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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Tryton vs OpenERP: Which is the best? Better modules or more modules?


I post the difference between Tryton and OpenERP, simply because I'm looking at Tryton for the moment to see how different it is from OpenERP and if it is better coded and easier for developers. Well for the moment I'm really surprised by the excellent quality of the code. Here is a VS sheet coming from Wikipedia.
SubjectTrytonOpenERP
LanguagePython (>=2.4)Python (>=2.4) for 5 Series[1],
Python (>=2.5) for 6 Series
Versions maintained2 years5.X.X Series to 6.X.X Series
Release cycleevery 6 monthswhen it's stable
Version PolicyNo API changes in Series, No XML Change in SeriesNo API changes in stable versions
Number of Modules50> 500
Repository Organisation1 Repo per Module1 Repo for official modules
Version Control SystemMercurial (HG)Bazaar (BZR), hosted on Launchpad.net
Active contributors (commits in May 2010)40245
Automatic Upgrades/MigrationsYesYes for minor versions
Python PackagingAvailable on PyPi[2]Not Available on PyPi
Python ModuleCan be used as a module[3]not
Distribution PackageDebianGentooUbuntuArch Linux,
Foresight Linux, Windows (only client), MacOS X (only client)
Available
Code Auto-ReloadAvailableNot Available
ArchitectureThree TierThree Tier
Database SupportedPostgreSQLMySQLSQLitePostgreSQL
Desktop ClientsGTK Based Desktop ClientGTK Based Desktop Client
KDE/QT Client(Community)
Web based ClientsSAO based on
Google Web Toolkit (Work in progress)
OpenObject-client-Web
based on CherryPy,
Mako and Mochikit (replaced by JQuery in v6)
Client Access LibrariesProteusNot Available
Standalone ClientsNesoNone
Native Gantt ChartsNot AvailableAvailable only in web client
Native Calendar ViewThrough CalDAVAvailable
Native Diagram ViewNot AvailableAvailable in v6
Reporting EnginesRelatorio based Openoffice
WYSIWYG reports [4] or any custom
RML (official)/Relatorio
(on Open Office. Community), Jasper(Community),
MAKO(work in progress)
Native Bar/Pie Chart ViewAvailable (with drill down)Available
Dashboard ViewAvailable (customizable)Available
CalDAVAvailableAvailable in series 6.X.X
WebDAVAvailableAvailable in series 6.X.X
Cardav[5]AvailableNot Available
Unit testingCovers Server & All modulesCovers modules & reports
Functional TestingProteus (Work in Progress) and in unit testYAML Based Tests
in series 6.X.X,Open ERP
Scenario (Community
Project/Unofficial) [6]
Client Multi Language Programming CompatibilityPossible by use of Pyson Syntax [7]Not available due to
pythonic expressions.
IP v6 CompatibilityYesNo
HistorizationYes[8]No
Localization5more than 20 languages,
 integrated with Launchpad.net

Business model

SubjectTrytonOpenERP
EditorCommunity [4]Open ERP SA [5]
Project typeCommunity Open source [9]Commercial Open Source [10]
Professional Service ProvidersAvailableAvailable
Partnership EligibilityMerits & Contribution to projectBuying Partner Contract
Software LicenseGNU General Public License[11]Server: GNU General Public License [12]
Web Client: Open ERP Public License[13]

Functionality

The functionality description here is based on the official modules of both projects. Unofficial modules with the functionality may exist, but is beyond the scope of this comparison as any such content would be difficult to maintain.
SubjectTrytonOpenERP
Accounting & Financial ManagementYesYes (Severely limited)
Document Management SystemYes (document size limit: Filesystem limit)Yes (document size limit: PostgreSQL 1GB)
Analytic accountingYesYes
Payroll ManagementNoYes
PortalsYesYes
Sales ManagementYesYes
Warehouse ManagementYesYes
Project ManagementYesYes
Purchase ManagementYesYes
Manufacturing ManagementIn Development [17]Yes
Human ResourcesYesYes
CRMBasicsYes
Point of SaleNoNo (Fast encoding screen available [18])
E-commerce ?Integration Magento, Prestashop, ...

