FreeCurrency
by Josh Goldfoot
FreeCurrency is a currency converter that is freeware and open source.
It features a convenient interface: just fill in the currency you know,
and you will immediately get the currency you don't know. I wrote
FreeCurrency because I was disappointed at the slow and clumsy interfaces
for some of the other currency converters I saw, and also because I was
surprised that I couldn't find a free currency converter.
Use
First, use the popup list to select the currency you wish to convert to
and from. Then, enter the currency amount you know in the appropriate
field, and the currency you don't know will automatically appear in the
other field.
For example, if you know that the price of something is 17 Canadian
dollars, you would select the "USA Dollars/CAN Dollars" currency conversion,
then enter the number "17" in the lower "CAN Dollars" field and the equivalent
number of US dollars will automatically appear in the upper field.
Editing currencies
FreeCurrency 1.0 ships with built-in conversion rates that were reasonably
accurate in late September, 2000, but may be a bit off the mark by the
time you use it. To update a currency conversion ratio, or to change
the name of a currency, just edit what you see. Note that you can
enter the conversion ratio in any form you want. If you gave
the guy at the currency exchange booth $300 and got back 247 pounds, enter
those raw numbers in to get your actual conversion rate. When you
are done making changes, click the Save button (the disk icon) or choose
"Save" from the Currency menu to save over the old currency conversion
record.
To make the popup list of currencies shorter, you can use the delete
button (the trash can icon) to delete a currency.
Adding new currencies
The default set of currencies are a bunch of conversion routines between
the USA Dollar and a few other major currencies. This will obviously
be less useful to non-US users.
To add a new currency, click on the "New" button (the blank page icon),
or select "New" from the Currency menu. Then edit the new field that
appears on the screen. Enter the correct names of the currencies,
and enter the correct conversion ratio. Once you have entered everything
correctly, click the "Save" button to save the currency permanently.
A note on design decisions
FreeCurrency was designed for the traveler in mind. Simplicity of
interface was the main consideration. I passed up the idea of making
the user set a "base currency," and then allowing the user to triangulate
between currencies (ie if 1 dollar equals 1.17 euros and 0.71 pounds, then
1 euro is 0.61 pounds) because this sort of thing would seem to be useful
only to a big time currency trader, and those people generally don't use
freeware. Economically, this kind of conversion is suspect anyway,
because it assumes equivalent transaction costs and minimal arbitrage opportunities.
Beaming
Once you have entered a new currency conversion, you can beam it to someone
else. This is especially useful for people who are traveling together.
Just pick "Beam" from the "Currency" menu.
Freeware
FreeCurrency is free to use. Use it, and you owe me nothing.
You have the right to keep it, make copies of it, and even sell copies
of it. This software may be given to anyone, by anyone, for any reason.
All I ask in exchange is that you not sue me if it doesn't work.
Thus, THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT
SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY
OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT INCLUDING
NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE,
EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
Open source
Not only is this freeware, it is open source. And not only is it
open source, it is open source under the BSD license. That means
you have a right to keep any changes you make secret, as long as you give
me (and any other contributors) proper credit. While I'd prefer that
you do share your modified code with others, I will not require that.
The biggest opportunity for improvement I see is to take advantage of
wireless capabilities to get instant currency rate updates. But,
the code is all there, so change it however you'd like.
Contact me
Contact me at http://freecurrency.goldfoot.com/