
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.16"></a>
! <b>1.16 - What is the current status of GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Our development process is:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! Proposal - specifications being exchanged no final agreement
! </li>
! <li>
! Draft Specification - Proposal accepted, spec's started
! </li>
! <li>
! Specification - no code, but agreed specifications
! </li>
! <li>
! Development - code started, components may work, but not as a system
! </li>
! <li>
! Alpha - mostly working system, but missing some features
! </li>
! <li>
! Beta - working system, in final testing stage
! </li>
! <li>
! Production - working and tested, ready for non-development use
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! The GNUe tool box status is:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! GNUe Forms - Alpha
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe Designer - Alpha
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe Application Server (GEAS) - Alpha
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe Reports - Late Development
! </li>
! <li>
! EWOK An external communications engine - Proposal
! </li>
! <li>
! Bayonne Telephony Application Server - Production
! </li>
! <li>
! Data Transformation tool (something like Data Junction) - Proposal
! </li>
! <li>
! Workflow Engine - Need Proposal
! </li>
! <li>
! Transaction Processing Engine - Need Proposal
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.17"></a>
! <b>1.17 - What organizations are using GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (to do)
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe Technology FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
! <p>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.1"></a>
! <b>2.1 - What is the GNUe architecture (short version)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe is an n-tier client server enterprise system. The user interface
! is provided by GNUe Forms client. The GNUe Forms client talks directly
! to the GEAS (enterprise application server) using CORBA technology.
! GEAS currenty connects to SQL92 relational databases using API
! calls. GEAS also manages the business objects which consist of
! data and business rules.
! </p>
! <p>
! The backend use of a standard SQL92 relational database provides
! standard interfaces for external systems and leverages current
! IT practices and staff. This was an important consideration for
! simplifying the migration to GNUe and the integration of GNUe with
! other systems (
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.16">see 2.16</a>). For 2-tier, backend support
! includes most major relational databases including DB2, Oracle, Sybase,
! MySQL, and PostgreSQL. For n-tier support, only MySQL and PostgreSQL
! are supported at this time.
</p>
<p>
! The current GNUe software components are:
</p>
<ul>
! <li> GNUe-Forms </li>
! <li> GNUe-Designer </li>
! <li> GNUe-Common </li>
! <li> GNUe-Reports </li>
! <li> GEAS - GNU Enterprise Application Server </li>
! <li> EWOK - GNUe Enterprise Wide Office Kommunications </li>
</ul>
<p>
! Internally, GNUe n-tier is object based. The objects contain data
! and business rules with data stored in an SQL database. The business
! objects are accessed using CORBA and we use Python-orbit for binding
! Python to our current ORB ORBit. Therefore the business rules are
! written in Python. Since other bindings exist, a developer is not
! necessarily limited to Python.
</p>
<p>
! A small system will typically have the following process running (
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/GNUeSimpleSystem.png";>
! see diagram</a>):
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! SQL server
! </li>
! <li>
! GEAS server (optional, for n-tier only)
! </li>
! <li>
! CORBA name server (optional, for n-tier only)
! </li>
! <li>
! A client (GNUe Forms) for each user (each on a different client machine)
! </li>
! <li>
! A report server (GNUe Reports) for each user generated reports
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! A large system may have multiple SQL, GEAS, CORBA name and Report
! servers all running on different machines.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.2"></a>
! <b>2.2 - What is GNUe-Forms and GNUe-Designer?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe-Forms is a platform and UI-independent forms system. It reads
! an XML-based forms definition and creates GUIs for Win32, GTK,
! and, soon, Curses and HTML. It has a fully data-aware widget set
! and can be used in both 2-tier and n-tier environments.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe-Designer is the IDE for the GNUe tools. It allows you to visually
! layout your forms in a RAD-style environment. Designer has a builtin
! forms client, so you can quickly test your forms while still in
! Designer. Designer also now has support for form creation wizards...
! answer a few questions, attach your form to a table, select the
! fields to include, and, voila, a basic form is created.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.3"></a>
! <b>2.3 - What is GNUe-Common?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe-Common is the basis for the GNUe tools, such as Forms, Reports,
! and Designer. It implements a database-abstraction layer that provides
! support for most major databases. A builtin XML-to-Object parser
! and Object-to-XML marshaller are used by Forms, Reports, and Designer
! to save and read Forms/Report definitions to and from an XML file.
! Work has begun on an RPC-abstraction layer that will allow server
! processes to define their public methods once and have them available
! to CORBA, XML-RPC, SOAP, and DCOM clients.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.4"></a>
! <b>2.4 - What is GNUe Application Server (GEAS)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GEAS is a data abstraction layer and allows GNUe to utilize single
! API to all data sources (local and remote). So the client has one
! set of calls it uses, but can access different vendors SQL databases
! or even CVS or XML files. Similar to Borland's Database Engine
! or other data abstraction tiers. GEAS is transparent to the user.
! It will run with multiple instances and do load balancing. GEAS
! is required for n-tier operation.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.5"></a>
! <b>2.5 - What is GNUe Reports (GNUeR)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Reports shares many features with GNUe Forms. It is comprised
! of a report designer and a client that generates the requested
! output. Report definition files are also XML based. And programs
! can communicate directly with the XML reports definition language
! much like they can with GNUe Forms. The major difference is that
! GNUe Reports is optimized to handle large amounts of data and run
! separately from the GNUe Forms Client.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.6"></a>
! <b>2.6 - What is GNUe Enterprise Wide Office Kommunication (EWOK)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Integration of non-transaction based ad-hoc communications utilizing
! fax, email and paging other non-network communications with GNUe.
! Transaction based external communications (EDI and XML-EDI) will
! utilize the
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.7">Data Transformation</a>
! Tool. To use EWOK the user would typically hit the EWOK button
! in the Forms client and a pop-up window would appear with destination
! and information selection options. This may be replaced with
! Bayonne. This change is in process, see the news section for
! more information.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.7"></a>
! <b>2.7 - What database does GNUe require?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe n-tier (GEAS) currently works with MySQL and PostgreSQL relational
! databases. (See
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>).
! GNUe 2-tier works with a wide range of backends, such as PostgreSQL,
! MySQL, Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Interbase, SAP-DB, ODBC, etc.). The
! internal structure of GNUe GEAS is object based but stores information
! in a standard SQL92 relational database. It is anticipated that
! GNUe will interface to any SQL92 (odbc, oracle, sybase, interbase,
! etc) standard relational database. The API design does not limit
! the storage to RDMS.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.8"></a>
! <b>2.8 - What is Data Transformation Tool?</b>
</p>
<p>
! This tool will handle all incoming and outgoing data transformation
! requirements including EDI, XML-EDI, spreadsheet import/export
! and others.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.9"></a>
! <b>2.9 - What is Workflow Engine?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.10"></a>
! <b>2.10 - What is Transaction Processing Engine?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.11"></a>
! <b>2.11 - What GUIs work with GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Forms currently supports (some are tested more than others)
! win32, gtk, motif, curses and mac GUI. A Java client is being
! authored as well and a web client is anticipated in the very near
! future.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Designer uses the wxWindows widget set, which currently supports
! Win32, GTK, and Motif. Soon, wxWindows will support MacOS
! and QT/KDE.
