Comparison of Tryton and Open ERP

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

Subject

Tryton

OpenERP

Language

Python (>=2.5)

Python (>=2.4) for 5 Series, Python (>=2.5) for 6 Series

Versions maintained

2 years

3x major releases = 4.5 years.

Release cycle

every 6 months

every ~1.5yr for major

Version Policy

No API changes in Series, No XML Change in Series

No API changes in stable versions

Number of Modules

50

1100+ (220+ official ones bundled in the distribution)

Repository Organisation

1 Repo per Module

2 Repos for official, 2+ for community

Version Control System

Mercurial (HG)

Bazaar (BZR), hosted on Launchpad.net

ACTIVE contributors (commits in May 2010)

40

245

Automatic Upgrades/Migrations

Yes

Yes for minor versions, attended for major

Python Packaging

Available on PyPi

Not Available on PyPi

Python Module

Can be used as a module

Yes, as of upcoming v6.1

Distribution Package

Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Foresight Linux, Windows (only client), MacOS X (only client)

Debian, Ubuntu, Windows, MacOS X (community packaging), plus generic .deb and tarball

Code Auto-Reload

Available

Not Available

Architecture

Three Tier

Three Tier

Database Supported

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)

OpenObject-client-Web based on CherryPy, Mako and Mochikit (replaced by JQuery in v6)

Client Access Libraries

Proteus

3rd party

Standalone Clients

Neso

None

Native Gantt Charts

Not Available

Available in web client, partial in Gtk client

Native Calendar View

Through CalDAV

Available in all clients

Native Diagram View

Not Available

Available in v6

Reporting Engines

Relatorio based Openoffice WYSIWYG reports or any custom

RML (official), Relatorio (on Open Office. Community), Jasper(Community), MAKO(work in progress), PDF forms (in progress)

Native Bar/Pie Chart View

Available (with drill down)

Available

Dashboard View

Available (customizable)

Available

CalDAV

Available

Available

WebDAV

Available

Available in series 6.X.X

Cardav

Available

Under development

Unit testing

Covers Server & All modules

Covers modules & reports

Functional Testing

Proteus (Work in Progress) and in unit test

YAML Based Tests in series 6.X.X, Open ERP Scenario (Community Project/Unofficial)

Client Multi Language Programming Compatibility

Possible by use of Pyson Syntax

Not available due to pythonic expressions.

IP v6 Compatibility

Yes

No

Historization

Yes

No

Localization

5

more than 20 languages, integrated with Launchpad.net

Business model

Subject

Tryton

OpenERP

Editor

Community 4

Open ERP SA 5

Project type

Community Open source

Commercial Open Source

Professional Service Providers

Available

Available

Partnership Eligibility

Merits & Contribution to project

Buying Partner Contract

Software License

GNU General Public License

Server & GTK Client: GNU General Public License Web Client: Open ERP Public License (Includes several restrictions) (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

Uses Floats

Password Storage

Crypted with SHA1 (salted since Version 1.4)

In clear text, MD5 with base_crypt add-on

Code review

For all commits through Rietveld

No known process

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)

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

Yes

Human Resources

Yes

Yes

CRM

Basics

Yes

Point of Sale

No

Yes, as of upcoming v6.1

E-commerce

Native and Integration with Magento

Integration with Magento, Prestashop, OSCommerce, Zen Cart