Comparison of Tryton and Open ERP

Tryton is a community fork of the commercial open source project OpenERP and began development in November 2008. This article compares both projects from technical, business and conceptual perspectives.

Subject	Tryton	OpenERP
Language	Python (>=2.6)	Python (>=2.4) for 5.x series[1], Python (>=2.5) for 6.x series
Versions maintained	2.5 years	3x[2] major releases = 4.5 years.
Release cycle	every 6 months	every 6 months for stable, every ~1.5yr for LTS [3]
Version Policy	No API changes in series, No XML change in series	No API changes in stable series
Number of Modules	56	1300+ (220+ official ones bundled in the distribution)[4]
Repository Organisation	1 repository per module	1 repository for official modules, community modules in their author's repositories[5]
Version Control System	Mercurial (HG)	Bazaar (BZR), hosted on Launchpad
Active contributors (commits in October 2011)	70[6]	278[7]
Automatic Upgrades/Migrations	Available	Available for minor versions[8], under Maintenance Contract as services[9].
Python Packaging	Available on PyPi[10]	Not available on PyPi
Python Module	Server can be imported as Python module[11]	As of 6.1 series, server can be imported as Python module[12]
Distribution Package	Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Fedora, Foresight Linux, Windows (only client), MacOS X (only client), OpenBSD	Debian (no more maintained), Ubuntu, Windows, MacOS X (community packaging), plus generic .deb and tarball
Code Auto-Reload	Available	Not available
Architecture	Three-tier	Three-tier
Supported Database	PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite	PostgreSQL
Desktop Clients	GTK Based Desktop Client	GTK Based Desktop Client KDE/QT Client (Community)
Web based Clients	SAO based on Google Web Toolkit (work in progress)	5.0 series: official web client based on CherryPy, Mako and Mochikit 6.0 series: official web client (partially rewritten) based on CherryPy, Mako and JQuery 6.1 series: official web client (rewritten from scratch[13]) based on HTML5, JQuery and Dhtmlx (Work in progress)
Client Libraries	Proteus[14]	ooor[15], ooop[16], oersted[17], openobject-library[18]
Standalone Clients	Neso[19]	Not available
Native Gantt Charts	Not available	Available in web client only
Native Calendar View	Through CalDAV	Available in all clients
Native Diagram View	Not available	Available in 6.0 series
Reporting Engines	Relatorio based Openoffice WYSIWYG reports[20] or any custom	RML-based (official)[21], Webkit based (official)[22], Aeroo Reports — WYSIWYG HTML/Openoffice reports[23], Relatorio based (Community), JasperReports (Community), MAKO (work in progress), PDF forms (in progress)
Native Bar/Pie Chart View	Available (with drill down)	Available
Dashboard View	Available (customizable) with communication between views	Available
CalDAV	Available	Available
WebDAV	Available	Available as of 6.0 series
Cardav[24]	Available	Under development[citation needed]
Unit testing	Covers server and all modules	Covers official server, modules and reports
Functional Testing	Proteus and unit test based	Official YAML based tests in 6.x series, OERPScenario based (Community)[25]
Client-Side Scripting	Pyson[26]	Python only
IPv6 Compatibility	Available	Not available
Historization	Available[27]	Planned for 6.1[citation needed]
Translations	8	translation teams assigned for 30 languages[28], but not all 100% translated

Business model

Subject	Tryton	OpenERP
Editor	Community	OpenERP SA
Project type	Community Open source [29]	Commercial Open Source[30]
Professional Service Providers (July 2011)	10[31]	260[32]
Partnership Eligibility	Merit and contributions[citation needed]	Partner contract[33]
Software License	GNU General Public License[34]	Server & GTK Client: GNU General Public License [35] Web Client: Open ERP Public License (includes several restrictions[36]; is considering dual licensing with proprietary license, but status is unknown as community resistance against the move is high)

Concepts and approach

Subject	Tryton	OpenERP
Accounting	Uses decimal[37]	Uses floats[38]
Password Storage	SHA1-hash (salted since version 1.4[39])	Cleartext by default, salted HMAC-MD5 hash with base_crypt module[40]
Code review	All commits through Rietveld[41]	Bugfix/Feature branches reviewed by R&D on Launchpad[42][43]
float/integer representation	Limited to float or long because using gtk.Entry without limit	Limited to sys.maxint of Python because using gtk.SpinButton
Date representation	Uses datetime.datetime and datetime.date	Uses strings to represent dates

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.

Subject	Tryton	OpenERP
Accounting & Financial Management	Yes	Yes (severely limited[citation needed])
Document Management System	Yes (document size limit: Filesystem limit)	Yes (document size limit: PostgreSQL 1GB or filesystem limit)
Analytic accounting	Yes	Yes
Payroll Management	No	Yes
Portals	Yes	Yes
Sales Management	Yes	Yes
Warehouse Management	Yes	Yes
Project Management	Yes	Yes
Purchase Management	Yes	Yes
Manufacturing Management	In development[44]	Yes
Human Resources	Yes	Yes
CRM	Basics	Yes
Point of Sale	No	Yes, as of upcoming 6.1 series[45]
E-commerce	Native and Integration with Magento	Integration with Magento, Prestashop, OSCommerce, Zen Cart