! <br>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.12"></a>
! <b>2.12 - </b>
! Why Python? Why not Java or Perl?
</p>
<p>
! If you want Java, LinuxKontor is probably a better choice for you.
! Because of Java's popularity, some of the GNUe team is working
! on a Java forms client (although it is not a priority and, therefore,
! is not actively maintained). We do know that Java applications
! can connect to a GEAS backend via Java's CORBA support. However,
! Java is NOT the preferred language for our clients as it has issues
! with its ownership. Because this is a free software project we
! will provide all functionality using free software. Also, at the
! time, Java did not have any usable widget sets -- swing was/is
! too slow to be used in an application setting.
</p>
<p>
! Perl is another widely used, free high-level scripting language
! with many similarities to Python. The early developers chose Python
! over Perl because of Python's maintainability (clean code) and
! object-oriented nature. Perl does not scale well in a large project
! with multiple active developers. It is quite common for a developer
! to write a perl script and, 6 months later, not have a clue what
! the script was designed to do. It is commonly said that perl is
! better suited for smaller, one-time projects.
</p>
<p>
! Other free scripting languages could have been used. However, the
! same arguments against Perl usually hold for these as well. Perhaps
! other languages would have worked just as well. The bottom line,
! however, is that Python was chosen early on, has a tremendous standard
! library, has proven itself with respect to clean code, and is well-liked
! by the GNUe developers, so we see no reason to change.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.13"></a>
! <b>2.13 - What about Windows or Macintosh support?</b>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe Application Server (GEAS) works natively on Mac OS X.
! It does not currently work on Windows, but support is anticipated.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Forms and GNUe Designer use the wxPython/wxWindows abstraction
! library, which currently provides widget support for GTK, Motif,
! and Windows 9x/XP/NT/2000. A Mac OS X port of wx is being heavily
! worked on, but is currently not usable. A QT/KDE port for wx is
! also under development. Work is also under way on Curses and HTML
! frontends for GNUe Forms.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Reports runs on most platforms supported by Python. The primary
! limitation will be the driver for your database backend. For example,
! while GNUe Reports will run on Windows, a corresponding PostgreSQL
! driver may not be available.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.14"></a>
! <b>2.14 - What about network traffic, bandwith and thin clients?</b>
</p>
<p>
! All network flow is all by ORBit. We would expect same type of
! traffic as a MIDAS client or DCOM client on windows. We are middle
! ground bandwidth wise and thin client wise. GNUe doesn't use bandwidth
! whenever you move the mouse etc. The forms code is an XML form
! that is interpreted by the client. Its only when you do an event
! relating to the backend that it sends traffic (i.e. event driven).
! The only possible issue, we anticipate, would be latency with internet
! deployment with using thin clients talking to GEAS on other side
! of the world.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.15"></a>
! <b>
! 2.15 - How do I create a simple form? Where is it stored and
! how do I run it?
! </b>
</p>
<p>
! The form is an XML file. You can create it with any editor or with
! GNUe Designer. Then you can run it remotely by typing "gfclient
! http://myserver.com/some_form.gfd"; or locally by typing "gfclient
! /path/to/file/some_form.gfd".
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.16"></a>
! <b>2.16 - How will external systems interface to GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! External systems may interface with GNUe in two ways. The simple
! and more standard way is to connect directly with the SQL backend
! relational database. The downside to this method is that it will
! bypass all business logic built into GNUe business objects. So
! some business logic will be duplicated in the external systems.
! Also database tables are considered very changeable for upgrades
! and extensions, therefore external systems using this method will
! require more maintenance than those using the GNUe API method.
</p>
<p>
! The other way for external systems to interface with GNUe is to
! connect directly to the GEAS (server) using the GNUe API. This
! method is not as standard but will provide better data integrity
! as all data will be subject to the business rules defined in GNUe
! business objects. It will also be less prone to changes as we expect
! the GNUe API to change less than the SQL tables will change.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.17"></a>
! <b>2.17 - What is a Business Object?</b>
</p>
<p>
! A Business Object is an encapsulated unit of information and methods
! that relate to the business. For example a customer is a Business
! Object. Also a purchase order, a line item on a purchase order
! and a receipt against a line item on a purchase order are all Business
! Objects related to each other. Business objects are defined by
! the developer in .gcd files. The .gcd file may also define methods
! and triggers for the Business Objects.
</p>
<p>
! An example Business Object without methods:
</p>
<p>
! <font face="Courier New,Courier,Monaco">
! class contact
! <br>
! {
! <br>
! char name<25>;
! <br>
! int16 age;
! <br>
! float net_worth;
! <br>
! text notes;
! <br>
! };
! <br>
! </font>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.18"></a>
! <b>2.18 - What are Business Rules?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Business Rules are methods defined for classes. Currently business
! rules are implemented in Python or C.
</p>
<p>
! TODO add examples
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.19"></a>
! 2.19 - Why Not Glade instead of GNUe Forms?
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Forms and Glade are two separate types of tools. Comparing
! one to the other is, pardon the cliche, like comparing apples
! to oranges.
</p>
<p>
! Glade is a powerful, yet special-purpose, GUI layout application.
! It is specifically designed to generate GUI layouts for a GTK/GNOME
! application and is very well suited for such a task. If you are
! wanting to design a GUI for a non-data-aware app that runs only
! under Gnome/GTK, then you should look at Glade.
</p>
<p>
! However, one of the main goals of GNUe Forms is to be independent
! of any particular user interface. Using a single form definition,
! your data-aware application will work on various graphical desktops
! (Windows, GTK/GNOME, KDE, Mac, Motif) as well as via a text-only
! (curses) interface and a web browser (HTML). We are even looking
! at designing a Bayonne forms client -- your form could be accessed
! via a telephone!
</p>
<p>
! Also, one of the primary draws of Forms is its fully data-aware
! widget set. Glade would require you to program any database
! logic yourself. Forms provides a natural link between an on-screen
! form and a database backend with very little, if any, programming.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.20"></a>
! 2.20 - Why not Mozilla's XUL instead of GNUe Forms?
</p>
<p>
! "Tonight Derek was reading over some of the documentation on GNUe.
! It occurred to me that Mozilla and XUL might make a great front
! end UI to this system. Instead of creating multiple GUI front ends
! for the different environments you wish to support, you could make
! one XUL front end that could run on every platform that Mozilla
! can run on (and there are a lot). Is there some reason you've chosen
! not to do this?"
</p>
<p>
! This has been talked about in infinite detail, but the summary
! is that browsers don't make good front ends for Enterprise systems.
! They are a nice option, but most data-entry style applications
! are not "friendly" when used from a browswer.
