Double-Declining depreciation to enter missing box salvage value

[Pandemonium]

Binary package hint: gcalctool

When using the calculator in Financial mode, pressing the Ddb button for Double-declining depreciation should prompt for Cost, Salvage, Life, and Period. The prompt for Salvage is missing, and therefore cannot be entered. Consequently, the calculation cannot be performed. If the user enters in the values for only Cost, Life, and Period, the following message is displayed:
Error: the number of periods must be positive

I have confirmed the bug in both Ubuntu 9.04 and 9.10.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: i386
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.04
ExecutablePath: /usr/bin/gcalctool
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Package: gcalctool 5.26.0-0ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: gcalctool
Uname: Linux 2.6.28-16-generic i686

[yanoteko (yanoteko)]

The problem when using the function ddd, send an error because they have to enter 4 data (1.-Cost, 2.-Recovered; 3.-Life; 4.-Period) and in the window that appears, enter the data Retrieved missing box, so send the error.
This happens in versions 9.10 and Ubuntu 4.10 x64 .-

[rusivi2 (rusivi2-deactivatedaccount)]

Thank you for reporting this bug.

Does this happen in Lucid/Maverick?

[Pandemonium (djpandemonium)]

Just tried it in Lucid. The problem is still there, identical to how it was when I filed the bug in 9.04.

[rusivi2 (rusivi2-deactivatedaccount)]

In Maverick, with gcalc open I clicked Mode -> Financial -> Dbd button -> put the number one in each field then clicked Calculate and did not get the error message mentioned.

lsb_release -rdDescription: Ubuntu maverick (development branch)
Release: 10.10
name@name-laptop:/usr/local/src$ apt-cache policy gcalctool
gcalctool:
  Installed: 5.31.91-0ubuntu1
  Candidate: 5.31.91-0ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 5.31.91-0ubuntu1 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[Pandemonium (djpandemonium)]

In Maverick, after clicking Dbd does it present you with three entry boxes or four? Is there a place to enter a Salvage value?

The problem wasn't the error message, but the lack of a prompt for a Salvage value. In order to calculate double-declining depreciation, four values are necessary. The absence of the error message shows that something has changed. I just want to make sure that it's the right something.

[rusivi2 (rusivi2-deactivatedaccount)]

Pandemonium, thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. 3 boxes and no. After reviewing yelp I am very unfamiliar with the financial significance of Dbg could you please provide a primary resource? As well, the issue that you reported is one that should be reproducible with the live environment of the Desktop CD of the development release - Maverick Meerkat. It would help us greatly if you could test with it so we can work on getting it fixed in the next release of Ubuntu. You can find out more about the development release at http://www.ubuntu.com/testing/ . Thanks again and we appreciate your help.

[Pandemonium (djpandemonium)]

After testing in 10.10 RC, I can confirm that it is still not correctly calculating double-declining depreciation. The calculator's UI has changed, and something about the change has stopped it from presenting the error message; however, the calculation is still not performed correctly. As per my original post, there is no prompt for Salvage. Entering the other three values always calculates to a result of zero, which is obviously incorrect.

A google search turns up several good sources for information regarding calculating double-declining depreciation. A few examples:
http://accountinginfo.com/study/dep/depreciation-01.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_5098205_calculate-double-declining-depreciation.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/06/depreciation.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depreciation#Declining-balance_method_.28or_Reducing_balance_method.29
http://beginnersinvest.about.com/od/incomestatementanalysis/a/double-declining-balance-depreciation-method.htm

Here is a web-based calculator that computes double-declining depreciation. You can see that it needs four input values to do it correctly. This one also prompts for a fifth value, months in a year. Obviously, it's fine for the calculator to assume 12 months, thus necessitating only four prompts.
http://www.calculatorsoup.com/calculators/financial/depreciation-declining-double.php

[rusivi2 (rusivi2-deactivatedaccount)]

Pandemonium thank you for working on this bug and making Ubuntu better. This problem was not found upstream -> https://bugzilla.gnome.org/buglist.cgi?query_format=specific&order=relevance+desc&bug_status=__open__&product=gcalctool&content= Hence, the next step is to create an upstream bug and link it to this one -> https://bugzilla.gnome.org/enter_bug.cgi?product=gcalctool

[Pandemonium (djpandemonium)]

Sorry, but you've made the friction to find a resolution a bit too
great for your customers. At some point Canonical needs to own the
problem of bugs that their users are filing.

If additional ticket need to be filed, go right ahead. I reported
this bug over a year ago and have tried to provide help and
information until now, but I no longer have a personal need for the
proper functionality of this feature.

[rusivi2 (rusivi2-deactivatedaccount)]

Pandemonium, if your directing your comment to me, I do not work for Canonical, I am a volunteer! Despite this, bugging is a two way street, not, "Set it and forget it". If one creates a bug, they should be prepared to be held accountable to working it out together. If one does not want this, they should be prepared to not have their bug addressed in a timely manner, let alone fixed unless it is a critical bug, which this is not due to alternative packages providing the feature bugged about. :D Marking incomplete until remote bug is created and linked.

[Robert Roth (evfool)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. The issue you are reporting is an upstream one and it would be nice if somebody having it could send the bug to the developers of the software by following the instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Upstream/GNOME. If you have done so, please tell us the number of the upstream bug (or the link), so we can add a bugwatch that will inform us about its status. Thanks in advance.