Coding Agents, Starter Kits and pgledger

In recent years, a new implementation of a ledger called pgledger has emerged, implemented entirely in PostgreSQL. Unlike traditional ledger software, pgledger does not require installation or dependencies; instead, it consists of database tables and SQL functions that can be added to an existing application. This process depends on the app's current technical stack, migration tools, and SQL execution methods.

Initially, pgledger was designed as a straightforward and minimal starter kit for ledger implementation. Users could easily customize it by adding extra foreign keys, enforcing specific currency subsets, or altering ID generation patterns. However, with the advent of coding agents, the process has become even more streamlined. A simple agent prompt, such as "Add pgledger to my app," can fetch the code and adapt it to the current application, allowing for easy customization of the ledger.

However, the addition of coding agents has also introduced new considerations for pgledger. On one hand, agents can easily incorporate widely requested features, allowing users to customize pgledger to their needs without extensive modifications to the core code. On the other hand, agents may also remove unnecessary features, leading to the question of whether certain features should be included as part of pgledger itself.

In this context, pgledger's author has recently added idempotency support to the ledger, a feature that has been repeatedly requested but proved challenging to implement correctly. Idempotency ensures that repeating the same operation multiple times is safe and only performs the action once, which is particularly useful in scenarios where callers may not be certain if the operation succeeded.

This addition was made despite the complexity and integration challenges, as it aligns with the criteria for worthwhile features that are widely requested, potentially complicated, and integrated into the core functions. By adding idempotency, pgledger becomes a more robust and reliable solution, allowing users to confidently include it in their applications.