</p>
<p>
! Specifically, there were a few key issues with using Mozilla as
! our primary interface:
</p>
<ol type="a">
! <li>
! Mozilla is a bit 'heavy' for a client. (Now I realize we could
! have just reused the rendering engine (gecko) and wrapped it, but
! thats pretty significant work in and of itself.
! </li>
! <li>
! The concept of data aware widgets doesn't exist to the mozilla
! team unless of course you are willing to do all data in RDF/RSS
! format. Our enterprises, of course, dont store data in this format.
! :) I have recently restarted XUL conversations on this and think
! it would be do able. However, once again there is an issue that
! it would be a lot of work.
! </li>
! <li>
! At the time we started GNUe over 2 years ago, XUL was severely
! infantile and mozilla still was not 'widely' adopted. This was
! around M10 releases. If you doubt we didn't make serious efforts
! search for my name (derek) or my sig at that time XULFool and you
! will see us active in many irc sessions, mailing lists etc. For
! sometime I had wanted to use XUL.
! </li>
! <li>
! At the time .... Mozilla was under MPL only which made it iffy
! at best for us to use as a GNU project.
! </li>
</ol>
<p>
! Since Forms is designed to be UI-independent, it is worth noting
! that someone could write a XUL driver for Forms. This would allow
! those who would prefer an XUL interface to do so, but would not
! in any way make Mozilla the primary interface of Forms.
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe Installation FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.1"></a>
! <b>3.1 - What hardware is required to run GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Currently, the GNUe Application Server is designed to run primarily
! on Unix/Linux systems (including Solaris). A Windows port is in
! progress. The GNUe clients work on most systems including Windows,
! Macintosh, and any system running Motif, X or curses.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.2"></a>
! <b>3.2 - What software is required to run GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! In general, Linux/Unix type system is required with the following
! to build from CVS:
</p>
<ul>
! <li> python </li>
! <li> orbit-python </li>
! <li> automake </li>
! <li> autoconf </li>
! <li> dmalloc </li>
! <li> libtool </li>
! <li> MySql or PostgreSQL </li>
! <li> libGDA </li>
! <li> dotconf </li>
! <li> ORBit </li>
! <li> gettext </li>
! <li> glib </li>
! <li> popt </li>
! <li> wxWindows, wxPython </li>
</ul>
<p>
! For more information see
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.3"></a>
! <b>3.3 - Where do I get GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe test systems are Solaris, Red Hat and Debian Linux distributions.
! Rpms are available for Red Hat Linux, Debian Linux and general
! source distributions at
! <a href="http://http://www.gnuenterprise.org/download.php";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/download.php
! </a>.
! Plus anonymous CVS access is available at
! <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=2";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=2
! </a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.4"></a>
! <b>3.4 - How do I build GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.5"></a>
! <b>3.5 - How do I make GNUe work in my environment?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.6"></a>
! <b>3.6 - How do I request changes or modifications to GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.7"></a>
! <b>3.7 - How do I get and install updates to GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.8"></a>
! <b>
! 3.8 - If I get into trouble, can I purchase timely support for GNUe?
! </b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe Business Process FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.1"></a>
! <b>
! 4.1 - What business processes could benefit from the current
! version of GNUe?
! </b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.2"></a>
! <b>4.2 - What are the financial benefits of using GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.3"></a>
! <b>4.3 - How do I determine if GNUe will fit my needs?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Consult the oracles at irc.openprojects.net #gnuenterprise
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.4"></a>
! <b>4.4 - What is a GNUe Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! A GNUe Package is an arbitrary collection of modules that provides
! focused functionality. Because modules may be combined independently,
! packages provide a convienent but not rigid grouping.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.5"></a>
! <b>4.5 - What is the GNUe Accounting Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Because finance and accounting are the backbone of every business,
! the GNUe Accounting Package is the heart of GNU Enterprise. With
! it, you can manage your finances, pay your bills, invoice your
! customers, allocate budgets, manage your assets and analyze your costs.
</p>
<p>
! More information may be found at
! <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/gnue-config/accounting/%0Apackage-doc/Accounting/accountingpkg.html";>
! Accounting Proposal</a>
! and
! <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=NS-%0AMy_eGallery&file=index&do=showpic&pid=28";>
! Package Overview Drawing</a>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe acocunting package is currently in the proposal stage.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.6"></a>
! <b>4.6 - What is the GNUe Budget Management Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.7"></a>
! <b>4.7 - What is the GNUe Customer Relations Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Customer Relationship Management (CRM) allows your sales, marketing
! and customer support groups to work together to improve customer
! (and prospect) satisfaction. GNU Enterprise CRM provides campaign
! management, literature fulfillment, lead management, sales analysis
! and call center.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.8"></a>
! <b>4.8 - What is the GNUe E-Commerce Package (Sales)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.9"></a>
! <b>4.9 - What is the GNUe Human Resources Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Human Resources manages your most valuable asset, your people.
! With GNU Enterprise Human Resources, you can pay staff, ensure
! equitable compensation, manage training, administer benefits and
! comply with the myriad of government regulatory programs.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.10"></a>
! <b>4.10 - What is the GNUe Project Management Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Project Management gives you the control you need to make money
! from your estimates and bids. With GNU Enterprise Project, you
! can create estimates, define projects, set up budgets, monitor
! progress and send invoices to your customers.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.11"></a>
! <b>4.11 - What is the GNUe Research & Development Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.12"></a>
! <b>4.12 - What is the GNUe Supply Chain Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Supply Chain Management (SCM) optimizes the flow of information
! and materials from your customer’s initial order through
! to delivery to their front door. This process requires the coordinated
! efforts of your suppliers plus workers in Order Entry, Inventory,
! Manufacturing, Shipping, Purchasing and Billing. Even your Web
! Store can be involved. Your company’s competitiveness depends
! directly of how well you optimize your SCM business process. With
! GNU Enterprise SCM, you will have a good head start.
</p>
<p>
! For more information regarding the Supply Chain Package see
! <a href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/sc.html";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/~neilt/sc.html
! </a>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.13"></a>
! <b>4.13 - What is the GNUe Manufacturing Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Manufacturing forms a key part of the Supply Chain Management process.
! GNU Enterprise Manufacturing supports different styles of manufacturing
! - engineer-to-order, process, and project. It includes Master
! Production Scheduling, Bill of Materials, Material Requirements
! Planning, Capacity Requirement Planning and Shop Floor Control.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.14"></a>
! <b>4.14 - What is the GNUe Sales Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Sales is a critical package within your organization. When the
! customer signs the order, it triggers the entire Supply Chain Management
! process. Through analysis of sales data, Customer Relationship
! Management tries to understand customer needs. GNU Enterprise Sales
! allows you to monitor the performance of sales staff and spot problems.
! It allows you to set sales compensation policies which reflect
! company objectives then calculates sales compensation based on
! information from Order Entry.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.15"></a>
! <b>4.15 - What is the GNUe Business Intelligence Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Business Intelligence (BI) allows management to monitor key metrics
! in your organization, spot trouble (or opportunities) and drill
! down through other applications for more information. Then they
! can use BI’s analytical tools to visually monitor progress.
