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;doc: officially deprecate secondary dates and --date2

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Simon Michael 2024-06-01 08:46:04 -10:00
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@ -2728,21 +2728,28 @@ A missing Y directive makes reports dependent on today's date.
### Secondary dates
A secondary date is written after the primary date, following an
equals sign. If the year is omitted, the primary date's year is
assumed. When running reports, the primary (left) date is used by
default, but with the `--date2` flag (or `--aux-date` or
`--effective`), the secondary (right) date will be used instead.
A secondary date is written after the primary date, following an equals sign: `DATE1=DATE2`.
If the year is omitted, the primary date's year is assumed.
When running reports, the primary (left side) date is used by default,
but with the `--date2` flag (`--aux-date` or`--effective` also work, for Ledger users),
the secondary (right side) date will be used instead.
The meaning of secondary dates is up to you, but it's best to follow a
consistent rule. Eg "primary = the bank's clearing date, secondary =
date the transaction was initiated, if different".
The meaning of secondary dates is up to you. Eg it could be
"primary is the bank's clearing date, secondary is the date the transaction was initiated, if different".
Downsides: makes your financial data more complicated, less portable,
and less trustworthy in an audit. Keeping the meaning of the two dates
consistent requires discipline, and you have to remember which
reporting mode is appropriate for a given report.
[Posting dates](#posting-dates) are simpler and better.
In practice, this feature usually adds confusion:
- You have to remember the primary and secondary dates' meaning, and follow that consistently.
- It splits your bookkeeping into two modes, and you have to remember which mode is appropriate for a given report.
- Usually your balance assertions will work with only one of these modes.
- It makes your financial data more complicated, less portable, and less clear in an audit.
- It interacts with every feature, creating an ongoing cost for implementors.
- It distracts new users and supporters.
- [Posting dates](#posting-dates) are simpler and work better.
So secondary dates are officially deprecated in hledger,
remaining only as a Ledger compatibility aid;
we recommend using posting dates instead.
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