References

1. ^ Technical procedure: Initial installation and configuration, OpenERP, http://doc.openerp.com/book/1/1_1_Inst_Config/1_1_Inst_Config_install.html#technical-procedure-initial-installation-and-configuration .
2. ^ Release cycle strategy, OpenERP, http://www.openerp.com/forum/topic20469.html .
3. ^ Release cycle policy, OpenERP, http://doc.openerp.com/v6.0/contribute/14_release_cycle.html .
4. ^ Apps, OpenERP, http://apps.openerp.com/ .
5. ^ Community module branch registration, OpenERP, http://apps.openerp.com/send_branch, "Community repositories are indexed within OpenERP Apps library" .
6. ^ "Contributors", Tryton, Ohloh, https://www.ohloh.net/p/tryton/contributors .
7. ^ "Contributors", OpenERP, Ohloh, https://www.ohloh.net/p/openerp/contributors .
8. ^ OpenERP, 2010-9, http://www.openerp.com/node/478/2010/09 .
9. ^ Migrations, OpenERP, http://migration.openerp.com/ 
10. ^ Tryton Python Package Index, Python, http://pypi.python.org/pypi/trytond/1.6.0 .
11. ^ How to Use Trytond as a Module, Google Code, http://code.google.com/p/tryton/wiki/HowToUseTrytondAsAModule .
12. ^ "Announce about OpenERP being importable as Python module", OpenERP Expert Framework (mailing-list), Launchpad, https://lists.launchpad.net/openerp-expert-framework/msg00503.html .
13. ^ Initial revision of OpenERP 6.1 web client, Launchpad, http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~openerp/openerp-web/trunk/revision/1 .
14. ^ Proteus, Python, http://pypi.python.org/pypi/proteus/ .
15. ^ ooor, Git Hub, https://github.com/rvalyi/ooor .
16. ^ ooop, Git Hub, https://github.com/lasarux/ooop .
17. ^ oersted, Python, http://pypi.python.org/pypi/oersted/ .
18. ^ openobject-library, Python, http://pypi.python.org/pypi/openobject-library .
19. ^ (in French) Neso & autres nouveautés [Neso Announcement], Tryton, 2009-9, http://news.tryton.org/2009/09/neso-et-autres-nouveautes.html .
20. ^ Relatorio, OpenHex, http://relatorio.openhex.org/ .
21. ^ RML, ReportLab, http://www.reportlab.com/software/#rml .
22. ^ "report_webkit", Apps (official module), OpenERP, http://apps.openerp.com/addon/621 .
23. ^ Wiki, Alistek, http://www.alistek.com/wiki/ .
24. ^ Cardav, Cal Connect, http://carddav.calconnect.org/ .
25. ^ OERPScenario, Launchpad, https://launchpad.net/oerpscenario .
26. ^ Pyson Documentation, Tryton, http://doc.tryton.org/1.6/trytond/doc/topics/pyson.html .
27. ^ "History", Documentation, Tryton, http://doc.tryton.org/1.6/trytond/doc/ref/models/models.html#trytond.model.ModelSQL._history .
28. ^ OpenERP translator teams, Launchpad, https://translations.launchpad.net/+groups/openobject-translators .
29. ^ Explore, IEEE, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4160218&tag=1, "Community open source is software that a community develops rather than a single corporate entity owning the software, and a broad community of volunteers determines which contributions are accepted into the source code base and where the software is headed" 
30. ^ Explore, IEEE, http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=4160218&tag=1, "Commercial open source is software that a for-profit entity owns and develops. The company maintains the copyright and determines what is accepted into the software code base and what to implement next" 
31. ^ Service providers, Tryton, http://www.tryton.org/services.html .
32. ^ Partners map, OpenERP, http://www.openerp.com/partner-worldmap .
33. ^ Partner contracts, OpenERP, http://www.openerp.com/partners/partners-key-benefits 
34. ^ Home Page, Tryton, http://www.tryton.org/ .
35. ^ (RTF) Server license, Launchpad, http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~openerp/openobject-server/5.0/annotate/head:/doc/License.rtf .
36. ^ Web Client license, Launchpad, http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~openerp/openobject-client-web/5.0/annotate/head:/doc/LICENSE.txt .
37. ^ "Why decimal and not float for accounting", OpenERP expert Accounting (mailing list), Launchpad, https://lists.launchpad.net/openerp-expert-accounting/msg00070.html .
38. ^ "Why Open ERP uses floats", OpenERP expert Accounting (mailing list), Launchpad, https://lists.launchpad.net/openerp-expert-accounting/msg00067.html .
39. ^ Hg, Tryton, http://hg.tryton.org/1.4/trytond/rev/324c44142b6a .
40. ^ Apps, OpenERP, http://apps.openerp.com/addon/648 .
41. ^ "Rietveld", Code review, Tryton, http://codereview.tryton.org/ .
42. ^ "R&D Processes", OpenERP Community Days (presentation slides), Slide share, slides 19, 22–24, http://www.slideshare.net/openobject/openerp-rd .
43. ^ OpenERP current code reviews, Launchpad, https://code.launchpad.net/~openerp-dev/openobject-addons/+activereviews .
44. ^ Tryton MRP Integration, Google Code, http://code.google.com/p/tryton/wiki/TrytonMRPIntegration .
45. ^ Overview of Point of Sale, OpenERP, http://www.openerp.com/products/pos .