</p>
<p>
! End of GNUe FAQ
</p>
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<html>
<head>
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! <title> GNU Enterprise GNUe FAQ </title>
! <meta name="keywords" content="MRP, ERP, enterprise software, gnue, gnu
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! <h2><font size="+2">GNUe FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions</font></h2>
</div>
<p>
! <b>The GNUe General FAQ Index</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.1">1.1 - What is GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.2">1.2 - What makes GNUe different?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.3">1.3 - How do I get help with GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.4"> 1.4 - How do I report suggestions, errors or
omission in this FAQ? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.5">1.5 - Who contributed to this FAQ?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.6"> 1.6 - When was this FAQ last revised and where
can I find it? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.7">1.7 - What is Enterprise Software?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.8">1.8 - Why is GNUe being developed?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.9"> 1.9 - How does GNUe compare to Quickbooks,
PeachTree or other shrink-wrapped accounting software? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.10">1.10 - What is Free Software?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.11"> 1.11 - Why is GNUe GPL and what does that
mean? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.12">1.12 - How do I help the GNUe effort?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.13"> 1.13 - What standard technologies or
standards are used in GNUe? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.14">1.14 - What is the history of GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.15"> 1.15 - What are the technical features of
GNUe? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.16">1.16 - What is the current status of GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-1.17">1.17 - What organizations are using GNUe?</a>
! </p>
! <p>
! <b>The GNUe Technology FAQ Index</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.1"> 2.1 - What is the GNUe architecture (short
version)? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.2">2.2 - What is GNUe-Forms and GNUe-Designer?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.3">2.3 - What is GNUe-Common?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.4"> 2.4 - What is GNUe Application Server (GEAS)?
</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.5">2.5 - What is GNUe Reports (GNUeR)?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.6"> 2.6 - What is GNUe Enterprise Wide Office
Kommunication (EWOK)? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.7">2.7 - What database does GNUe require?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.8">2.8 - What is Data Transformation Tool?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.9">2.9 - What is Workflow Engine?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.10"> 2.10 - What is Transaction Processing Engine?
</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.11">2.11 - What GUIs work with GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.12">2.12 - Why Python? Why not Java or Perl?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.13">2.13 - What about Windows or Macintosh?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.14"> 2.14 - What about network traffic, bandwith
and thin client? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.15"> 2.15 - How do I create a simple form and
where is it stored and run from? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.16"> 2.16 - How will external systems interface to
GNUe? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.17">2.17 - What is a Business Object?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.18">2.18 - What are Business Rules?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.19"> 2.19 - Why not Glade instead of GNUe Forms?
</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.20"> 2.20 - Why not Mozilla's XUL instead of GNUe
Forms? </a>
! </p>
! <p>
! <b>The GNUe Installation FAQ Index</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-3.1"> 3.1 - What hardware is required to run GNUe?
</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-3.2"> 3.2 - What software is required to run GNUe?
</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-3.3">3.3 - Where do I get GNUe?</a>
! <br>
! 3.4 - How do I build GNUe?
! <br>
! 3.5 - How do I make GNUe work in my environment?
! <br>
! 3.6 - How do I request changes or modifications to GNUe?
! <br>
! 3.7 - How do I get and install updates to GNUe?
! <br>
! 3.8 - If I get into trouble, can I purchase timely support for GNUe?
! </p>
! <p>
! <b>The GNUe Business Process FAQ Index</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! 4.1 - What business processes could benefit from the current version of
GNUe?
! <br>
! 4.2 - What are the financial benefits of using GNUe?
! <br>
! 4.3 - How do I determine if GNUe will fit my needs?
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.4">4.4 - What is a GNUe Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.5">4.5 - What is the GNUe Accounting Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.6"> 4.6 - What is the GNUe Budget Management
Package? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.7"> 4.7 - What is the GNUe Customer Relations
Package? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.8">4.8 - What is the GNUe E-Commerce Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.9"> 4.9 - What is the GNUe Human Resources
Package? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.10"> 4.10 - What is the GNUe Project Management
Package? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.11"> 4.11 - What is the GNUe Research &
Development Package? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.12"> 4.12 - What is the GNUe Supply Chain Package?
</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.13"> 4.13 - What is the GNUe Manufacturing
Package? </a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.14">4.14 - What is the GNUe Sales Package?</a>
! <br>
! <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-4.15"> 4.15 - What is the GNUe Business Intelligence
Package? </a>
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe General FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.1"></a> <b>1.1 - What is GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe stands for GNU Enterprise. GNUe is both free software and a
! modular architecture that provides automated support for most business
! processes. This type of software is sometimes referred to as Enterprise
! Software. Many proprietary commercial Enterprise Software applications
! exist (i.e. from manufacturers like SAP, Manugistics, PeopleSoft, etc.)
! that provide similar functionality.
! </p>
! <p>
! GNUe installation will typically provide integrated business software
! for human resources, payroll, inventory, purchasing, accounting,
! finance, planning, sales order entry, customer support, forecasting,
! and other business processes.
</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.2"></a> <b>1.2 - What makes GNUe different?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe is free software and built around open standards for the most
! popular computer systems in the world. It is also designed from the
! ground up as a modular international system utilizing the latest in
! object technology. Object technology means that parts of the overall
! system may be improved and capabilities added without monolithic or
! system wide changes. International design includes capability for
! multiple currencies, languages and international support.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.3"></a> <b>1.3 - How do I get help with GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! First, read the documentation. It can be found at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/docs";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/docs</a>. Business object (accounting,
! supply-chain, etc.) documentation can be found at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/sc.html";> http://www.
! gnuenterprise.org/~neilt/sc.html</a>.
</p>
<p>
! Once you are familiar with the documentation you should review the mail
! list archives which can be found at <a
! href="http://lists.gnue.org/mailman/listinfo";>
! http://lists.gnue.org/mailman/listinfo</a>.
</p>
<p>
! You may also ask you question on the IRC chat channel which can be
! found at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&
! artid=3"> http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.4"></a> <b> 1.4 - How do I report suggestions,
errors or omission in this FAQ? </b>
</p>
<p>
! All suggestions, errors, omission or other comments regarding the GNUe
! FAQ should be emailed to <a
! href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.5"></a> <b>1.5 - Who contributed to this FAQ?</b>
</p>
<p>
! This FAQ was originally written in November 2000 and is maintained by
! Neil Tiffin. Contributors to this FAQ include, in no particular order,
! Derek Neighbors, James Thompson, Andrew Murie, Alan Clifford, Reinhard
! Muller, Andrew Hill, and Jason Cater.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.6"></a> <b>1.6 - When was this FAQ last revised and
where can I find it.</b>.