Concepts and approach

SubjectTrytonOpenERP
AccountingUses Decimal [14]Uses Floats [15]
Password StorageCrypted with SHA1In clear text
Code reviewFor all commits through Rietveld[16]Almost none
float/integer representationLimited to float or long because using gtk.Entry without limitLimited to sys.maxint of Python because using gtk.SpinButton

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Tryton_and_Open_ERP

15 comments:

  1. Answer:
    Neither, ¡Clear and Transparent Business model!, everybody needs to know how make money AND code

    IMHO -- "Better" modules is a "subjective" word....

    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good comparison; though some of the points are outdated, for example on OpenERP the document management system may use the filesystem too. also OpenERP 6.0 supports CalDAV.
    And some points should be taken with care: On OpenERP 5.0 I've seen small API changes (refactoring), though this have been minimized lately.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The comparison on wikipedia is done by people from tryton, which are totally unfair against OpenERP: 40 contributors on Tryton is a joke (one full time, max 5 per month), chosen criteria are the good ones of tryton and the advantages of OpenERP are not there.

    Lots of mistakes:
    Caldav does not work on tryton (too much bugs, impossible to sync with mobile phone) whereas it works on OpenERP (trunk only).

    OpenERP is not commercial open source (in the sense of SugarCRM or Compiere: a professional edition different than the open source version). OpenERP is fully open source. The OpenERP publisher has a service offer for those who need guarantees, like Canonical/redhat/MySQL.

    functionnalities is a joke too: tryton has no crm, no hr, severely limited accouting (and not openerp:). The WMS of tryton is very limited, it has no manufacturing, etc. OpenERP has POS, several solutions exists.

    Code review of OpenERP: almost none :) All OpenERP devs are developed there: https://launchpad.net/~openerp-dev then merged and reviewed after by quality team. Just check the branches. Tryton has no code review: Cedric is the 'nearly' only one developer, he develops and merge his own code.

    ReplyDelete
  4. POS on OpenERP are you kidding have you ever made some shopping? It is only a fast encoding view.
    CALDav in OpenERP trunk is not yet perfect. And OpenERP is commercial open source because stupid bugs posted by people paying are corrected but real bugs not. Yes there is a repository but the quality team is so mmmmm bad. Cedric works a lot but one Cedric = 80 indians or maybe more due to the bad reviewing. And please state your problems with CALDav on Tryton because I only had some troubles with CALDav on OpenERP...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I evaluated OpenERP. Simply put -- I do not like its design. I found it to be complex; limited; and 'ugly.' ERP is "Enterprise Resource Planning."

    Everyone here seems to focusing on the CalDAV stuff. Why? They are trying to turn an ERP system into a CRM system. Try MS CRM, instead.

    In the open source world, there is not a really good CalDAV out there, yet. Until that materializes, everything will be foobar.

    This is where Bill Gates 'got it right' and everyone else missed the boat. Bill Gates was not a monopolist. Instead, he was the only one who had a clue about what was really important and focused his companies efforts and acquisitions to meet that goal.

    Everyone else sold out. And then, they blamed him because everyone else sold out and retired.

    ReplyDelete
  6. PS to my previous post. Gate's vision can be best summarized by example. What example? The Windows Registry.

    Why, you ask? With the advent of the "registry database", the days of parsing oft different formats, filenames, and massive volumes of configuration information as in Unix/Linux and all the other OSes, are OVER.

    From a sysadmin AND programming standpoint, in an integrated/standards demanding world, it was the ONLY answer.

    Then, he created the first truly useful and standardized FULL-BLOWN-Directory.

    I was at the first PDC in Seattle when I realized Gates was going after both Novell and Unix. Windows NT was still in development. I was also a defector from the OS/2 world when all that was all coming down.

    He wiped out Novell and Whatever-Unix and took IBM out, too.

    I don't like it that he has stepped aside.

    The man had a vision. He made it a reality.

