piecash and the official python bindings

piecash is an alternative to the python bindings that may be bundled with gnucash (http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Python_Bindings).

This page aims to give some elements of comparison between both python interfaces to better understand their relevancy to your needs. Information on the official python bindings may be incomplete (information gathered from mailing lists and wiki).

Gnucash 3.0.x series

piecash (>=1.0.0)

official python bindings (gnucash 3.0.n)

book format

gnucash 3.0.n

gnucash 3.0.n

environment

Python 3.6/3.7/3.8/3.9

Python 3

installation

pure python package ‘pip install piecash’

compilation (difficult on windows) binaries (available on Linux)

requires GnuCash

no

yes

runs on Android

yes

no

gnucash files

SQL backend only

SQL backend and XML

documentation

yes (read the docs) actively developed

partial

functionalities

creation of new books read/browse objects create objects (basic) update online prices

all functionalities provided by the GnuCash C/C++ engine

Gnucash 2.6.x series

piecash (<=0.18.0)

official python bindings (gnucash 2.6.n)

book format

gnucash 2.6.n

gnucash 2.6.n

environment

Python 2.7 & 3.3/3.4/3.5/3.6

Python 2.7

installation

pure python package ‘pip install piecash’

compilation (difficult on windows) binaries (available on Linux)

requires GnuCash

no

yes

runs on Android

yes

no

gnucash files

SQL backend only

SQL backend and XML

documentation

yes (read the docs) actively developed

partial

functionalities

creation of new books read/browse objects create objects (basic) update online prices

all functionalities provided by the GnuCash C/C++ engine