</p>
<p>
! This FAQ is $Revision: 1.21 $ $Date: 2001/12/16 00:16:30 $. The most
! recent version (automatically updated from CVS) can be found at <a
! href="http://www.gnu.org/projects/gnue/faq.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/projects/gnue/faq.html</a>. Another version is
! located at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.7"></a> <b>1.7 - What is Enterprise Software?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Enterprise Software refers to a software system where most of the
! software used to operate a business is integrated together and business
! information is maintained in a way that reduces or eliminates
! duplication, provides timely access by all parts of the organization,
! provides a high level of accuracy, and requires minimal manual
! intervention.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.8"></a> <b>1.8 - Why is GNUe being developed?</b>
</p>
<p>
! As an alternative to proprietary systems because:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! proprietary systems can be very expensive over the life of the
! software. If you have a system that works why should you pay a huge
! monthly fee just for the privilege of using the system.
! </li>
! <li>
! proprietary systems are usually designed by computer companies, not end
! users. GNUe is flexible and designed to support realistic business
! processes and future development is driven by users.
! </li>
! <li>
! proprietary systems may have limited life and are proprietary. If the
! proprietary system manufacturer or outside consultant goes out of
! business (or your internal technical developer leaves) you may end up
! with no reliable support. Why should you pay for a manufacturers poor
! business practices? GNUe is free software. This provides you with
! everything needed to support the software yourself -- even if everyone
! else quits using it. The GNUe project is designed as a cooperative
! effort. This will benefit all users in the long run.
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe offers unparalleled flexibility. You may use an existing business
! model, expand upon an existing business model, or create your own
! business model from scratch.
! </li>
! <li>
! small businesses can get the same benefit from GNUe that previously
! were only available to large businesses using proprietary enterprise
! software.
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.9"></a> <b> 1.9 - How does GNUe compare to
! Quickbooks, PeachTree or other shrink-wrapped accounting software? </b>
</p>
<p>
! It doesn't. GNUe is professional strength software designed for
! multi-user operating systems with either a two or three tier client
! server architecture. It is built to be scalable and maintainable --
! supporting organizations with over 2000 users. Of course, it will also
! support organizations with just a few users and run on a single
! computer (with just a little overkill). It can be run out of the box or
! completely customized by developers. It is free.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.10"></a> <b>1.10 - What is Free Software?</b>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe project fully supports the concept of Free Software. See <a
! href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.11"></a> <b> 1.11 - Why is GNUe licensed under the
GPL and what does this mean? </b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe is released under the GPL license. Please see the sample GPL
! license at <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html</a>. The actual license covering
! GNUe is included in all GNUe distributions.
</p>
<p>
! For a description of why GPL and why free software see <a
! href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html";>
! http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/why-free.html</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.12"></a> <b>1.12 - How do I help the GNUe
effort?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Become familiar with the GNUe system; then, email <a
! href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>. There is always
! something that needs to be done. We need all types of talent --
! programming, documentation, business process analysis, and, most
! importantly, users. Please don't be bashful.
</p>
<p>
! To formally contribute to GNUe, we will require a signed Free Software
! Foundation copyright assignment. More information can be obtained by
! sending email indicating your area of interest to <a
! href="mailto:address@hidden";>address@hidden</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.13"></a> <b>1.13 - What standard technologies or
standards are used in GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe potentially makes use of SGML, HTML, XML, XML-EDI, CORBA, SQL, and
! several GNU technologies. No doubt some I missed.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.14"></a> <b>1.14 - What is the history of GNUe?</b>
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! July 1999 - Project obelisk managed by James Thompson (USA) and Didier
! Legein (Belgium) and the GNU G/L (FSF Project) managed by Jonas Oberg
! (Sweden) merged to become GNU Enterprise. The goal to do more that just
! G/L.
! </li>
! <li>
! February 2000 - Project sanity (ERP) managed by Jade Meskill (USA) and
! Derek Neighbors (USA) inquired and merged with GNUe.
! </li>
! <li>
! March 2000 - The start of the current incarnation of GNUe. Finalized
! and merged the current technical architecture from the previous
! projects. During the late spring and early summer Reinhard Muller
! (Austria), Arno Pedusaar (Estonia), and Bill Hamilton (USA) joined the
! core team.
! </li>
! <li>
! July 2000 - Treshna, represented by Andrew Murie (New Zealand) and
! Andrew Hill (New Zealand), joined the core team, committed full time
! resources, and started work on GNUe Application Server (GEAS).
! </li>
! <li>
! October 2000 - GNUe Application Server v0.0.2 released with relational
! database support for MySQL and PostGRES. GNUe Forms v0.0.3 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! November 2000 - GNUe Forms 0.0.4 and GEAS 0.0.3 released and Project
! Management and Inventory modules started. Neil Tiffin (USA) joined the
! core team.
! </li>
! <li>
! December 2000 - Chris Spence (UK) joined the core team.
! </li>
! <li>
! January 2001 - GNUe Forms 0.0.5 released. GEAS undergoing major rewrite
! and API change.
! </li>
! <li>
! February 2001 - Demonstrations at Linux World were hits.
! </li>
! <li>
! March 2001 - GNUe Forms 0.0.6 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! April 2001 - GNUe Application Server (GEAS) 0.0.4, GNUe Forms 0.0.7,
! GNUe Common 0.0.1 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! June 2001 - GNUe Application Server (GEAS) 0.0.5, GNUe Forms 0.0.8 and
! GNUe Common 0.0.2 released. New interactive web site introduced at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>.
! </li>
! <li>
! July 2001 - GNUe Forms 0.0.9, GNUe Common 0.0.3 and GNUe Designer 0.0.1
! released.
! </li>
! <li>
! August 2001 - GNUe Application Server (GEAS) 0.0.6 released.
! </li>
! <li>
! November 2001 - Kernel Cousins (IRC summary) brought on-line.
! GNUe-Forms 0.1.0, GNUe-Designer 0.1.0, and GNUe-Common 0.1.0. released.
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.15"></a> <b>1.15 - What are the technical features
of GNUe?</b>
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! Modular System Design - You only install and maintain what you
need.
! </li>
! <li>
! Open Architecture - No internal secrets or technology -- you
are in control of your destiny.
! </li>
! <li>
! Powerful Development Framework - Provides high level
development and productivity tools.
! </li>
! <li>
! Freedom from Single Source Vendors - All source code included.
! </li>
! <li>
! Easy Maintenance - Customized components are separate from
generic distribution.
! </li>
! <li>
! Package Library - Easy specialization for specific business
processes.
! </li>
! <li>
! Reuse of Free Software - Does not reinvent the wheel.
! </li>
! <li>
! Versioning System - Ease of updating.
! </li>
! <li>
! Best Practice - Design based on best international practices.
! </li>
! <li>
! International Design - Currency, Language, and core team
representatives located around the world.
! </li>
! <li>
! Industry Specific Templates - Easy specialization for specific
industry needs.