    Don't get me wrong -- I like Unix/Linux A LOT. However, these fundamentals are missing and it makes everyone's job a lot harder and it is the main barrier to Unix/Linux actually knocking out MS by storm.

    The rest of the world is still a decade behind MS because it refuses to realize how Gates did it in the first place.

    Since Gates has stepped aside, MS has turned into the beast(s) that he sought to conquer. That's the problem with big business. Always was -- always will. Just like "Commercial Open Source."

    Even OpenERP sold out and is following the same path as its predecessors who sold out to MS.

    People won't wake up and realize that the open source developers who work on MANY of these open source projects are nothing more than SLAVES to the commercial venture capital.

    Bill Gates only wished he had it so good!

    ReplyDelete
  7. pss... Another thought. Who wants to use an ERP system written in a non-proprietary, evolving language like Python?

    Many simple things in Python 3.x breaks programs written in Python 2.x.

    Do you wanna be a company of slaves converting a huge system like ERP (and all your own modules) over to a new programming language?

    Figuring things out for yourself is the only freedom anyone really has. Use that freedom; make up your own mind. (Of course, you have the right to be naive, too -- just like Evian bottled water. Evian is naive spelled backwards.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Try Opentaps, it is written in JAVA making it cross platform and database independent.

    ReplyDelete
  9. OPENTAPS is based on Apache OfBiz. TOO DAMN BIG! I think Toyota sustained them. OfBix is an exercise of total hell ... now owned by Oracle!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nice comparison. But for me it ignores, beyond all facts, the main and fundamental difference between the two:

    OpenERP is a product which targets end user customers.

    Tryton is a project which provides an application framework for business use, which targets developers and implementers.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I am not sure what you mean by "targets end user customers" versus "framework for business use".

    The TRADITIONAL purpose of an ERP system is "business" for "business customers" (end users)

    ReplyDelete
  12. > I am not sure what you mean by "targets end user
    > customers" versus "framework for business use".
    > The TRADITIONAL purpose of an ERP system is
    > "business" for "business customers" (end users)
    Yes, you are right. When talk about Tryton, it fits the projects bias better, not to talk about a 'product' which needed to be 'merchandized' as an 'ERP system' to 'end-user business customers'.
    The Tryton project provides a solid framework for business use and everything needed to attract and serve developers to use it. In Tryton context there is no need to sell an 'ERP system' or something like a 'ready-to-use-product-for-business-customers'. These aspects are simply not part of the Tryton project, they are out-sourced to other projects.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Framework or not: TARGETS BUSINESS USERS VS TARGETS DEVELOPERS.

    None of that matters. It comes down to money unless you, the developer, can offer up a fixed cost quote for development.

    TARGET BUSINESS USERS: Are you writing the check(s) to pay for the development? Or, are you, the developer RECEIVING the checks?

    Can you offer up a fixed cost project price that beats the daylights out of anything else being offered by proprietary companies?

    IN OTHER WORDS, it comes down to the same thing: Money. Business is business. A CEO doesn't give a hoot about anything but money -- numbers in the form of revenue vs expense.

    It's our job, as developers, to provide them with the means to get those numbers so the CEOs can play golf.

    Now, put a dollar (pound, yen, ad nauseum) figure to your efforts.

    How much is the business user willing to spend vs how much of a slave do you want to be. And, if you are developing as a hired gun, be sure to include your legal fees in case of a probable defense against implied warranties and fitness for a particular purpose.

    Don't mess with some of them unless you know you can deliver. Otherwise, you will find yourself homeless because your "developer platform" failed to account for the "business users" checkbook and staff attorneys.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So is Tryton easier for developers?

    ReplyDelete
  15. So in summary... avoid Trypton and OpenERP; if you need an ERP, buy one, if you are small... look at other offerings. Clearly there is no roadmap for either. Even OpenERP has now become Odoo and that is like a hodge podge of mini apps.

    Oh, and the moron who slags of paying customers and is racist (1 Cedric = 80 Indians)... go upgrade yourself and get some real life experience.

    ReplyDelete