RFC: Valuing our historical register reports

[morgan.s...@gmail.com]

Let's call a register report with

1. Historical postings

2. Valued at period end

P 2020-12-01 EUR 1 USD

P 2021-01-01 EUR 2 USD

2020-12-01 Historical

  (assets) 1 EUR

2021-01-01 Current

  (assets) 1 EUR

On this journal, a balance report will value all the postings at the journal end date

$ hledger balance -f hist.j -b 2021 -V -H -N

          4 USD asset

However, a register report will value the historical postings the day before the report start, producing a different running total. This makes sense for a report with intervals, but seems counter-intuitive for an ordinary register report.

$ hledger register -f hist.j -b 2021 -V -H

2021-01-01  Current (assets)     2 USD       3 USD

This behaviour is documented (https://hledger.org/hledger.html#effect-of-valuation-on-reports) and tested for, but I think it would be more intuitive to value historical postings at the journal end date, producing a running total which matches with the balance report. Is there anybody who disagrees, or relies on this behaviour?