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! For a more complete description please see the document "GNU Enterprise
! - Developers Introduction" at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.16"></a> <b>1.16 - What is the current status of
GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Our development process is:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! Proposal - specifications being exchanged no final agreement
! </li>
! <li>
! Draft Specification - Proposal accepted, spec's started
! </li>
! <li>
! Specification - no code, but agreed specifications
! </li>
! <li>
! Development - code started, components may work, but not as a
system
! </li>
! <li>
! Alpha - mostly working system, but missing some features
! </li>
! <li>
! Beta - working system, in final testing stage
! </li>
! <li>
! Production - working and tested, ready for non-development use
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! The GNUe tool box status is:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! GNUe Forms - Alpha
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe Designer - Alpha
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe Application Server (GEAS) - Alpha
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe Reports - Late Development
! </li>
! <li>
! EWOK An external communications engine - Proposal
! </li>
! <li>
! Bayonne Telephony Application Server - Production
! </li>
! <li>
! Data Transformation tool (something like Data Junction) -
Proposal
! </li>
! <li>
! Workflow Engine - Need Proposal
! </li>
! <li>
! Transaction Processing Engine - Need Proposal
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-1.17"></a> <b>1.17 - What organizations are using
GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (to do)
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe Technology FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
! <p>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.1"></a> <b>2.1 - What is the GNUe architecture
(short version)?</b>
! </p>
! <p>
! GNUe is an n-tier client server enterprise system. The user interface
! is provided by GNUe Forms client. The GNUe Forms client talks directly
! to the GEAS (enterprise application server) using CORBA technology.
! GEAS currenty connects to SQL92 relational databases using API calls.
! GEAS also manages the business objects which consist of data and
! business rules.
</p>
<p>
! The backend use of a standard SQL92 relational database provides
! standard interfaces for external systems and leverages current IT
! practices and staff. This was an important consideration for
! simplifying the migration to GNUe and the integration of GNUe with
! other systems ( <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.16">see 2.16</a>). For 2-tier,
! backend support includes most major relational databases including DB2,
! Oracle, Sybase, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. For n-tier support, only MySQL
! and PostgreSQL are supported at this time.
</p>
<p>
! The current GNUe software components are:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! GNUe-Forms
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe-Designer
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe-Common
! </li>
! <li>
! GNUe-Reports
! </li>
! <li>
! GEAS - GNU Enterprise Application Server
! </li>
! <li>
! EWOK - GNUe Enterprise Wide Office Kommunications
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! Internally, GNUe n-tier is object based. The objects contain data and
! business rules with data stored in an SQL database. The business
! objects are accessed using CORBA and we use Python-orbit for binding
! Python to our current ORB ORBit. Therefore the business rules are
! written in Python. Since other bindings exist, a developer is not
! necessarily limited to Python.
</p>
<p>
! A small system will typically have the following process running ( <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/GNUeSimpleSystem.png";> see
! diagram</a>):
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! SQL server
! </li>
! <li>
! GEAS server (optional, for n-tier only)
! </li>
! <li>
! CORBA name server (optional, for n-tier only)
! </li>
! <li>
! A client (GNUe Forms) for each user (each on a different client
machine)
! </li>
! <li>
! A report server (GNUe Reports) for each user generated reports
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! A large system may have multiple SQL, GEAS, CORBA name and Report
! servers all running on different machines.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.2"></a> <b>2.2 - What is GNUe-Forms and
GNUe-Designer?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe-Forms is a platform and UI-independent forms system. It reads an
! XML-based forms definition and creates GUIs for Win32, GTK, and, soon,
! Curses and HTML. It has a fully data-aware widget set and can be used
! in both 2-tier and n-tier environments.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe-Designer is the IDE for the GNUe tools. It allows you to visually
! layout your forms in a RAD-style environment. Designer has a builtin
! forms client, so you can quickly test your forms while still in
! Designer. Designer also now has support for form creation wizards...
! answer a few questions, attach your form to a table, select the fields
! to include, and, voila, a basic form is created.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.3"></a> <b>2.3 - What is GNUe-Common?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe-Common is the basis for the GNUe tools, such as Forms, Reports,
! and Designer. It implements a database-abstraction layer that provides
! support for most major databases. A builtin XML-to-Object parser and
! Object-to-XML marshaller are used by Forms, Reports, and Designer to
! save and read Forms/Report definitions to and from an XML file. Work
! has begun on an RPC-abstraction layer that will allow server processes
! to define their public methods once and have them available to CORBA,
! XML-RPC, SOAP, and DCOM clients.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.4"></a> <b>2.4 - What is GNUe Application Server
(GEAS)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GEAS is a data abstraction layer and allows GNUe to utilize single API
! to all data sources (local and remote). So the client has one set of
! calls it uses, but can access different vendors SQL databases or even
! CVS or XML files. Similar to Borland's Database Engine or other data
! abstraction tiers. GEAS is transparent to the user. It will run with
! multiple instances and do load balancing. GEAS is required for n-tier
! operation.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.5"></a> <b>2.5 - What is GNUe Reports (GNUeR)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Reports shares many features with GNUe Forms. It is comprised of a
! report designer and a client that generates the requested output.
! Report definition files are also XML based. And programs can
! communicate directly with the XML reports definition language much like
! they can with GNUe Forms. The major difference is that GNUe Reports is
! optimized to handle large amounts of data and run separately from the
! GNUe Forms Client.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.6"></a> <b>2.6 - What is GNUe Enterprise Wide
Office Kommunication (EWOK)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Integration of non-transaction based ad-hoc communications utilizing
! fax, email and paging other non-network communications with GNUe.
! Transaction based external communications (EDI and XML-EDI) will
! utilize the <a href="#GNUe-FAQ-2.7">Data Transformation</a> Tool. To
! use EWOK the user would typically hit the EWOK button in the Forms
! client and a pop-up window would appear with destination and
! information selection options. This may be replaced with Bayonne. This
! change is in process, see the news section for more information.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.7"></a> <b>2.7 - What database does GNUe
require?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe n-tier (GEAS) currently works with MySQL and PostgreSQL relational
! databases. (See <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>).
! GNUe 2-tier works with a wide range of backends, such as PostgreSQL,
! MySQL, Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Interbase, SAP-DB, ODBC, etc.). The
! internal structure of GNUe GEAS is object based but stores information
! in a standard SQL92 relational database. It is anticipated that GNUe
! will interface to any SQL92 (odbc, oracle, sybase, interbase, etc)
! standard relational database. The API design does not limit the storage
! to RDMS.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.8"></a> <b>2.8 - What is Data Transformation
Tool?</b>
</p>
<p>
! This tool will handle all incoming and outgoing data transformation
! requirements including EDI, XML-EDI, spreadsheet import/export and
! others.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.9"></a> <b>2.9 - What is Workflow Engine?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.10"></a> <b>2.10 - What is Transaction Processing
Engine?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.11"></a> <b>2.11 - What GUIs work with GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Forms currently supports (some are tested more than others) win32,
! gtk, motif, curses and mac GUI. A Java client is being authored as well
! and a web client is anticipated in the very near future.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Designer uses the wxWindows widget set, which currently supports
! Win32, GTK, and Motif. Soon, wxWindows will support MacOS and
! QT/KDE.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.12"></a> <b>2.12 - </b> Why Python? Why not
Java or Perl?
</p>
<p>
! If you want Java, LinuxKontor is probably a better choice for you.
! Because of Java's popularity, some of the GNUe team is working on a
! Java forms client (although it is not a priority and, therefore, is not
! actively maintained). We do know that Java applications can connect to
! a GEAS backend via Java's CORBA support. However, Java is NOT the
! preferred language for our clients as it has issues with its ownership.
! Because this is a free software project we will provide all
! functionality using free software. Also, at the time, Java did not have
! any usable widget sets -- swing was/is too slow to be used in an
! application setting.
</p>
<p>
! Perl is another widely used, free high-level scripting language with
! many similarities to Python. The early developers chose Python over
! Perl because of Python's maintainability (clean code) and
! object-oriented nature. Perl does not scale well in a large project
! with multiple active developers. It is quite common for a developer to
! write a perl script and, 6 months later, not have a clue what the
! script was designed to do. It is commonly said that perl is better
! suited for smaller, one-time projects.
</p>
<p>
! Other free scripting languages could have been used. However, the same
! arguments against Perl usually hold for these as well. Perhaps other
! languages would have worked just as well. The bottom line, however, is
! that Python was chosen early on, has a tremendous standard library, has
! proven itself with respect to clean code, and is well-liked by the GNUe
! developers, so we see no reason to change.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.13"></a> <b>2.13 - What about Windows or Macintosh
support?</b>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe Application Server (GEAS) works natively on Mac OS X. It does
! not currently work on Windows, but support is anticipated.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Forms and GNUe Designer use the wxPython/wxWindows abstraction
! library, which currently provides widget support for GTK, Motif, and
! Windows 9x/XP/NT/2000. A Mac OS X port of wx is being heavily worked
! on, but is currently not usable. A QT/KDE port for wx is also under
! development. Work is also under way on Curses and HTML frontends for
! GNUe Forms.
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Reports runs on most platforms supported by Python. The primary
! limitation will be the driver for your database backend. For example,
! while GNUe Reports will run on Windows, a corresponding PostgreSQL
! driver may not be available.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.14"></a> <b>2.14 - What about network traffic,
bandwith and thin clients?</b>
</p>
<p>
! All network flow is all by ORBit. We would expect same type of traffic
! as a MIDAS client or DCOM client on windows. We are middle ground
! bandwidth wise and thin client wise. GNUe doesn't use bandwidth
! whenever you move the mouse etc. The forms code is an XML form that is
! interpreted by the client. Its only when you do an event relating to
! the backend that it sends traffic (i.e. event driven). The only
! possible issue, we anticipate, would be latency with internet
! deployment with using thin clients talking to GEAS on other side of the
! world.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.15"></a> <b> 2.15 - How do I create a simple form?
Where is it stored and how do I run it? </b>
</p>
<p>
! The form is an XML file. You can create it with any editor or with GNUe
! Designer. Then you can run it remotely by typing "gfclient
! http://myserver.com/some_form.gfd"; or locally by typing "gfclient
! /path/to/file/some_form.gfd".
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.16"></a> <b>2.16 - How will external systems
interface to GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! External systems may interface with GNUe in two ways. The simple and
! more standard way is to connect directly with the SQL backend
! relational database. The downside to this method is that it will bypass
! all business logic built into GNUe business objects. So some business
! logic will be duplicated in the external systems. Also database tables
! are considered very changeable for upgrades and extensions, therefore
! external systems using this method will require more maintenance than
! those using the GNUe API method.
</p>
<p>
! The other way for external systems to interface with GNUe is to connect
! directly to the GEAS (server) using the GNUe API. This method is not as
! standard but will provide better data integrity as all data will be
! subject to the business rules defined in GNUe business objects. It will
! also be less prone to changes as we expect the GNUe API to change less
! than the SQL tables will change.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.17"></a> <b>2.17 - What is a Business Object?</b>
</p>
<p>
! A Business Object is an encapsulated unit of information and methods
! that relate to the business. For example a customer is a Business
! Object. Also a purchase order, a line item on a purchase order and a
! receipt against a line item on a purchase order are all Business
! Objects related to each other. Business objects are defined by the
! developer in .gcd files. The .gcd file may also define methods and
! triggers for the Business Objects.
</p>
<p>
! An example Business Object without methods:
</p>
<p>
! <font face="Courier New,Courier,Monaco"> class contact
! <br>
! {
! <br>
! char name<25>;
! <br>
! int16 age;
! <br>
! float net_worth;
! <br>
! text notes;
! <br>
! };
! <br>
! </font>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.18"></a> <b>2.18 - What are Business Rules?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Business Rules are methods defined for classes. Currently business
! rules are implemented in Python or C.
</p>
<p>
! TODO add examples
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.19"></a> 2.19 - Why Not Glade instead of GNUe
Forms?
</p>
<p>
! GNUe Forms and Glade are two separate types of tools. Comparing one to
! the other is, pardon the cliche, like comparing apples to oranges.
</p>
<p>
! Glade is a powerful, yet special-purpose, GUI layout application. It is
! specifically designed to generate GUI layouts for a GTK/GNOME
! application and is very well suited for such a task. If you are wanting
! to design a GUI for a non-data-aware app that runs only under
! Gnome/GTK, then you should look at Glade.
</p>
<p>
! However, one of the main goals of GNUe Forms is to be independent of
! any particular user interface. Using a single form definition, your
! data-aware application will work on various graphical desktops
! (Windows, GTK/GNOME, KDE, Mac, Motif) as well as via a text-only
! (curses) interface and a web browser (HTML). We are even looking at
! designing a Bayonne forms client -- your form could be accessed via a
! telephone!
</p>
<p>
! Also, one of the primary draws of Forms is its fully data-aware widget
! set. Glade would require you to program any database logic
! yourself. Forms provides a natural link between an on-screen form and a
! database backend with very little, if any, programming.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-2.20"></a> 2.20 - Why not Mozilla's XUL instead of
GNUe Forms?
</p>
<p>
! "Tonight Derek was reading over some of the documentation on GNUe. It
! occurred to me that Mozilla and XUL might make a great front end UI to
! this system. Instead of creating multiple GUI front ends for the
! different environments you wish to support, you could make one XUL
! front end that could run on every platform that Mozilla can run on (and
! there are a lot). Is there some reason you've chosen not to do this?"
</p>
<p>
! This has been talked about in infinite detail, but the summary is that
! browsers don't make good front ends for Enterprise systems. They are a
! nice option, but most data-entry style applications are not "friendly"
! when used from a browswer.
</p>
<p>
! Specifically, there were a few key issues with using Mozilla as our
! primary interface:
</p>
<ol type="a">
! <li>
! Mozilla is a bit 'heavy' for a client. (Now I realize we could have
! just reused the rendering engine (gecko) and wrapped it, but thats
! pretty significant work in and of itself.
! </li>
! <li>
! The concept of data aware widgets doesn't exist to the mozilla team
! unless of course you are willing to do all data in RDF/RSS format. Our
! enterprises, of course, dont store data in this format. :) I have
! recently restarted XUL conversations on this and think it would be do
! able. However, once again there is an issue that it would be a lot of
! work.
! </li>
! <li>
! At the time we started GNUe over 2 years ago, XUL was severely
! infantile and mozilla still was not 'widely' adopted. This was around
! M10 releases. If you doubt we didn't make serious efforts search for my
! name (derek) or my sig at that time XULFool and you will see us active
! in many irc sessions, mailing lists etc. For sometime I had wanted to
! use XUL.
! </li>
! <li>
! At the time .... Mozilla was under MPL only which made it iffy at best
! for us to use as a GNU project.
! </li>
</ol>
<p>
! Since Forms is designed to be UI-independent, it is worth noting that
! someone could write a XUL driver for Forms. This would allow those who
! would prefer an XUL interface to do so, but would not in any way make
! Mozilla the primary interface of Forms.
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe Installation FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.1"></a> <b>3.1 - What hardware is required to run
GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Currently, the GNUe Application Server is designed to run primarily on
! Unix/Linux systems (including Solaris). A Windows port is in progress.
! The GNUe clients work on most systems including Windows, Macintosh, and
! any system running Motif, X or curses.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.2"></a> <b>3.2 - What software is required to run
GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! In general, Linux/Unix type system is required with the following to
build from CVS:
</p>
<ul>
! <li>
! python
! </li>
! <li>
! orbit-python
! </li>
! <li>
! automake
! </li>
! <li>
! autoconf
! </li>
! <li>
! dmalloc
! </li>
! <li>
! libtool
! </li>
! <li>
! MySql or PostgreSQL
! </li>
! <li>
! libGDA
! </li>
! <li>
! dotconf
! </li>
! <li>
! ORBit
! </li>
! <li>
! gettext
! </li>
! <li>
! glib
! </li>
! <li>
! popt
! </li>
! <li>
! wxWindows, wxPython
! </li>
</ul>
<p>
! For more information see <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org";>http://www.gnuenterprise.org</a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.3"></a> <b>3.3 - Where do I get GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe test systems are Solaris, Red Hat and Debian Linux
! distributions. Rpms are available for Red Hat Linux, Debian Linux and
! general source distributions at <a
! href="http://http://www.gnuenterprise.org/download.php";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/download.php </a>. Plus anonymous CVS
! access is available at <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&
! artid=2">
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=2
! </a>.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.4"></a> <b>3.4 - How do I build GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.5"></a> <b>3.5 - How do I make GNUe work in my
environment?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.6"></a> <b>3.6 - How do I request changes or
modifications to GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.7"></a> <b>3.7 - How do I get and install updates
to GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-3.8"></a> <b> 3.8 - If I get into trouble, can I
purchase timely support for GNUe? </b>
</p>
<p>
! (todo)
</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<div align="Center">
! <p>
! <b><font size="+2">The GNUe Business Process FAQ</font></b>
! </p>
</div>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.1"></a> <b> 4.1 - What business processes could
benefit from the current version of GNUe? </b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.2"></a> <b>4.2 - What are the financial benefits of
using GNUe?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.3"></a> <b>4.3 - How do I determine if GNUe will
fit my needs?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Consult the oracles at irc.openprojects.net #gnuenterprise
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.4"></a> <b>4.4 - What is a GNUe Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! A GNUe Package is an arbitrary collection of modules that provides
! focused functionality. Because modules may be combined independently,
! packages provide a convienent but not rigid grouping.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.5"></a> <b>4.5 - What is the GNUe Accounting
Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Because finance and accounting are the backbone of every business, the
! GNUe Accounting Package is the heart of GNU Enterprise. With it, you
! can manage your finances, pay your bills, invoice your customers,
! allocate budgets, manage your assets and analyze your costs.
</p>
<p>
! More information may be found at <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/gnue-config/accounting/%0Apackage-doc/Accounting/accountingpkg.html";>
Accounting Proposal</a> and <a
href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=NS-%0AMy_eGallery&file=index&do=showpic&pid=28";>
Package Overview Drawing</a>
</p>
<p>
! The GNUe acocunting package is currently in the proposal stage.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.6"></a> <b>4.6 - What is the GNUe Budget Management
Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.7"></a> <b>4.7 - What is the GNUe Customer
Relations Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Customer Relationship Management (CRM) allows your sales, marketing and
! customer support groups to work together to improve customer (and
! prospect) satisfaction. GNU Enterprise CRM provides campaign
! management, literature fulfillment, lead management, sales analysis and
! call center.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.8"></a> <b>4.8 - What is the GNUe E-Commerce
Package (Sales)?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.9"></a> <b>4.9 - What is the GNUe Human Resources
Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Human Resources manages your most valuable asset, your people. With GNU
! Enterprise Human Resources, you can pay staff, ensure equitable
! compensation, manage training, administer benefits and comply with the
! myriad of government regulatory programs.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.10"></a> <b>4.10 - What is the GNUe Project
Management Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Project Management gives you the control you need to make money from
! your estimates and bids. With GNU Enterprise Project, you can create
! estimates, define projects, set up budgets, monitor progress and send
! invoices to your customers.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.11"></a> <b>4.11 - What is the GNUe Research &
Development Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.12"></a> <b>4.12 - What is the GNUe Supply Chain
Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Supply Chain Management (SCM) optimizes the flow of information and
! materials from your customer’s initial order through to delivery
! to their front door. This process requires the coordinated efforts of
! your suppliers plus workers in Order Entry, Inventory, Manufacturing,
! Shipping, Purchasing and Billing. Even your Web Store can be involved.
! Your company’s competitiveness depends directly of how well you
! optimize your SCM business process. With GNU Enterprise SCM, you will
! have a good head start.
</p>
<p>
! For more information regarding the Supply Chain Package see <a
! href="http://www.gnuenterprise.org/%7Eneilt/sc.html";>
! http://www.gnuenterprise.org/~neilt/sc.html </a>
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.13"></a> <b>4.13 - What is the GNUe Manufacturing
Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Manufacturing forms a key part of the Supply Chain Management process.
! GNU Enterprise Manufacturing supports different styles of manufacturing
! - engineer-to-order, process, and project. It includes Master
! Production Scheduling, Bill of Materials, Material Requirements
! Planning, Capacity Requirement Planning and Shop Floor Control.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.14"></a> <b>4.14 - What is the GNUe Sales
Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Sales is a critical package within your organization. When the customer
! signs the order, it triggers the entire Supply Chain Management
! process. Through analysis of sales data, Customer Relationship
! Management tries to understand customer needs. GNU Enterprise Sales
! allows you to monitor the performance of sales staff and spot problems.
! It allows you to set sales compensation policies which reflect company
! objectives then calculates sales compensation based on information from
! Order Entry.
</p>
<p>
! <a name="GNUe-FAQ-4.15"></a> <b>4.15 - What is the GNUe Business
Intelligence Package?</b>
</p>
<p>
! Business Intelligence (BI) allows management to monitor key metrics in
! your organization, spot trouble (or opportunities) and drill down
! through other applications for more information. Then they can use
! BI’s analytical tools to visually monitor progress.
</p>
<p>
! End of GNUe FAQ
</p>
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